closed my hsbc mastercard last week, and closed my hooters card today, after 11 months with them and a $300 limit. I have been closing my re-builder cards and moving on. this leaves me with

You are at a good hold position now! Mature the good cards and grow them.

closed my hsbc mastercard last week, and closed my hooters card today, after 11 months with them and a $300 limit. I have been closing my re-builder cards and moving on. this leaves me with:

jcb
first interstate
wells fargo
wfnnb
ge money/wal mart

i decided that these are the ones that will continue to grow with me beyond sub-prime.

i have learned that opening too many re-builder cards is not a good idea. it just means more to close later when you out-grow them.

Is the AMEX Zync charge card considered a prime card?


Eh, I still have never really understood subprime vs. prime. I've done research...

AMEX charge cards are a little tricky. Because they have to be paid in full each month AMEX takes a very small risk and therefore, it can actually be easier to get an AMEX charge card than an AMEX credit card. For example, when I was 20 I was approved for the AMEX Gold Card but I couldn't get a Discover to save my life (finally after 3 denials I was approved for Discover on the 4th try). And, even with the "no pre-set spending limit" there is a maximum amount that AMEX will let you charge. When you get your Zync you can register for online access. On the online access there is a link to check your spending ability. You enter the amount you think you may purchase and AMEX will tell you if you can buy that much or not.

Keep in mind that Zync is primarily targeted for the 18-24 crowd (I don't know what they call you all now, GEN Y or something). So, generally that group doesn't usually have Prime cards.

For me, in layman's terms it depends on the bank. Chase, Citibank, BofA, AMEX, Discover are generally what most consider prime. First Premier, Applied Bank et al are sub prime. But within each bank there are differences. There are people like me with a 12 year old Capital One card $10K limit and 10.9% fixed APR. To me that is prime even though Capital One is largely a subprime bank. And likewise there are people with a Chase Visa with a $500 limit and 19% APR.
The number of sub prime banks have gone down as the feds have cracked down on banks. If you go back through here and read card reviews for the Rewards 660 card, or Total Visa or First Bank of Delaware etc those were great examples of sub prime. First Premier and Applied are about the only ones (that charged outrageous fees) that I can think of that survived.
Like Wanderer said, it is all about your own credit record. The higher your FICO is and the older your credit is, the more "prime" cards you will have. Such as with my Capital One or with Wanderer's HSBC cards-prime cards from subprime banks.

Short answer (if there is one) relates to credit status (FICO Scores). Sub-prime issuers usually will take the new credit, re-building credit and bad credit and even some fair credit. Then we have all the other issuers who may start at the fair credit, good credit, above average credit and excellent credit. Now all that said... the big boys subdivide all that so some of their secured cards or plain vanilla flavored cards are available to the lower level of fair+ credit and the fancy World Master Cards and Signature Visa Cards are for the excellent (exceptions to this guide) and then if you look at most American Express Cards requirements relate to excellent credit (exceptions to this). Don't get confused... card issuers adjust the already moving target for the outside air temperture, stock market, CEO is having a bad hair day and it goes on. Specfically look at Citi they have a secured card then a Citi Platinum Select Master card then on to their Dividend card to the their AX products and diamond products plus World or Signature. If you monitor their FICO Score requirements they change frequently...! So the only real guide is categories of credit. Now for the kicker... it is believed with the recent ruling om Visa and Mastercard merchants may give breaks for cash, debit card purchases and use of their store cards which may cause rewards cards to fall out of favor (food for thought).

you will probably get different answers from different people here. rates, terms and credit limits usuallymake something prime vs sub-prime.....?? higher limits and lower interest/fees=prime?? i think all american express cards are prime. i dont think they issue any sub-prime cards. my first interstate and jcb cards that i have opened in the last couple months are prime i think because of the terms and everything with them.

Is the AMEX Zync charge card considered a prime card?


Eh, I still have never really understood subprime vs. prime. I've done research...

ColoNative has reported on this and Citi uses teasers to get you in the door and then they adjust up the rates... you call them they lower the rate and later the rates creep up... Maybe Chase would review and lower your apr (it used to be rates reflected credit worthiness but in today's world...?)

Amen Wanderer! I have between a 780 and 790 FICO score, 3% utilization, one inquiry and 12 almost 13 years worth of spotless credit. And to reward me for my tenth anniversary on my Citibank Dividend card, Citibank jacked the rate up to 18.99% (and lowered my credit line to $8,100 from $10,800!!!). And I honestly believe they lowered the limit because I started grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Sure, its a reward card, but 18.99% is outrageous. I have three Citibank cards (cant close them because they are old-12, 11 and 10 years old, respectuflly) and I have had my Citibank Visa and the Citibank Dividend MasterCard APR's lowered below 10% just by calling them. But they always creep back up and not just because Prime Rate went up. Citibank historically sent out the most change in terms of any other credit card company I have ever done business with. I am not trying to deter you from them-they are overall a good bank-but don't be fooled by intro rates; they will likely go up even with CARD Act enforced-it just means they have to give you 60 days notice instead of little to no notice.
I cannot say it enough, credit unions credit unions! You should always have a reward card on hand for things you buy everyday that you pay off in full. A solid, no frills credit union card can offer you a fantastic rate just in case you need to revolve a balance.

As far as calling Chase (or any other bank for that matter) to lower the APR, good luck. They are all hiding behind the CARD Act as an excuse not to touch the accounts. Part of CARD Act coming soon is rate evaluation. So if, like my Citibank card, had a huge rate increase recently, the banks have to re-evaluate their decision to increase the rate, and if they cannot justify it, they have to lower it. But that only works if you had the rate increased and even then, I am sure they will find any excuse they can as the reason to raise it in the first place.

looked at friends transunion report today, and it is sort of a thin file. there was a dillards card open and current for about 2 years and closed for inactivity in 2008. a capital one card, open almost 4 years and closed in 2008, and a discover financial services account....??? closed in 2005. only one inquary is from getting the wal-mart discover a couple days ago.

then there is the big negative..... late payments and the forclosure from chase home finance. nothing else negative besides the forclosure, which shows last activity of june 2009.

after getting the $1,200 wal mart discover, i do think capital one would be a good choice for the second account.

do some banks deny automatically because of a forclosure in credit report like some do with bankruptcies??

TO ColoNative & Wanderer

ColoNative has reported on this and Citi uses teasers to get you in the door and then they adjust up the rates... you call them they lower the rate and later the rates creep up... Maybe Chase would review and lower your apr (it used to be rates reflected credit worthiness but in today's world...?)

TO ColoNative & Wanderer:

Thank you for your advices. You guys are right. I don't need another "plastic" in my wallet. I just use my cards for groceries and gas, occasionally using it to buy stuff online, that's it.

The reason I was planning to get the citibank card is because I'm thinking of closing the Walmart and JC Penney cards, but I guess I'll just let them age.

Citibank has been sending me "pre-approved" offers in the mail for 3 days straight now. Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card, Citi Platinum Select and Citi Diamond Preferred Card. Off to the shredder they go. Maybe when I get a bit older, I'll get them in the future, like you said "Citibank is not going anywhere".

I'm pretty much happy with my Chase card, but what concerns me is the high APR I have with them. I think it's around 23% on purchases. Does a high APR mean I'm not credit worthy? Citibank is offering me 14.99% APR on purchases, the same with my BoA card. Even my Capital One CC has a high APR.

A friend i work with who according to her her credit is "terrible". she wants to start with 2 accounts and start re-building. due to a divorce, she has a forclosure on her credit from chase home finance. hasnt pulled credit reports yet, but i was telling her how i have been re-building myself for 2 years now, and suggested that she go in to wal mart and try applying. she went in and was approved not for the wal-mart credit card, but the wal-mart discover for $1200 credit limit. she was very suprised and very happy. she has no other open accounts. does anyone have a suggestion on what would be a good second card to open in this situation?

A $1,200 Walmart Discover?? Her credit couldn't possibly be as bad as she thinks...unless it was an error? I would go with the tried and true Capital One.

A friend i work with who according to her her credit is "terrible". she wants to start with 2 accounts and start re-building. due to a divorce, she has a forclosure on her credit from chase home finance. hasnt pulled credit reports yet, but i was telling her how i have been re-building myself for 2 years now, and suggested that she go in to wal mart and try applying. she went in and was approved not for the wal-mart credit card, but the wal-mart discover for $1200 credit limit. she was very suprised and very happy. she has no other open accounts. does anyone have a suggestion on what would be a good second card to open in this situation?

Hey guys, thanks for the advice on closing the couple cards to weed them out. i closed the hsbc, i told them the annual fee was too much, since i have other cards with no annual fee, and they didnt even offer to lower or remove the fee. so they closed it. i will probably close hooters when i get the $150 i owe on it paid-off. right now, i have a $54 balance on capital one, and the $150 on hooters and all my cards will be paid off. i will be glad because i have been working on paying everything off for a while now, and will be trying to pay in full every month again. i really want to focus on my JCB, Wells Fargo, and First interstate bank cards, because i think they are the three that really have potential to grow by leaps and bounds.

Yes, HSBC's shareholders have been prety upset about the performance in the US for a while now. I don't know what they expected when they aquired Household-with the exception of some Union Planters and GM card accounts, Household was pretty much on the low end of the totem pole. HSBC has not done a good job at trying to reach the prime customers. They may be big in other parts of the world but here not so much. I make no effort to hide my disdain for HSBC (even though I have never had any dealings with them hehehe). HSBC is named Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation but it was chartered by a Scotsman-so I think it should stay in the UK. But with China becoming so huge in the world economy, it could make sense. But moving headquarters won't change the situation in the US. It is their own fault; they focus too much on the sub prime borrower. And when they give that sub prime borrower only a $300 limit, that borrower cannot really provide much income to the bank. And when that subprime borrower becomes prime, HSBC does little to grow the account with the borrowers new status.

You really said this well...!

So from another post, this is your current credit situation

To follow on this, in order to keep all of your cards current and active is a challenge (utilization). Sock drawing in today's world is not an option and can lead to credit challenges. So... only acquire the cards you really need and use them.