@Anonymous wrote:
I'm debating whether to open up more credit cards.
I currently have two credit cards, one of which I've had longer than 11 years and the other for less than a year. As you know, the average of those is only 6 years. The total credit limits are about $10K.
Debating whether to open up more credit cards but I don't want my length of credit to go down. I always keep my balance under 10% so it does not help my utilization much to open up new ones.
Am I better off not applying for new credit cards since lowering length of credit and applications would hurt my score?
I just want more of a credit line but don't want to hurt my credit score.
Most people applying for credit cards because of these things:
1) Sign up bonus - free plane tickets, free cash... etc
2) Cash back from daily spend - depending on your spending pattern, this can save you some money in the end.
3) Other benefit - balance transfer offers, special financing period, cell phone protections, building relationship with specific bank... etc
If you do not need any of the above things, then it's better not to apply for more cards. If you just want larger credit limit, then you can request more credit from your existing cards.
I suggest you not to worry about dinging your credit that much. Yeah short term, it will ding your credit. Longer term, nah...
I have over 20 cards due to application for cards every 6 months for the past several years. My average length of credit is about 1-2 years. My FICO scores are shown below. I have now slow down a bit and imagine all my cards age... it's gonna beef up my profile for sure.
If you plan to apply for any type of loan in the next year or so, you should probably not apply for more credit card until after that. Otherwise, you can think about my above points and decide for yourself! What works for me and other people may or may not work for you.
