Usefulness of Jewelry store cards for building credit

[ctfudge&bankofC-ville]

Hi - I see a lot about jewelry store cards, "the trifecta" which I gather means three big jewelry stores that are owned by the same company, or something similar (correct me if I'm wrong.) I see that people are getting credit relatively easily from them with pretty big limits.

My question is: Since I don't really care at all about jewelry (I guess I could buy something inexpensive and pay it off just to show that I can use the card, but I'd never buy anything expensive) would it be worthwhile to open one or more of these accounts JUST to improve my utilization or otherwise make my credit appear better? Right now I have (hmm... I guess I should develop a signature line like most of you have - I'll go work on that) a small collection of major cards, but I seem to get credit only when a preapproved offer is sent, and strike out almost every time when I apply on my own. I feel fairly confident I could get a jewelry account based on what I've read here.

Are there any negatives? For example, are store cards seen as not very positive or do they report only the high balance, not the limit - any other drawbacks? Thanks for any insight.

[ctfudge&bankofC-ville]

let's see if my sig works.

OK, I am going to read those two long threads. I don't want people to answer, unless you feel like it, because the answers may be in there.

The hub, who used to work in collections, says one reason those jewelry stores are so liberal is that they have vicious collections departments. They are all over people for one day late. Then again, I know that no one here is planning to go delinquent, and I guess it goes without saying anyway - EZ credit, aggressive collections.

[ctfudge&bankofC-ville]

Awesome.... awesome.....

The hub just applied for Kay Jeweler's credit - he got the "we will send you an e-mail in one hour." I told him, "BAD NEWS" (going from what I read in the other thread.

We had just said, "Oh well." Then within about one minute the phone rang. He seems to have an identity freeze on his credit report and a Kay's person called to ask him a few easy questions about his Macy's account and what his car payment is. She's sending an e-mail back immediately...

It went from "Oh well" to "AWESOME" in just a minute... but still not sure... could they do all that and still turn him down????

[daveyzzz]

They only took about 3 minutes after the phone call to send me the email. And the email said " Thank you for your interest in Kay Credit. The status of your application has been updated. Please go to the Already Applied page for more information.

Please do not respond to this email."

Gee - that doesn't sound good does it ?

[daveyzzz]

This is what I found when I logged back into www.kay.com !

Congratulations! Your application for credit with Kay Jewelers has been approved and is available for immediate use. Your account number and credit line are listed below.

Account Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Credit Line: $3000*

You will receive a written confirmation of this information with your Kay Jewelers card in the mail within 7-10 business days.

* Your open to buy with us may be reduced by the amount of credit purchases you make at other retail jewelers that are affiliated with us. To request the names of the other retail jewelers that are affiliated with us, please call our Credit Customer Service department at ......

[whocares]

Credit is credit, wheather you use it or not is your issue...looks good to have an open tradeline with 3000 in available credit...

I have 2 cards from Jared/kays showing each has a CL of 5100.00...I have no intentions of using either account...but credit is something you build, one account at a time..

By having a 3000.00 CL with Kays, you will be more likely to get more accounts with better TL...

[Amerikaner83]

Great job guys!!!

Now to to jared and get the same TL (but they will give you the 7-10 day message, they process theirs by hand). Boom - another 3 grand

[daveyzzz]

Thank you, David Xxxxx, for your interest in the Jared Preferred Credit Card. You will be hearing from us within seven business days.

[Amerikaner83]

Don't worry. You get one - you get the others. Same bank. Now before those inquiries turn into accounts (that report), go and read the thread titled "removed all EQ inquiries in 24 hours"...and get rid of those INQs!

[daveyzzz]

Thank you, David Xxxxx, for your interest in the JB Robinson Preferred Credit Card. You will be hearing from us within seven business days.

:roll::roll:

[Amerikaner83]

9K like that! Like I said - dispute those INQs!

I assume they pulled EQ.

[ctfudge&bankofC-ville]

You guys are great.

We already got wise to the "removed inquiries within 24 hours" thread last May, so we've been regularly cleaning up the inquiries.

Dave's been on a credit orgy this weekend - those jewelry accounts (I should not have told him about it - he actually likes the fancy watches and was already looking at them ) and Best Buy MC and Hooters and Dell all thanks to you guys. His FICO is hovering around 600 (mine is a bit higher, which is completely unfair - he's the a$$-busting breadwinner but we have some fed and state tax liens paid and unpaid in the process of being marked paid, all on his credit, mainly not on mine.)

He asked Macy's to upgrade his red card to a VISA, because I read about Macy's VISA here. He's had that card since 1987 so they'd be real ____s to refuse upgrading him. I mean, Target did the same after two years, so...

[Amerikaner83]

Just remember...with all this credit comes a HUGE responsibility. Just giving y'all a reality check here - don't want to see y'al back here in a year, you know (unless it's to help others)...

[Nazarite27]

I just applied for a cc from Kay's and this is the response I received:

Thank you for applying for a Kay Jewelers Credit Account. We were unable to fully process your request for instant credit at this time. We will notify you via US mail of our decision regarding your request for a Kay Jewelers account within 20 business days.

Bummer!!

[daveyzzz]

You mean we get all this credit and they actually expect us to PAY our bills too? Sheesh.

[ctfudge&bankofC-ville]

SOrry, Nazarite. That stinks.

Have you tried Crown (I've heard about it here - not sure if it's useful) or Friedman's? I got all excited over Friedman's because I saw their bank is WFNNB which also is for Express and The Limited. I got cards from them back in the early 90s and they are so easy. I remember it was "instant credit" in the store - do they still have that, where you show your ID and a major credit card and you've got a temp. card right then and there? (unfortunately sometimes they would yank it away a week later after reviewing credit report.)

Anyway, the hub (rock star guy up there) and I both applied for Friedman's online and both got the "you'll hear from us" screen. THe appl. was very basic, just name, address, SS# and a major card. No employment, no references.

I pulled a CR later last night and saw that they did, indeed, pull my report. I don't know why they ask for a major CC when they'll see that on the report. Just trying to weed out people who don't have one, I guess.

[merkurfan]

I know my HSBC card with a 2000 limit is a direct result of the 3 Kay lines on my report reporting 1500 limit, 0 bal. Before those hit no one would give me a CL over 300 bucks. Crown got me going with a 1500 that Kay copied..

The reason jewelry stores give credit rather easily is not only collections, but mark up. When there is a 2-400% markup in the item it's much easier to take a hit once in a while on a bad account. I bet they sell the recent CO off to a JDB for about what they really had in the item bought.

why after the above target gave me a piddly 200 CL is beyond me. however it seems that is about all you can get out of target unless your a 775+ Fico type of person.

[ctfudge&bankofC-ville]

You're right, Merkfuran, it's markup, I'm sure. I don't know the mystery of Target's low limit, but I guess they're afraid people will buy a bunch of cheetoes and candy bars and stick them with the bill.

I said I was going to wait, but I got this via e-mail: (by the way, I got it ONLY after registering online with Kay's):

CONGRATULATIONS!

Your Preferred Customer Card* Is On Its Way

Thank you for choosing Jared, The Galleria of Jewelry to meet your fine jewelry needs....

No mention of CL but I assume it's the same. I decided not to wait and went ahead with JB Robinson. Form was exactly the same. Got the same "you'll hear in 7-10 days. Thanks, everyone, for the excellent tips! I don't like jewelry so I feel this is a "safe" account, one that'll help utilization. I think I will buy something small at some point and pay it off. I don't think any accounts should NEVER be used because they do sometimes inactivate them after years of no activity.

[merkurfan]

yup, your CL is the same on all kay/jerard/jr cards.. they all share the same limit. SO if you have 3 5000 dollar limit cards you can carry a total of 5000K in debt shared between the 3.

[virginiabound]

Anyway, the hub (rock star guy up there) and I both applied for Friedman's online and both got the "you'll hear from us" screen. THe appl. was very basic, just name, address, SS# and a major card. No employment, no references.

I pulled a CR later last night and saw that they did, indeed, pull my report. I don't know why they ask for a major CC when they'll see that on the report. Just trying to weed out people who don't have one, I guess.

I still think that they manually review all online applications at Friedman's because of the lack of info asked when applying.

DH just got off the phone with them, and while the New Credit dept couldn't approve him, he's been pushed higher up (most likely because of his FA) and will receive a letter with a contact number to call...probably to verify his identity...and hopefully an approval!

Anyway, here's the number for WFNNB's new credit:

614-729-7572

Make sure you mention it's for Friedman's Jewelers!

Oh and for info's sake, they pulled Experian for the Preferred Account (through WFNNB)

They pulled TransUnion for Friedman's Advantage Account (through CIT BK) and DH was instantly approved for in the store for $3400. (this was after we couldn't get ahold of anyone at WFNNB and didn't realize that it was two different underwriters)

[lovebug5]

I've been so incredibly tempted to jump in on the trifecta action, but I'm nervous about extending myself too much credit...Not because I'm going to blow money and not pay the bills, but because I've got that paranoia that too many open lines of credit can be a bad thing. Right?

I used to have a Kay account back in 1997. The account was PIF with a perfect history and is actually still reporting as "Open" on my CR's. However, when I called them a little while back to see if they would reopen the card, they refused due to it's age. Unfortunately, when I applied online, I was denied...However, that was a little while back before my scores took a little jump upwards and my positive TL's began reporting.

So who knows...But I don't really need jewelery anyways.

[Amerikaner83]

Lovebug - I totally understand!

If you're worried about actually having the credit but not wanting to use it....you can always cut the card up. You can buy yourself a necklace once a year or whatever online (write down your card # before chop chop chop time )...to keep a good report. It will work WONDERS for your util %.

[lovebug5]

Lovebug - I totally understand!

If you're worried about actually having the credit but not wanting to use it....you can always cut the card up. You can buy yourself a necklace once a year or whatever online (write down your card # before chop chop chop time )...to keep a good report. It will work WONDERS for your util %.

Interesting...So having multiple open TL's and a large amount of unused credit won't necessarily kill my scores? Out of the cards that I have, all of them are sock drawered but one. Those that are sock drawered have minimal monthly recurring charges on them OR have only been used once and are PIF thanks to large purchases. But these jewelery cards...Hmph.

[Amerikaner83]

Interesting...So having multiple open TL's and a large amount of unused credit won't necessarily kill my scores? Out of the cards that I have, all of them are sock drawered but one. Those that are sock drawered have minimal monthly recurring charges on them OR have only been used once and are PIF thanks to large purchases. But these jewelery cards...Hmph.

In and of itself, having a high available credit will NOT kill your scores. However - having a high credit line, WITH HIGH BALANCES WILL. Hence the scissor treatment.

I know you Uzbeks like your bling bling, but *personally, IMHO*, I think that if you can be a good girl and limit yourself, the Sterling Trifecta can be good.

I have 8.5K with Jared (due to a cosigner with scores in the nosebleed seats) for my DF's ring (with a high balance - got the card and ring same time - so it showed up as high util %...but getting better with every monthly payment). ONce my scores get up there, I'm going to finish the Trifecta (doubt I'll have 8.5K across the board, but still). I'm going to cut the cards up so I won't be tempted at all...the Jred TL is all I really need...but it's nice to have the Kay one if I find something at Kay I like better.

Ya know what I mean?

[lovebug5]

In and of itself, having a high available credit will NOT kill your scores. However - having a high credit line, WITH HIGH BALANCES WILL. Hence the scissor treatment.

I know you Uzbeks like your bling bling, but *personally, IMHO*, I think that if you can be a good girl and limit yourself, the Sterling Trifecta can be good.

I have 8.5K with Jared (due to a cosigner with scores in the nosebleed seats) for my DF's ring (with a high balance - got the card and ring same time - so it showed up as high util %...but getting better with every monthly payment). ONce my scores get up there, I'm going to finish the Trifecta (doubt I'll have 8.5K across the board, but still). I'm going to cut the cards up so I won't be tempted at all...the Jred TL is all I really need...but it's nice to have the Kay one if I find something at Kay I like better.

Ya know what I mean?

D@mnit, Amerikaner! Now you've got me seriously considering applying right at this very moment. I need to go through my CR and see what reports they pulled..Because if it was EX, I'm just going to get denied again (My EX score hasn't moved one point!)...The good thing for me is that, although I like shiny things (diamonds in particular), I don't need any jewels. So having these cards would be solely for the purpose of showing the open lines of credit and not actually using them. *thinking* I wonder how long the cards will remain open on your CR if not used?