Sadly, I have an Orchard Bank Visa and an Orchard Bank Mastercard. I've had one of them for about 3 years, and the other for about 2 (Instead of giving credit limit increases, they give you another card, presumably in the hope that you will get more confused and miss payments and pay their fees!)... they both have $300 limits. (Haha, sad.)
The good news is, I guess I've been doing something right because I have recently been approved for a CC with a much lower APR and a $5,000.00 limit! (Yay.)
My question is - should I close the 2 OB CCs? They both have annual fees of $39, and they don't really contribute much to my "available credit." The only reason I would want to keep them open is because they contribute to my "history." My payment history has been spotless. How much would it really hurt my score to close these cards??? Should I just keep them open indefinitely and pay the annual fees???
2007-08-04 03:13:48 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Grips - LOL!!! I wonder if that guy in India actually felt he was doing you a favor by increasing your limit by 100 bucks! Good grief.
2007-08-04 03:25:24 · update #1
Those cards aren't going to help your credit score as much as your new card with the $5000 limit. Why should you pay $80 per year for those other cards that you probably aren't going to use anyway? Those cards should stay on your credit history for some time anyway, even if they are no longer active.
2007-08-04 03:23:40 · answer #1 · answered by grapplegrommet2003 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have had an Orchard Bank credit card since March of 06, started out with a $750 limit and am now up to $1100 limit with them. It seems to have improved my credit score. I also have the First Premier credit card that I have had for over 4 years now, started out with a limit of $300, have only been bumped up to $575 with all the monthly fees and annual fees. I even have a bankruptcy on my credit history, about 4 years ago. I think I would ask them to raise your credit limit. If you have been actively using the cards they should raise your limit. I would like to know where you got a card with a $5000 limit, I have not seen that anywhere. The highest limit anyone has given me is $1300 with Washington Mutual Bank. Send me the information if you can. I am really interested in that one.
I read that closing your accounts does hurt your credit history, so I think I would wait for about 6 months to a year before closing them.
2007-08-04 13:51:05 · answer #2 · answered by southerndrawlcountry 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Closing the accounts will cut off your credit history. Definitely close the newest one immediately. If you are really concerned about keeping up your score, you might wait a year to close the older one -- personally, I'd close both of them. No sense paying those annual fees.
If you pay that new card in full and on time every month, you'll quickly rebuild that history. I think your credit score will rebound very quickly after closing those Orchard cards.
2007-08-04 10:29:53 · answer #3 · answered by bdancer222 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
simply, call them and tell them that you're not satisfied with the annual fee, sometimes they can waive the fee. and anyways close the other card they gave you, and keep the oldest one that has been with you for 3 years now and just use about 5 dollars a month only so it shows that u still use it which is a good thing.
Get the credit card with 5000 credit limit and start using it.
Good Luck
2007-08-04 10:47:15 · answer #4 · answered by fine touch of class 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had an Orchard Bank and First Premier (both cards for crappy credit).
I guess it was about 2 1/2 years ago that I was approved for cards with 8.9% interest and very high limits... I closed my Orchard and First Premier accounts.... my credit is very good now.
If you are planning on buying a house within the next 12 months, I would keep them just for the open-account history. Otherwise, close them.
Personally, I am shooting for a credit rating of zero.... it's best to just stay OUT of debt! (www.daveramsey.com)
2007-08-04 10:21:53 · answer #5 · answered by Mike 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I just closed my Orchard Bank credit card. Had one for a year with a $300 limit. I just keep it around for emergencies. Got a bill with my $39 annual fee on it. I called Orchard Bank and talked to some guy in India. Told them I wanted to raise my limit; that I wasn't going to pay $39 a year for a card with a $300 limit. He took my income info, then told me congratulations, he was raising my limit to $400 for an ADDITIONAL $10 fee. I told him to just cancel my card.
2007-08-04 10:20:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The problem with having too many open credit accounts is it reflects negatively on your credit risk* when trying to obtain credit for other loans (ie: home, car). When a lender inquires about your credit, they consider all of your open accounts. If you aren't going to use the cards, don't keep them.
* Risk: your ability to pay
2007-08-04 10:23:23 · answer #7 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was actually getting ready to get their card to fix my credit, but I went with 1st Premier Bank instead and I've been with them for 3 months and it rasied my credit score from a 528 to a 592 I figure in 3yrs I just might have good credit..lol.
2007-08-04 12:00:23 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋