Store cards

[Sidewinder]

schmore cards.

[EpicUserName]

Actually, is that true? Is there any reason I shouldn't try to get them for personal credit? (The more accounts you have, the better, right?)

[bigpoppa09]

Actually, is that true? Is there any reason I shouldn't try to get them for personal credit? (The more accounts you have, the better, right?)

Wrong don't build a weak profile up off store cards u will thank yourself later on down the line. I only have one store card u need a rewards strategy in place. I suggest u do more reading and ask questions only get a store card that benefits u and please no Comenity shopping cart trick cards. U will regret it later.

[Sidewinder]

(The more accounts you have, the better, right?)

 

This is an oversimplification. Every new account you open adversely affects the AAOA component of your score. Most store cards have tiny credit limits that won't do any help for your utilization score and are therefore not worth the AAOA hit.

 

I had far fewer regrets about opening my US Bank Platinum Visa ($15,000 CL) and Chase Sapphire Preferred ($19,900) than I had about my Express or Eddie Bauer cards. :-\

[cj123]

Store cards start small and drag you down I learned the hard way they take a while to grow but if you pick the right ones they will grow with you... mines help with utilization and range from 6k-10k I buy a few things every now and then..but I would not rack up on store cards like they said pick ones you actually do business with...

[cv91915]

 

 

BMI shaming.

My Restoration Hardware card was finally closed for lack of use. I officially no longer have an open store card.

CONGRATS!

It's a milestone I didn't know I was targetting this whole time!

 

 

I still have my feeble Macy's store card. After multiple CLDs for non-use it's at $500 right now.

[TheVig]

I feel like I need to close some more cards. lol

[Sidewinder]

I posted this because I got a myFICO alert that my JCPenney CL has been lowered from $6K to $1K. I don't know if that's due to non-use or because I am having a bit of a heavy utilization problem on some of my other cards. :-\

[Allkindabroke]

I posted this because I got a myFICO alert that my JCPenney CL has been lowered from $6K to $1K. I don't know if that's due to non-use or because I am having a bit of a heavy utilization problem on some of my other cards. :-\

My limit went from $10K-$1k in the last 2 weeks. JCP may be going the same direction as ToysRUs so the CLD's may be less about using the card than the company's exposure on the way out.

[Konrad2012]

 

I posted this because I got a myFICO alert that my JCPenney CL has been lowered from $6K to $1K. I don't know if that's due to non-use or because I am having a bit of a heavy utilization problem on some of my other cards. :-\

 

My limit went from $10K-$1k in the last 2 weeks. JCP may be going the same direction as ToysRUs so the CLD's may be less about using the card than the company's exposure on the way out.

The exposure is on the bank, not JCP or ToysRUs.

[Allkindabroke]

JCPenny Inc. 10-Q filed with the securities and exchange commission:

 

Reductions in income and cash flow from our marketing and servicing arrangement related to our private label and co-branded credit cards could adversely affect our operating results and cash flows.

Synchrony Financial (“Synchrony”) owns and services our private label credit card and co-branded MasterCard® programs. Our agreement with Synchrony provides for certain payments to be made by Synchrony to the Company, including a share of revenues from the performance of the credit card portfolios. The income and cash flow that the Company receives from Synchrony is dependent upon a number of factors including the level of sales on private label and co-branded accounts, the percentage of sales on private label and co-branded accounts relative to the Company’s total sales, the level of balances carried on the accounts, payment rates on the accounts, finance charge rates and other fees on the accounts, the level of credit losses for the accounts, Synchrony’s ability to extend credit to our customers as well as the cost of customer rewards programs. All of these factors can vary based on changes in federal and state credit card, banking and consumer protection laws, which could also materially limit the availability of credit to consumers or increase the cost of credit to our cardholders. The factors affecting the income and cash flow that the Company receives from Synchrony can also vary based on a variety of economic, legal, social and other factors that we cannot control. If the income or cash flow that the Company receives from our consumer credit card program agreement with Synchrony decreases, our operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.

[Konrad2012]

JCPenny Inc. 10-Q filed with the securities and exchange commission:

 

Reductions in income and cash flow from our marketing and servicing arrangement related to our private label and co-branded credit cards could adversely affect our operating results and cash flows.

Synchrony Financial (“Synchrony”) owns and services our private label credit card and co-branded MasterCard® programs. Our agreement with Synchrony provides for certain payments to be made by Synchrony to the Company, including a share of revenues from the performance of the credit card portfolios. The income and cash flow that the Company receives from Synchrony is dependent upon a number of factors including the level of sales on private label and co-branded accounts, the percentage of sales on private label and co-branded accounts relative to the Company’s total sales, the level of balances carried on the accounts, payment rates on the accounts, finance charge rates and other fees on the accounts, the level of credit losses for the accounts, Synchrony’s ability to extend credit to our customers as well as the cost of customer rewards programs. All of these factors can vary based on changes in federal and state credit card, banking and consumer protection laws, which could also materially limit the availability of credit to consumers or increase the cost of credit to our cardholders.The factors affecting the income and cash flow that the Company receives from Synchrony can also vary based on a variety of economic, legal, social and other factors that we cannot control. If the income or cash flow that the Company receives from our consumer credit card program agreement with Synchrony decreases, our operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.

That is standard 10-Q/10-K language for all public companies that must be published under Risk Factors.

[mec]

I think it's a good goal to avoid having any card you might consider it a drudgery to use every six months as part of your ongoing credit profile.

 

That said, some store cards can be more rewarding than some major bank cards.

[wingwalker]

I agree that stacking up store cards for their own sake isn't a productive move for long-term credit growth.

 

That said, I have a WM store right near me, and I started with a $400 card when I started rebuilding in 2014. It's risen more than tenfold and I expect it to keep going once my current file ages. It's been useful to me and I do use its statement credit rewards.

[Allkindabroke]

Hindsight being 20/20, I would have only opened four of my nine store cards:
Best Buy - 6% back on BB purchased/promotional financing/Bump to the BBRZ benefits with the credit

Target - 5% off purchases

Walmart - Credit line /Financing

JCPenny's -Credit line/Double points at Sephora

[Big Bear]

What did you guys do? (and seeing as I had posts deleted, what did I do?)

[Big Bear]

Hindsight being 20/20, I would have only opened four of my nine store cards:

Best Buy - 6% back on BB purchased/promotional financing/Bump to the BBRZ benefits with the credit

Target - 5% off purchases

Walmart - Credit line /Financing

JCPenny's -Credit line/Double points at Sephora

Are the double points at Sephora worth more than say 2% back? Trying to find the cut-off point to justify a store card for DW.

[mec]

 

Hindsight being 20/20, I would have only opened four of my nine store cards:

Best Buy - 6% back on BB purchased/promotional financing/Bump to the BBRZ benefits with the credit

Target - 5% off purchases

Walmart - Credit line /Financing

JCPenny's -Credit line/Double points at Sephora

Are the double points at Sephora worth more than say 2% back? Trying to find the cut-off point to justify a store card for DW.

 

I think it makes sense to convert the rewards into likely dollars back per year based on your projected annual spending at the store times the rewards difference of using a 2% card or some other card you would substitute. If that annual return seems worth maintaining an account for, go for it.

[cv91915]

 

Hindsight being 20/20, I would have only opened four of my nine store cards:

Best Buy - 6% back on BB purchased/promotional financing/Bump to the BBRZ benefits with the credit

Target - 5% off purchases

Walmart - Credit line /Financing

JCPenny's -Credit line/Double points at Sephora

Are the double points at Sephora worth more than say 2% back? Trying to find the cut-off point to justify a store card for DW.

 

 

John Varvatos Artisan Blu is so good I want to do myself when I wear it (and sometimes I even relent), but instead of buying a 2.5-ounce bottle at Sephora for $69 I found a new, unopened bottle in original packaging on eBay for $29.95.

 

I'm not familiar with Sephora's rewards program, but I'm willing to bet I came out ahead going my route.

[Jon77]

Store cards are great for rebuilding and newbies since they are typically easier to get. While they CAN keep you down if you start with bad ones and ONLY have bad ones, they certainly don't do that as a rule. I have about 30% store cards which are made up of the good high limit lenders like Sync ($35k x2), Kay ($10k), Macy's ($17k), etc. Store cards do not hold you back, nor do the big boy lenders or FICO care that you have them. Only that you're using them well.

[blake10]

I dont see any use for Comenity cards at all. They dont even report unless you are using them. They grow much slower than say Sync. I think if you wanna get a store card or 2 even 3. I would go after cards that grow like Sync Amazon. PayPal. Lowes. If you shop there. I would limit to 3 initially. Then focus on major banks once you have some history

[mendelssohn]

Store cards are great for rebuilding and newbies since they are typically easier to get. While they CAN keep you down if you start with bad ones and ONLY have bad ones, they certainly don't do that as a rule. I have about 30% store cards which are made up of the good high limit lenders like Sync ($35k x2), Kay ($10k), Macy's ($17k), etc. Store cards do not hold you back, nor do the big boy lenders or FICO care that you have them. Only that you're using them well.

 

-1

 

Secured cards will do much more for you than store cards. They CAN hold you back. Also, store cards do not count as a "pry bar" account.

[Jon77]

 

Store cards are great for rebuilding and newbies since they are typically easier to get. While they CAN keep you down if you start with bad ones and ONLY have bad ones, they certainly don't do that as a rule. I have about 30% store cards which are made up of the good high limit lenders like Sync ($35k x2), Kay ($10k), Macy's ($17k), etc. Store cards do not hold you back, nor do the big boy lenders or FICO care that you have them. Only that you're using them well.

 

-1

 

Secured cards will do much more for you than store cards. They CAN hold you back. Also, store cards do not count as a "pry bar" account.

 

-1

 

Please tell me where I said store cards "do much more" than secured? Seems as though I agreed with the second statement. Where did I say they were "pry bars" for anything?

 

All I was getting at was that they are easy to get, add to FICO utilization and diversity of accounts. Nothing more.

[mendelssohn]

 

 

Store cards are great for rebuilding and newbies since they are typically easier to get. While they CAN keep you down if you start with bad ones and ONLY have bad ones, they certainly don't do that as a rule. I have about 30% store cards which are made up of the good high limit lenders like Sync ($35k x2), Kay ($10k), Macy's ($17k), etc. Store cards do not hold you back, nor do the big boy lenders or FICO care that you have them. Only that you're using them well.

 

-1

 

Secured cards will do much more for you than store cards. They CAN hold you back. Also, store cards do not count as a "pry bar" account.

 

-1

 

Please tell me where I said store cards "do much more" than secured? Seems as though I agreed with the second statement. Where did I say they were "pry bars" for anything?

 

All I was getting at was that they are easy to get, add to FICO utilization and diversity of accounts. Nothing more.

 

 

You said they were great for rebuilding and newbies which it inaccurate. That is not the way to build a credit profile.

 

Store cards are also not needed for diversity. FICO won't reward you for opening a store card, although they do sometimes generate statements about having too many store accounts.

 

Just because a card is easy to get does not mean you should get it.

[Guest rumaki]

I have 2 store cards because of their value to me. I have a Belk that I use often just because the additional 20% off my purchases over and above any other sales has lead to some incredible savings. I also have a Reeds Jewelers card because I have been a customer for over 30 years and it has some sentimental value to me, it was the first credit account of any kind that I got. I have "normal" cards that I use regularly, the Citi's and Chase's and Amices.