To all the Credit Experts out there can you answer this??

Question

I am 20 years old and applied for a Chase Student credit card and was accpted. I've had that card since early 2006. Then comes First Premier credit card, biggest mistake of my life they are such a rip off. I got them in late 2006. I got tired of all the fee's so I canceled the card with a high balance. I also got a Platinum Visa Card that i wanna cancel but only had it a month with a high balance on it. If I dont have the money is it best to cancel both the cards pay off the balance and start over again with just my Chase Card which I've had the longest which dosen't have alot of fees. Im still young and dont intend on getting a mortgage or loan anytime soon. I wanna start over with one credit card. I also have a FingerHut credit account in good standing with 0 balance. If I cancel both the cards now, how long will it stay on my report?? What would you do in my situation? Please No copy and pasted articles or links, I wanna read real peoples opions and hard cold facts.

Answer 1

I would just pay off the cards, and leave them at no balance that way it appears that I have allot of credit I am not using which increases your score. If by closing you mean quit paying on them that would be a mistake that will haunt you for at least 7 years, If buying car less chance of getting a loan and if you do a high interest rate. Try and get this all straightened out now while you are still young. before you need credit and cannot get it later in life.

Answer 2

So if I understand it you have the following cards
Chase - Open in 2006
First Premier - Closed but still high balance
Platinum - Open but has high balance
Fingerhut - Open 0 balance.

Here is what you should do. Pay off the First Premier card and the Platinum Visa card. However, do not close the platinum visa card. As long as it has low/no fees there is no harm in keeping it open, it will actually help you. Even better would be to use this card for daily purchases that you would pay cash for anyways. Then at the end of the month pay it off in full and on-time to avoid the interest. The one catch to this is you don't want to use more than 30% of your limit at any one time.

You have to think ahead, even though you are not looking for a major purchase now, what you do now will effect your ability to get a loan later on. If you do this you will build a history and you will be very thankful you did several years down the road when you do decide to apply for a car or house loan.

Answer 3

Put whatever debt you have on the lowest interest you can find. Doesn't matter if it's a credit card or bank loan. You want to pay as little as possible.

You don't have to get rid of the cards. Just don't use them unless you have to. You should be able to find one without an annual membership fee. The other fees (overlimit and late fees) are just a matter of you keeping on top of your bills. All companies will charge you for those.

That being said, I believe that Capital One has some of the lowest fees and are reasonable about how they are applied.

Like I said, it really doesn't matter which card you choose, just use it responsibly.

Answer 4

Credit card balance transfer is a process by which we can transfer our outstanding balances on a credit card (which are generally at high interest rates) to a low interest rate credit card.

Balance transfer has some good advantages let us look at a few of them.

Balance transfer is one of the best methods to get rid of that credit card debt. When you transfer balances all your outstanding balances are wiped out and transferred to new credit card.

Depending on what deal you get on the balance transfers the new interest rates on transferred balances could be 0% or a low rate for a particular period. The ideal situation should be to get all the balances cleared within this low interest rate period.

The repayment terms will also relax considerably as you transfer your balances. Read more from: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/article/374,Credit_card_balance_transfer_A_really_good_option_for_those_with_huge_credit_card_debt

Answer 5

You can kiss your financial future good bye. You already started down the wrong path you are a student you will eventually Max them out. They will all end up in collections & you will not be able to buy house, car or get a good job. All of this requires good credit nowadays. It is fun to pay the minium payment of $20 dollars a month and watch your credit limit increase :). Just enjoy it now make sure you are buying stuff that will still be useful 7 years from now when you are in court getting sued and the student loan payments are comming out of your paycheck.

Answer 6

You dont provide any income information or mention expenses if u rent or etc. but..

i went to college for 2 years in buisness admin.

Generally people spend far to much now. Fast food is a big one. if you can just see to drink coffee at home and not eat out just come home after work minmize your expenses and dont spend paying off your debt u could restore your credit i would believe.

If you cant find the resolve to reduce your spending or your expenses are to high seek Finacial assitance at a Financial institution on your area, and inquire as to Bankrupcy.

Most of all Work. Work. find job u like and work.

Answer 7

1. Cancel the cards and pay off the amount.
2. Analyze how you got into such a debt mess and modify your spending habits.

Answer 8

Go to American Express and go with clear 0% APR and transfers for 16 months, just dont ever miss a payment, all problems sloved.

Answer 9

most importantly stop getting high balances on your cards especially maxing them out within a month of getting them.