Comments on: Should You Get a Department Store Card?

By: My Life ROI

My Life ROI — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:45:49 +0000

For credit building purposes… I have always advised personal secured lines of credit.

Simply put money in an account. Your cards credit line reflects this balance.

Safe, and effective.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:12:13 +0000

I think overall it’s bad for the average person to hold onto only because the average person will use it a lot and rack up some debt.

That being said, I think they are AWESOME to use for those who just want to grab those 20% discounts and all (like me)! As long as you pay them off in time and all, then I see no problem taking advantage of them and making them work for YOU instead of the other way around.

Usually i’ll cancel it after i’m done w/ the discounts, but probably not the best to do w/ the credit scores and all. But i figure i have plenty of cards open w/ mad credit, and i personally don’t like having random cards out there that i know for a fact i won’t be using.

By: Tim Hawkins

Tim Hawkins — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:32:32 +0000

You noted that your credit score would be “hard hit” by applying for a store credit card, but this article indicates that the credit score would only be affected by between 6 and 11 points: http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/hard-credit-checks-cost-6-points-of-your-credit-score.html — a numeric range or a sample list based on actual experience would benefit the readers better than a “maximum” number.

By: Manshu

Manshu — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:48:52 +0000

If the idea is just to get started – then Credit Unions are a great way to get a credit card too. Plus there is an added benefit that you will not be tempted with shopping offers in your mailbox :)

By: eddie

eddie — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:25:02 +0000

actually, having an open department store card raises your credit score by 10-20 pts. if it’s a hard pull, you take the initial hit on the inquiry, but that’s temporary.

By: 444

444 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:57:19 +0000

I like store cards because they give me huge credit limits which help my credit utilization percentage greatly. And I am not the least bit tempted to use them.

I know I should use them, to keep them active, so I buy something very inexpensive every six months or a year. Did you know that if you really look, you can find a $10 t-shirt on the Neiman Marcus site? Even with Saks, there are little knickknacks and doodads to be found for under $20. It turns out I got some Valentine’s Day candy from them (don’t ask about the cost – it was not $20.) Bloomingdales offers kitchenware at reasonable prices, and you only need to buy, for example, one cookie sheet and your card is active. I did that (actually it was a set, and my stuff badly needed replacing, it was literally flaking to pieces, and $39 was reasonable for the five items I got in the set) and they bumped my credit limit from $1000 to $2500.

$2500 here, $2500 there, and $1600 there really helps my utilization calculation a lot. I also got a jewelry store card and they bumped me from $2000 to $3000 and I have bought very little (not really into jewelry, so again, no temptation.)