The Back Alley Archives

I only have one card. I've had it for a while (since college) and haven't seen a need to get another one. However, with my student loans, my credit to debt ratio is less than stellar. My credit score is good (I'm pretty cheap and responsible) and I just need to have more credit paid off to increase it, so once my loans are paid my score will be even better. So should I get another card to increase my credit?

I am considering a Delta Amex Gold card. The fee ($95) is waved for the first year. Advice?

I have the Delta Skymiles Platinum Amex that I use as my main credit card. You just have to be careful because a). unless you are using the card a ton, the fee isn't worth the card. Get one with no annual fee. I probably put 20-30k a year on it so the miles I build up are worth it. If it is going to take you 5 years to build up enough miles for a plane ticket when you are paying a $100 fee each year(The platinum card fee is $135 now, I think), it is cheaper just to buy the ticket than spend $500 in annual fees.

and b). Not all places take Amex. There are several gas stations near my house that won't take them. I guess Amex charges them a higher % to accept their cards.

With that said, Amex has several benefits. The double air miles partnership with Delta(which is who I fly). The pre-sale tickets and special ticket prices that you can get through Amex. I will give you an example. Last month when I was in Vegas, the person I brought wanted to see Cirque du Soleil "Ka". It was sold out. I called Amex and got 6th row seats for $85 each to a sold out that the seats would have been $150/seat.

There are pros and cons for Amex compared to other cards. I would just make sure the fee justified what you need.

Wow...Eric could be on one of those AMEX Rewards commercials!

I'm not one to recommend credit cards...we have a great credit rating but a BAD income to debt ratio...many years of financial issues. But we are able to make payments and have not had creditors after us or anything.

My question that can be included in this thread...with all the "credit crisis" and "mortgage crisis" stuff going on, why am I still getting a ton of direct mail pieces giving me all these "pre-approved loan" offers? And we get them for both the business and personal. Weird.

Ad. If you want to increase your credit, you could buy something (if you need or want it that is) like furniture (Rooms to go) or a TV on zero interest for 6-12 months and pay it off before the end of the time.

given my current income, I'll hold off on any big purchases. I just thought it might be good to have more than one card, most people I know do, but I've seen no need to this point.