A deal at Home Depot

"Richard Riley" wrote in message
...
... they said
yes. So I opened an account (24% interest rate!) bought the
compressor on account, then paid off the account with a check then and
there. $400 off.

An amazing deal with the one caveat that you should do it with one eye on
your credit score. My understanding is that open lines of credit can count
against you even if they are not used. Once open, closing one of these accounts
can be difficult. If you need credit in the future, a few points one way or the
other on your credit score can impact the rate you pay and add up to a
significant amount of money.

An amazing deal with the one caveat that you should do it with one
eye on
your credit score. My understanding is that open lines of credit can
count
against you even if they are not used. Once open, closing one of these
accounts
can be difficult. If you need credit in the future, a few points one way
or the
other on your credit score can impact the rate you pay and add up to a
significant amount of money.


That's old and obsolete info. For the past several years, open lines of
credit which are frequently paid in full count in your favor, while lines
which have continously high balances count against you. If effect, low
utilization with high availability generally counts in your favor. However,
it is all based on recent experience with defaults and is adjusted each time
they crunch the numbers at Fair-Isaacs. IIRC, that is adjusted every two
years and fully revised every four years.

Peter