Credit card promotions?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone apply for credit cards just to get a promotion and then cancel? I know it cant be good to open and close accounts all the time but i am wondering how much of a hit could a fico score get by opening and closing credit cards on an annual basis? 

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Does anyone apply for credit cards just to get a promotion and then cancel? I know it cant be good to open and close accounts all the time but i am wondering how much of a hit could a fico score get by opening and closing credit cards on an annual basis? 

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It's not a great thing to do. Every account you open remains on your report for ten years even if you close it. Stop and consider that. Do you want an underwriter to see 20 or 30 "opened and closed" accounts on manual review?

Now, you aren't suggesting such a large volume of doing this, but either way I don't find it to be a good idea. People disagree with me but I don't find that taking a HP, AAOA hit, and creating a new account is worth doing over and over for a bonus but opinions will vary. I go for cards I want and will want to keep long term.

If anything, issuers are making this practice harder and harder to do (such as the 2 year wait between getting a bonus again or once in a lifetime bonus policies).

[Anonymous]

Not considering it, but was more curious if anyone has dont it without taking a serious hit on their credit report. New cards seem to appear all the time so i can imagine its hard to avoid the promotions that come along with them. 

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Not considering it, but was more curious if anyone has dont it without taking a serious hit on their credit report. New cards seem to appear all the time so i can imagine its hard to avoid the promotions that come along with them. 

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It's only as hard as you make it. It's all about willpower. You don't need every bonus that comes along and if someone is too tempted perhaps they need to try and focus on other hobbies/interests. (We've all seen some posters on here who could use a break!)

To more answer your question though, every inq and AA ding is going to make your score dip. How much depends on how long your credit history is and your overall file "thickness" but regardless, it's going to take a hit each time you do this.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Not considering it, but was more curious if anyone has dont it without taking a serious hit on their credit report. New cards seem to appear all the time so i can imagine its hard to avoid the promotions that come along with them. 

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I think this site gets to people more than the new promotions lol. There are a lot of addicts on here that app whether it's a good signing bonus or not, although the signing bonuses do help.

Maybe Nixon will hop in here I'm sure he has a lot to say about this as it's his specialty

[Anonymous]

I understand. At this moment all i have are a couple of secured cards as my credit wont allow anything else. When the time comes though want to make some better choices. Thanks

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I understand. At this moment all i have are a couple of secured cards as my credit wont allow anything else. When the time comes though want to make some better choices. Thanks

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What does your profile look like right now? Also when the time comes make sure to ask lots of questions here to make sure you don't go on a crazy app spree and end up with 10 cards you don't need (Yeah I just did that this month and I'm realizing now that I don't have a need for all of them, only some). We will help you find the best deals for you but ultimately it's up to you to decide what's works best for you.

[Anonymous]

right now 2 secured cards from capone, and a secured from first national. I have quite a few baddies on my report which i dont know if i should dispute or not. A couple are coming off in sept as well as oct and some next year. I was thinking to just wait it out and make good on the cards i have now. I have seen a small increase in my experian score from 466 to 492 just by lowering utilization so i guess thats something.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

right now 2 secured cards from capone, and a secured from first national. I have quite a few baddies on my report which i dont know if i should dispute or not. A couple are coming off in sept as well as oct and some next year. I was thinking to just wait it out and make good on the cards i have now. I have seen a small increase in my experian score from 466 to 492 just by lowering utilization so i guess thats something.

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Wait it out indeed. Sorry to say but secured is likely all you will get at this stage. Just stay clean and be responsible and you will get there soon enough.

[Callandra]

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@Anonymous wrote:

right now 2 secured cards from capone, and a secured from first national. I have quite a few baddies on my report which i dont know if i should dispute or not. A couple are coming off in sept as well as oct and some next year. I was thinking to just wait it out and make good on the cards i have now. I have seen a small increase in my experian score from 466 to 492 just by lowering utilization so i guess thats something.

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DIsputing should only be for inaccurate information (ie- the debt is not yours, something is reporting as unpaid when you did actually pay it, etc). I suggest hitting the Rebuilding Forum and looking into ideas there. You can pay for delete (PFD) or write good will letters (good example available in the aforementioned forum) to get some of those baddies off. With your scores, I would focus on that instead of getting anymore cards for the moment. (When you get to 600+, you can look into other cards) 

Good luck!