topic Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card in Credit Card Applications

How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 02:14:48 GMT

From my understanding that is you should apply for new card every 6 months at minimum? My question is how many card should i apply every 6 month then?

Thanks for your help

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

SouthJamaica — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 20:52:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
From my understanding that is you should apply for new card every 6 months at minimum? My question is how many card should i apply every 6 month then?

Thanks for your help

Wrong. Once you have a couple of credit cards, there's no reason to apply for new cards ever, unless you really have a need for them.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 02:25:43 GMT

How come a lot of members in this forum have like 40+ cards. I just want to have extra credit utilization in case of needing in the future. In general, should i apply 3 cards every 6 months? really appreciate your counsel.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

Jnbmom — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 02:32:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
How come a lot of members in this forum have like 40+ cards. I just want to have extra credit utilization in case of needing in the future. In general, should i apply 3 cards every 6 months? really appreciate your counsel.

As the other poster mentioned above. I would not apply for any cards unless you have a use for a certain card, I would not get cards to simply "pad" your utilization.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

josh1 — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 23:12:17 GMT

A lot of people like to have a nice no annual fee card base to keep their AAoA high, and just put maybe a dollar of spend on them every half a year to keep them active. Generally, I would recommend 1 card every 6 months (if you believe you have a use for them). If you apply for too many cards in a short period of time it will look suspicious to banks. The only time this rule doesn't apply in my books is for Chase, if you wanted the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited per to say, you could apply for both of those in 1 day and it would only be 1 HP. I know a lot of people who have had success with this, so if you wanted both of those cards that is a good way to do it.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 20:56:32 GMT

Applying for too many card too often can damage your AAOA for years. Let them grow and you'll be grateful that you did.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 03:02:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
How come a lot of members in this forum have like 40+ cards. I just want to have extra credit utilization in case of needing in the future. In general, should i apply 3 cards every 6 months? really appreciate your counsel.

You should focus on growing the ones you have instead of trying to get more. The only exception is with lenders like chase who doesn't like to increase your limits unless you are doing business primarily with them(and even still they're kind of stingy).

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

xaximus — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 15:46:32 GMT

Personally, unless you need it, I wouldn't apply for cards just because. I'm a firm believer in getting what you need or if the benefits suit you. Example - a person that spends $250 a month on gas - it may be worth it for that person to get a good CB card for gas or a card that gives good points for gas. Now if the person spends $50 a month on gas, would it be worth it? IMHO, I wouldn't get it. It's not much of a savings CB wise and quite small in points/miles wise as well. As others have stated, grow what you already have and keep an eye on cards that might be useful to you.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

HeavenOhio — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 16:43:58 GMT

@Anonymous, if you're looking to acquire cards, once every six months is a great pace. That keeps your new accounts and inquiries in check, and it keeps you under 5/24.

As others have mentioned, only acquire cards if or when they're useful to you. You already have good cards, meaning that you can afford to be choosy.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 17:30:22 GMT

OP - You will go crazy if you try and compare yourself to some of the credit gods here. I dont know how they do it and sometimes why they do it - I cannot imagaine why anyone needs 40 credit cards - or even 20 - I have 8 and I may add 2 or 3 more - but that is enough for me.

As to your question - how often - the most sustainable way is to add 1 card every six months. Even those members here that have 40+ cards - they did so over alonger period of time. And even if you have similiar fico scores to them - your credit file looks very different than theirs. Thiers is very deep and proven. Maybe your is too - but unlikely as thick as the top members here.

I would rather have 5 cards with a 35k CL on each than 20 cards at $3500 each - Less is more my good sir

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

FlaDude — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 01:16:56 GMT

I've got 10 cards, some almost 25 years old, with total limit of around 90k. I agree with those that I would not get new cards for the sake of it. My main reasons for getting cards would be SUBs and 0% BT offers to get the interest down on my balances. If I can keep with my debt reduction plan, I'll have my balances down low enough in a couple of years so that I can close 2 or 3 without impacting UTI and plan to do just that. At that point I'll probably get more active on churning for SUB and might get a couple new ones a year, and close some that I got only for SUB or BT purposes.

Edit to add that I might also add 2-3 airline and hotel cards for the travel benefits once I get the balances down and my score up.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 03:46:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
From my understanding that is you should apply for new card every 6 months at minimum? My question is how many card should i apply every 6 month then?

Thanks for your help

You should not apply for new card every 6 months. Do you have a reason to need that particular credit card? If so, then apply. If not, I'd suggest not to. Mine, I applied every 6 months and the cards I have are very useful to me (Gas CC, Food CC, General puchase CC, Cap1 QS will be PCed to Savor after paying BT on PenFed).

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

joltdude — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 14:50:02 GMT

If there are multiple cards you want and could use..... picking them up one at a time with 6mo between app pace is not a bad idea.. But as others have mentioned picking them up just for the sake of picking them up to pad utilization.. Not a good idea.. Picking a card up for a SUB or rewards/benefits, a good idea. Picking up a card or two for diversification .. saying this if you have only one or two cards is also not a bad idea. There is supposedly a score benefit having at least 3 credit cards but other than that... you dont NEED a fistfull of cards to have good credit...

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

kdm31091 — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 15:10:40 GMT

I think the idea of adding more cards just for utilization purposes is not a great one. If your utilization is low, it's going to be low regardless, and if it's not, you should be focusing on getting it down. I understand a certain buffer zone for emergencies, but it can also become a slippery slope into the abyss of CC debt that you can't climb out of. If your utilization runs high for a certain reason, and you start relying on your "padding" cards, you can just end up in over your head.

Apply for cards with benefits you will actually need and use, and no more. There's no need to do x amounts of applicatons in y amount of time or to collect cards just for the sake of it.

Re: How Often to Apply for a New Credit Card

blindambition — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 15:24:51 GMT

You should only be applying when their is a true need. Padding utilization is knot a good strategy. Your income also must justify the amount of credit you have available.
When you have too much credit, the following will happen... Closed accounts, lowered limits, and denials. Not being responsible, I guarantee you will lose more than you win.