I recently participated in a program that encouraged me to use credit ("OPM") to buy real estate, and actually applied for several new credit cards for me. As a result, my FICO score dropped by 50 points. Now my brokerage house has given me two additional cards -- one AmEx with a higher credit limit than any of the others I have -- and I'm wondering if it would help me or hurt me to activate them. Would the increased available credit help? The additional cards hurt? How can I find out?
