GG, assuming you're going to not miss payments, I believe it's only relevant to your credit if you are going to go make a major purchase, such as buying a house. Then they add up all the lines of credit you have, and extrapolate "if you were to rack up all your cards to the max, what would your total monthly minimum payment be" and they add that in to consideration.
This is why when I bought my house in 2003 I got myself down to only one credit card.
Since then, that number has multiplied and I've lost count of how many I have, but I always pay the balances in full.
On the plus side, store cards can be great because you get advance notice of sales, special exclusive sales, rewards cards, free shipping, etc. I don't know about Jcrew because I don't have a card, but Macy's, Bloomie's and BR have great benefits. I have done away with my bloomie's card (read on!) but when I had it they swamped me with special offers and coupons and private sales and such.
Maya - is your BR card a Luxe? You have me worried about losing free shipping! That's always been one of the key benefits for me of having the Luxe card - that, and the rewards cards (for every dollar you spend, you rack up reward points).
On the negative side, the interest rates are obscene and if you miss a payment you blow away any savings from having the card. Sad, but true!
What's more, as I wrote here last month, watch out for Bloomie's credit card. What a mess!!! I closed it out in mid-December because their statement was designed to deliberately confuse. Anyway, yesterday I got another bill - even though it is closed out!! - and spent an hour and a half on the phone with them. I did speak with someone who was very helpful and went over and above the call of duty - so I will give them that. She went over every line item because she worried I'd been victim of identity theft. We eventually figured out that at one point a sales clerk charged shoes to the wrong code - to the code for furniture - which opened up a second Major account line. Hence, why their statement was so confusing. This is hard to explain - you have to see the bill...
Anyway.... I wasn't the victim of identity theft, just a simple mistake. However, we discovered that I'd been signed up for Credit Pro services .... on BOTH lines of credit... to the tune of $22 extra dollars a month!!!! And I never, ever signed up for this... I wouldn't. I never do.
So now I'm waiting for my refund. But it's one of those things, you just have to be really careful and look close at the bills. If it is confusing, then call them right away and don't let it go.
