How Long Do Inq's and New Cards Sting???

[Anonymous]

Hey all, can anyone tell me how long new inq's and cards sting before they smooth out for scoring purposes?? I know they ding for a year, but I seem to recall that they begin to mellow somewhat at the 3-month point.  Any thoughts?  I opened a Sears and BofA Amex in November...no other inq's or new accounts in last year.

Thanks!!

[llecs]

Can't really speak to the inquiry, but most of the damage would come from the new account. I've taken hits of 20-25 points per new TL added and the damage gradually fades with 90-95% of those points returning by the 6th month mark from when it first reported with an AAoA of 2-3 yrs. I also noticed small increases when it hits one year. Inquiries would gradually fade too, but IMO, are overrated. Of my last 35-40 added, I've only seen a point drop on a couple of them equal to under 5 pts. This was measured by pulling scores immediately before and immediately after the app.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Ilecs, the 20-25 points sounds about right. My EQ dropped to 710 from 755, and included 1 inquiry. TU and EX dropped about 15 points each, but they had 0 to 1 other inquiries in the last year.

EX got beat up pretty good 6 mos ago with new bank account(s) and the 2 inquiries.  Still think opening a new  MM account at a **bleep** bank should be a soft pull....

[Junejer]

Hey chazman, if you were indeed stung by an INQ, it would hurt equally for the full one year. There is not a gradual fading of it as such. INQs certainly can be overrated, depending on the score bucket you're in. Uber high scores get killed for INQs, because they aren't supposed to be apping for anything. In some more derog buckets, the INQs may not affect your score by one point. And, in Llecs' case, if there are numerous INQs already, another one probably isn't going to hurt that bad.

[anca21bi]

What if your FICO scores are lower? Is there still a 10-15 point decrease when opening up a new credit card account? 

[Anonymous]

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@anca21bi wrote:

What if your FICO scores are lower? Is there still a 10-15 point decrease when opening up a new credit card account? 

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According to the Score Simulator I got when I purchased my FICO scores, a new TL even in lower scores can drop your score around 10-20 points (depending apparently on the new limit).   

Sad but true, of course when the account ages, and if you keep util low I have been told the score rebounds fairly quickly.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Byrdman, my scores are fairly high and I'm in an upper bucket.  That probably explains why the new accts and inqs beat up my EX score.

[MidnightVoice]

My EQ is 795, and their complaint is too much new credit.  This is a CC over 13 months old plus one 9 month old inq (HELOC rate change, no new account).

When your score is above 760 they get very picky 

[Junejer]

Yep, last year, I got spanked hard for one INQ (12 points) from 787 to 775.