Storecards... keep or cut up?

frivolous_fay

Just doing a little plastic housecleaning. I have several credit cards which I'm considering cutting down on, and also some store cards which I rarely use.

I have:

- egg card for stoozing purposes.
- Mint card, intended for stoozing, but arrived too late for me to take advantage of
- Morgan Stanley card with about £1500 on it which I hope to transfer when 0% expires... or pay off.
- &MORE card with a meaty stooze balance on it

Also:

4 store cards, one of which is also a normal credit card. I use that one regularly, and the others get used about once a year.

Are the store cards impacting on my credit history, considering I pay them off at once and hardly use them? The limit on most of them probably doesn't even hit £500, I've had them that long.

Can anyone see any prime 'dead wood'? I'm thinking of the Mint card... and if the storecards are significant I wouldn't be sorry to lose them.

Thanks in advance...

mad

I think I have read on here a couple of times that having a cull of your cards every so often does / could improve credit rating, although I don't think having a lot of cards is as bad for your credit rating as having a large number of searches in a short space of time. The storecards seem the most likely for the chop to me, unless they have particular advantages attached. Surely it would be best to use your best moneyback credit card to make any purchases?

Remember to cancel with the companies and not just cut up. I am sure you would do that but just in case

jonesMUFCforever

If you get a big discount (say 10%) for using a card at a certain store or you know they have special offers now and again for cardholders (Debenhams have these don't they- where you get to get in the previous evening to their sales?) it might be worth keeping one of them as long as they are paid off straight away.

buses7675

Hi All,

As far as I know (and I may be wrong, if someone can correct me, please do!), certain store cards, such as Next allow you to pay off the balance on them by Credit Card. Therefore, if you use a store card and pay the balance off in full every month (or longer, if you still get 0% APR), with a moneyback credit card, thus getting another few weeks at 0% APR, and your moneyback from your CC.

Some online accounts like LX Direct Flexible Account look like they could work as above as well, although I do not have one myself so can't be sure.

Only thing with the above suggestion, it is very important to make sure you never end up paying interest on your store card, else that would cancel out any 0% APR/CC Moneyback, as the interest rates on these cards/accounts is generally in the region of 30% APR.

Cheers

Steve

frivolous_fay

Yup, it seems Topshop, River Island and um, Dorothy Perkins are ripe for culling.

I remembered I also have a Barclaycard which I'm using for the odd purchase. I think I'll lose that and Mint, along with the storecards.

Unless someone can think of a savvy reason for haning on to Mint, bearing in mind I have an old egg card?

$17mma

Hello frivolous fay

The only store cards I sve kept are the ones that would be of most use to me in emergencies etc.

Such as:

Ikea, for furniture
Next, for the kids clothes, some furniture if necessary and clothes for me for work too.
Debenhams, for electricals cause I can also collect my nectar points with them.

And if the available spend limits get too high I just call them up and ask them to lower it. Like with my Next account was £4k available to spend at one point :eek: no way I am ever going to need that much on clothes.

Linda32

mad wrote:

Surely it would be best to use your best moneyback credit card to make any purchases?

Thats the reason I'm going to cancel my Debenhams store card, which I very rarley use anyway, and when I have I've always paid off the balance each month.

I've just applied for an Egg Money card so I shall use that now.

Only other reason is has its been said, (which I didn't know you could do) is buy on the store card then pay off with your cashback credit card, excellent. Assuming you pay the balance that is.

Bokken_2

frivolous_fay wrote:

Yup, it seems Topshop, River Island and um, Dorothy Perkins are ripe for culling.

I remembered I also have a Barclaycard which I'm using for the odd purchase. I think I'll lose that and Mint, along with the storecards.

Unless someone can think of a savvy reason for haning on to Mint, bearing in mind I have an old egg card?

You mentioned stoozing,if you are stoozing you should keep the MINT card in you plastic arsenal as it allows you to SBT your credit card balance into your bank account thereby negating nearly all of your store cards.
How often do you use the Egg card and do you use it to SBT and stooze with?If not why have it?It will be a choice between Egg and Mint,Mint is easier to run and to SBT you just write yourself a credit card cheque.
You could keep Barclaycard in reserve as they have some good supporting services and purchase and travel protection.
Any of the credit cards with 0% on them you should keep and revaluate them at the end of the 0% period.
Any of the store cards with a balance that is causing you to incur interest /charges then consider moving that balance or pay it off so you don't have any charges.

buses7675

Hi All,

Linda32 wrote:

Only other reason is has its been said, (which I didn't know you could do) is buy on the store card then pay off with your cashback credit card, excellent. Assuming you pay the balance that is.

Only certain cards let you pay off with a Credit Card, Next is one that does allow this I think, as is LX Direct Flexbile Account.

The Debenhams Card is run by GE Capital IIRC, and thus I think can't be paid off with a credit card, it must be cheque, Direct Debit or debit card.

Just checked, from https://www.debenhams.com

How do I pay my account?
In any one of five ways:
1. By Direct Debit.
2. Send a cheque attached to the giro slip, to the address quoted on the bottom of your statement.
3. By cash or cheque at any bank using the giro slip on the bottom of your statement. There should be no handling fee at your own bank or at any branch of Lloyds/TSB bank.
4. In person at any Debenhams store in the UK using a debit card.
5. Online - here at the Debenhams card section of https://www.debenhams.com.

Although it doesn't say explicitly what you can use to pay online with, as store payments are made by debit card, I'd have a good guess that online ones are the same!

Cheers

Steve

frivolous_fay

Can anyone clarify the Mint terminology? IE... what do they call it when we ask them to credit our bank account with the credit on the card?

I see some reference to 'transfer and save' on the T&C... is this it? If so, then apparently I'm going to get charged 1.167% for doing that from September this year. That's why I'm confused about whether it's worth hanging onto. If I'm going to get charged for stoozing then I won't bother with Mint.

Re: egg card -

- I've had it a few years and found it quite handy to maintain. Not so familiar with the Mint.
- I get token cash back
- I have a 0% anniversary (which I would have used to get a stooze via the Mint card, if they hadn't been so cussed slow about opening my account)

YorkshireBoy

@frivolous_fay

You have to use Mint cheques to get money off the card and into your current account/stooz pot - you can't SBT directly with it like you can with the Egg Card & Virgin for example.

Earlier today I tried to post 8 or 9 reasons for keeping Egg rather than Mint (after bokken's post advising otherwise) but for some reason I couldn't manage to get my post to submit. Anyway, here's the summary of what I'd intended to say earlier...

Keep Egg, and lose Mint (after you've exploited it for it's introductory offer).