Should I apply for more credit?

[Anonymous]

Hi there! I stumbled upon this forum yesterday and WOW! I wish I had found it a year ago.  I have been working on repairing my credit for over a year now and have managed to boost my score about a hundred points from around 550 to 650.  I have only 2 credit cards open right now, one of which is a secured card.  They only total 675 dollars in available credit of which I use only around 10% and pay off in full each month.  While my credit history in the past 2 years has been excellent, I have about 4 derogatories dating back to 2005 including a couple of collection accounts.  I currently have an auto loan that I pay on time every month.  I only recieved the loan because I had a co-signer and a larger down payment.  So my recent history is good but my longterm is kind of ugly.  My question is should I apply for another card in order to increase my available credit?  I just dont want to have a hard inquiry for nothing if I don't get the credit.  And also, will opening another card negatively impact my score?                 

Thanks and I look forward to hearing what everyone has ro say!!

[Anonymous]

That's a good question as i am in about the same situation as you so i will be looking forward to the replys. So i guess i dont have anwsers for ya but i will wait for replys also. Thanks

[Wolf3]

What do you have now? what are CL and annual fees?

Do you have anything in mind to apply for?

[blacklotus]

I started rebuilding my credit over two years ago.  Last year I started getting credit cards and took out a car note.  I was seriously thinking about going on an "app spree" which is when you basically apply for everything out there in a very short time frame- so the purpose of which I guess is so all the inquiries fall off at the same time.  I didn't and I am glad I didn't now looking back on it.

I ended up apping for 6-7 cards and got 4.  I got one card in Jun last year one in Dec and two more this year around March.  I feel that this is all I need since my scores are going up and do not want or need anymore credit cards.

Looking back it would have been fun to have more credit cards but the extra inquiries wouldn't have been fun.

I would definitely recommend against going on an "app spree" and instead try to get a good mix.  I don't have a charge card and now my scores are higher don't feel like I necessarily need  a card like AMEX anymore- at one time I felt that I could never get my scores higher if I didn't have an AMEX but I have proven myself wrong. 

EDIT:  I would say don't think about the cards so much as your Fico score- my cards are a tool I use to increase my Fico.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi there! I stumbled upon this forum yesterday and WOW! I wish I had found it a year ago.  I have been working on repairing my credit for over a year now and have managed to boost my score about a hundred points from around 550 to 650.  I have only 2 credit cards open right now, one of which is a secured card.  They only total 675 dollars in available credit of which I use only around 10% and pay off in full each month.  While my credit history in the past 2 years has been excellent, I have about 4 derogatories dating back to 2005 including a couple of collection accounts.  I currently have an auto loan that I pay on time every month.  I only recieved the loan because I had a co-signer and a larger down payment.  So my recent history is good but my longterm is kind of ugly.  My question is should I apply for another card in order to increase my available credit?  I just dont want to have a hard inquiry for nothing if I don't get the credit.  And also, will opening another card negatively impact my score?                 

Thanks and I look forward to hearing what everyone has ro say!!

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Hi, and welcome to the forums! Is your score mentioned above a FICO score? (sorry, we ask this of pretty much all new members, because there's so much confusion out there!)

If so, look on screen 2 of your most recent myFICO score report, whether EQ (Equifax) or TU (TransUnion.) What are the negatives, listed in order? These are the most important factors keeping your score down, with the most influential listed first.

Depending on which negatives are there and the order they're in, we might be able to offer more educated advice.