topic Inquiries Question in Credit Cards

Inquiries Question

william23 — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:44:14 GMT

My question is what is considered too many inquiries? Because I have seen people getting approved and they have like 18 inquiries !!!! I have 7 and I am freaking out. Any advice?

Thanks!

Re: Inquiries Question

danisgods — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:50:23 GMT

i believe more than 3 within 6 months is considered too many.

but keep in mind that creditors dont always go by inquiries....

Re: Inquiries Question

haulingthescoreup — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:55:28 GMT

@william23 wrote:
My question is what is considered too many inquiries? Because I have seen people getting approved and they have like 18 inquiries !!!! I have 7 and I am freaking out. Any advice?

Thanks!

OK, first of all, it's not how many inqs you have; it's how many you have on each account, plus how old they are, and what they were for.

7 inqs on one bureau would be pretty exciting for most of us. But if it's 2 on EQ, 3 on EX, and 2 on TU, that's a different story. Lenders only see the inqs on the report that they pull.

Some lenders are (in)famous for hating inqs, PenFed being the prime example. Others go hmmm. And still others don't give a flip.

Also, if some of these inqs are for car loans or mortgage apps, which generally create multiple inqs, that's different from unrestrained CC apping.

A separate issue is how inqs affect scoring. From what we've seen here, after 5-6 inqs on one report, your scores are no longer affected. (If you get new accounts as results of the inqs, then yes, there's a separate scoring effect from the new account, the new CL, etc.) We have some major appaholics here whose scores aren't going to get much out of the 700-720 range due to low AAoA, etc., but the new inqs don't hurt. The scoring formula just gives up after a while.

Another issue with inqs and scoring is that inqs over 1 year old aren't included in FICO scoring, although they continue to show on your reports for two full years.

I'm pretty allergic to inqs, but they're not the end of the world. The trick is to apply intelligently, after thinking about what CC's might fit your usage patterns and even help you out (via rewards, etc.), and then research the heck out of various cards. Once you've done this, go get your card and be happy with it.

Re: Inquiries Question

danisgods — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:22:26 GMT

AGREED, nice job, Hauling

Re: Inquiries Question

DI — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:54:43 GMT

@william23 wrote:
My question is what is considered too many inquiries? Because I have seen people getting approved and they have like 18 inquiries !!!! I have 7 and I am freaking out. Any advice?

Thanks!

Their 18 inquiries may have been more than a year old the reason why they got approved. Your 7 inquries may be less than a year old.