Will carrying store cards like home depot cards, improve credit?

Question

I just got approved for a :::Drum roll:::: very fancy, high scale...... HOME depot caaaaaaaaard. yayyyyyyyy. :eye roll:

Anyways, I have a whole bunch of credit cards, and this card came in the mail with like an 8G balance. Will having this card help my credit score at alll?

I thought that the MORE credit you have, and the higher the TOTAL allowed amount you have, the higher your score will be?


Someone tell me the right answer, and no assumption bs, b/c I have one side of people telling me one thing, and another side telling me another thing.

Answer 1

As was said before, close the ones you'll never use.

My dad has almost perfect creed it, never carries a balance etc. but when asked why it wasn't perfect the response was that he didn't have any "store" credit cards (Macy's, Dillard's,.....Home Depot etc.) So, yes having a HD card WILL help your credit score

Answer 2

I would never recommend you to use a Store Card for improving your credit. If you are a frequent shopper at a certain store, you may be tempted to apply for a store credit card. After all, you may be offered a discount on your purchase when you open the account, followed by discount cards, birthday rewards and shopping points with every subsequent purchase made at the store. While these incentives are certainly attractive, they do come at a price that can end up damaging your credit score. A store card can normally ruin your credit score. Following are some of its features: Very High Interest Rates Lower Credit Limits Potential Extra Costs Store cards can be tempting, but they can also lower your credit score and cost you a lot of money in interest.

Answer 3

Daniel's close, but no cigar. 35% of your credit score is based on making on-time payments.
30% of your score is based on how much you owe. Opening a bunch of credit cards that you might or might not use is asking for trouble on many fronts.
First, you look like a huge risk to other potential lenders. Even if you have a $0 balance on all cards, a lender will add up all of your credit limits and see that you could *possibly* max out all your credit cards and be in X amount of debt. You look desperate for credit and that's never a good thing.
Next, since your score is based on how much you've borrowed, you might think that the more you have available and the less you borrow the better off you'll be. Not so much...open tradelines (accounts) don't do your score any good if they just sit there. You have to use your credit and use it responsibly. That's a fairly hard task if you have a "bunch" of credit cards.
And finally, each time you apply for a card, you pull down your score. Those inquiries stay on your report for two years, so if a lender looks at your report and sees that you'd applied for a lot of credit w/in a certain period of time, they'll be curious and you'd need a good reason why you did that. If you don't have one...again - you look risky.

I don't know exactly how many cards you have, but I'd suggest that you don't open any more new ones. As a matter of fact, close the ones that you KNOW you will never or rarely use if they are less than two years old.

I hope that helps!

Answer 4

30% of your credit score is making on time payments.

they also look at the proportion of used versus available credit, so keep the balance low- in fact, dont keep a balance, and your credit will skyrocket.

cant tell you much more, as i dont know what else you got going on your credit, but thats a good start, just dont max it!!!