How often can one open credit cards without affecting your credit score?
April 23, 2007 by admin
Filed under Questions and Answers
LadyMar asked:
I have been using rewards cards and paying off the balance for years. I have read that applying for new credit card wont affect your record if you only get one, and don’t open too many in a short period of time. Not sure what “short period of time” is . There are 3 rewards cards I have been meaning to get because of bonus/rewards, but not sure how I should space them out.
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I have been using rewards cards and paying off the balance for years. I have read that applying for new credit card wont affect your record if you only get one, and don’t open too many in a short period of time. Not sure what “short period of time” is . There are 3 rewards cards I have been meaning to get because of bonus/rewards, but not sure how I should space them out.
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Jose V on Wed, 25th Apr 2007 10:08 am
All applications will affect your score in short term lowering your score anywhere from 1-20 pts
bdancer222 on Thu, 26th Apr 2007 6:31 am
Space out the applications at least 3 months, 6 might be better. While each application will cause a hard credit pull which will ding your credit, too many within a short period will take a big bite out of your score.
Todd S on Sat, 28th Apr 2007 6:13 pm
The effect a new credit card will have on your credit score is dependent on your credit history. If you have a more robust credit history, with lots of lines of credit and years and years of credit, it will have a minimal effect.
But if you’ve only had credit for a couple years and you’ve got balances on the few lines of credit you have, a new credit card will be a bigger ding and possibly even grounds for denial of said new card.
Either way, it seems a bit extreme that you need to open 3 new credit cards. You should decide on one that works best for you.
James P on Mon, 30th Apr 2007 2:59 am
Generally, each time you open an account there is a small temporary drop in your score (think the 15 to 20 point range). If you have revolving debt it is possible that your score can even increase due to a drop in overall utilization ($2000 debt with $4000 total available will reflect much more poorly than $2000 debt with $7500 available). As your accounts age this temporary hit will vanish.
If you plan to apply for a mortgage, avoid opening new cards at least six months prior to that date. Avoid applying for new credit before looking into a car loan.
Existing creditors sometimes become nervous when you open numerous new accounts. If you open three new accounts at once this can lead to potential trouble, especially if you aren’t familiar with your current creditors (they all respond differently). Provided you aren’t already dealing with a number of creditors I would suggest picking out two of your favorites, applying for them, and then going back to snatch the third about three months later. Only apply for a card you expect to use and be careful about annual fees (unless they are plenty well justified as might be the case with, say, an AmEx charge card).
The more extensive your credit profile, the more cautious you should be about opening multiple new accounts in quick succession.