Opening credit cards. How bad is it

**disneysteve** · 11-09-2014, 03:38 PM

Each time there is an inquiry on your credit report, it dings your score a bit, but if you have excellent credit, it really shouldn't matter. There are a lot of people who constantly open cards to take advantage of sign up bonuses and then cancel them after collecting the bonuses. I've often thought about it but just can't be bothered.

**bhigh8** · 11-09-2014, 04:24 PM

Credit score is really good but didn't want to hurt it too much or start raising red flags for opening a few.

**creditcardfree** · 11-09-2014, 04:26 PM

You are likely fine to opened the new Citi card. I have opened more than card in a month. The ding is less than 10 points. Over time it adjusts back up. I wouldn't open a new card if you were looking to borrow money for a car or house.

**snafu** · 11-11-2014, 02:44 PM

I totally understand wanting to take advantage of CC promotions. Before you carry out your plan it's important to read the rules and fully understand how much you need to spend on each card in the specific promotional period to collect the 'bonus.' Will the bonus be paid to your bank account or credited to your account? Is there an annual fee? Do they waive it year one? Are you willing to give this the time and attention it needs to get the benefits you desire? Finally, I suggest you set a specific goal to attach to the procedure so that your return has a purpose.

**realbankingadvice** · 11-13-2014, 10:51 AM

Hello bhigh8,

I have to agree with disneysteve, by applying for a new credit card in such a short time span you will in fact aquire a new inquiry on your credit.

No its not the end of the world, especially if you have great credit.

Now you do have to look into the next couple of months and make sure you are not planning any large purchases.

When applying for an auto loan or buying a house, too mnay inquiries on your credit can be the difference between getting approved or denied.

Best of luck to you.

Louis

**rennigade** · 11-13-2014, 11:33 AM

Like others said it will ding your credit score, thats about it.

Like others have also mentioned...if you're going to start opening credit cards simply for the bonus...you really need to keep track of each card, what the terms and conditions are to actually get the bonus, making sure to pay your credit card off in full each month, and remember to close the card to avoid the annual fee.

Also, any card offering a bonus of anything less than 50k miles or points is a waste of time. 50k points/miles is equivalent to some nice flights...or a little over $500 in gift cards...usually. Dont waste your time with the small bonus offers.

**JohnM.Hendricks** · 11-18-2014, 02:40 AM

If you are opening credit cards one after another and aren't supervising your credit score than you�re becoming an idiot! If that appears to be harsh, it is intended to.
Opening up new credit cards can impact you badly in the �Length of Account History� and the �New Credit� areas, which comprise an overall 25% of your credit score. Even if we simply look at the Amounts Payable category that tends to make up 30% of your total credit rating, and the new credit cards will significantly increase this area of your rating since it will lower your usage ratio.

**RudolfLesko** · 11-19-2014, 03:03 AM

No doubt you will be getting the advantages to sign up credits. The problem will occur if you will have a low credit score problem, so I will suggest you to maintain your credit scores. Try to have a high credit score.

**constancechase143** · 01-20-2015, 03:31 PM

opening credit card

Everyone is right, those little dings don�t do too much damage on their own but you only get so many chances before you start to make a mess of things. They don�t just disappear either. After about 7 or so inquiries, lenders start to look at you funny. These stick around for about 6 month or so. I found this unsecured financial broker who was able to get a few hard inquiries off my credit report. Experian and Equifax were a cinch but TransUnion liked to be difficult. Anyway, with these off, my score jumped up. They were also able to apply for unsecured loans with lenders who were looking for my qualifications. After I got my credit analysis, it took about 3 weeks before I had $43,000 worth of unsecured credit cards in my wallet. Just remember to be smart. Don�t spend more than you can afford to pay back. I had no interest for 12 months so staying on top of my bills was pretty simple.

**keelerjr12** · 01-20-2015, 04:28 PM

Originally posted by constancechase143 View Post

Everyone is right, those little dings don�t do too much damage on their own but you only get so many chances before you start to make a mess of things. They don�t just disappear either. After about 7 or so inquiries, lenders start to look at you funny. These stick around for about 6 month or so. I found this unsecured financial broker who was able to get a few hard inquiries off my credit report. Experian and Equifax were a cinch but TransUnion liked to be difficult. Anyway, with these off, my score jumped up. They were also able to apply for unsecured loans with lenders who were looking for my qualifications. After I got my credit analysis, it took about 3 weeks before I had $43,000 worth of unsecured credit cards in my wallet. Just remember to be smart. Don�t spend more than you can afford to pay back. I had no interest for 12 months so staying on top of my bills was pretty simple.

I thought for your FICO score hard reports were on there for 2 years before being removed?

**MKKShah** · 01-22-2015, 10:57 PM

All great responses above. Just wanted to add that even if you did have a lot a hard enquiries, they tend to fall off your report within a year. So unless you have a major purchase coming up (say Auto, Home etc) where a lower credit score might potentially cost you big bucks, you are in the clear.

Btw, I have 25 credit cards with combined credit limit well into the 6 figures and have had times when I had 12-17 hard inquiries on my credit report (when requesting credit limit increases). My credit score is 790, but goes as low as 730 when there are too many hard enquiries.

**herdjohnson** · 01-24-2015, 01:55 PM

I have 14 hard inquiries on my credit report and I still have a 793 Transunion and 803 Equifax. And I still just got approved for a home loan at their lowest rate.

I feel like inquiries are on of the most overrated aspects of credit reporting. As long as you're using credit responsibly, they don't care too much about how many times your credit has been checked.

**corn18** · 01-25-2015, 07:45 AM

Originally posted by herdjohnson View Post

I have 14 hard inquiries on my credit report and I still have a 793 Transunion and 803 Equifax. And I still just got approved for a home loan at their lowest rate.

I feel like inquiries are on of the most overrated aspects of credit reporting. As long as you're using credit responsibly, they don't care too much about how many times your credit has been checked.

^^^This. I have signed up for a lot of cards this year. I was buying a propane heater online at Walmart and they offered me $75 off if I signed up for their card. No problem, Done. Amazon offered me another $50. Paypal another $25. Discover, $75. Chase gave me $650 If I opened a checking account and got their Freedom card. Done.

If I already have one of their cards, I sign my wife up for it to get the cash. I also signed up for the Citi Double Cash (using it now for all expenses) and the Fidelity Rewards Amex. I don't know how many cards I have gotten in the past year (maybe 20), but my credit score has been 830+ the whole time. That's good enough for me.

Opening credit cards. How bad is it