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*sudden image of squash ice cream* 
I didn't emphasize the role of open installment accounts enough, btw. If someone only has a car loan, I think that they can get away with fewer cards, in terms of the # of accounts with balances issue. Since there's only one account (the loan) that always has a balance, there's only that one to counter-balance with a $0 CC. In contrast, if someone has unconsolidated student loans, with the typical 8 separate loan TL's for 8 semesters of UG college, they're pretty much doomed in this little game.
But again, it's important to keep the big picture in mind. # of accounts with balances isn't typically that big a factor (it's worth about 4 points for me), and it's more important in the long run to only get credit products that truly make sense for you, rather than to please the FICO scoring gods. *snaps rubber band around wrist to remind self of this*
eta: GregB's post appeared after I started typing (I got distracted watching the D-Day ceremony from Normandy), and I see where # of accounts can be as much as 25 points for him. Just goes to show how variable it is! And it's entirely possible that if I suddenly let 9 or 11 CC's report even token balances, my scores would get whomped a lot worse.
I didn't emphasize the role of open installment accounts enough, btw. If someone only has a car loan, I think that they can get away with fewer cards, in terms of the # of accounts with balances issue. Since there's only one account (the loan) that always has a balance, there's only that one to counter-balance with a $0 CC. In contrast, if someone has unconsolidated student loans, with the typical 8 separate loan TL's for 8 semesters of UG college, they're pretty much doomed in this little game.
But again, it's important to keep the big picture in mind. # of accounts with balances isn't typically that big a factor (it's worth about 4 points for me), and it's more important in the long run to only get credit products that truly make sense for you, rather than to please the FICO scoring gods. *snaps rubber band around wrist to remind self of this*
eta: GregB's post appeared after I started typing (I got distracted watching the D-Day ceremony from Normandy), and I see where # of accounts can be as much as 25 points for him. Just goes to show how variable it is! And it's entirely possible that if I suddenly let 9 or 11 CC's report even token balances, my scores would get whomped a lot worse.
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