topic Need advice on applying for new cards in Credit Cards

Need advice on applying for new cards

mondo84 — Tue, 10 May 2011 20:56:28 GMT

Hey guys,

I just signed up for MyFico to see my score because I'm interested in applying for a few new cards. My score is 702 right now. I opened three accounts in July 2010 (Chase Freedom, Discover More, Capital One No Hassle Rewards), and before that had two credit cards for 5 years or so (local FCU Visa and Amazon Visa). Basically I'm trying to open more accounts to benefit my score in the long run. I know that the score will go down upon opening new accounts, but I don't see any reason to believe it would be damaging.

The cards for which I'd like to apply are:

AmEx Blue Cash Everyday

AmEx Blue Sky (have a bonus offer code from mail)

REI VISA (from US Bank)

Citi Dividend Platinum Select Mastercard

Fidelity Investment Rewards AmEx

I'm a graduate student currently, so when I report my income it's < 30k. However, my spending is low and I am very responsible with credit & finances. The reason I'm applying for 5 cards (or maybe more if people have suggestions) at once is because otherwise applying for a few cards over a span of 6 mo or a year will be tougher for approval. This way each lender won't see my most recent inquiry since it's practically simultaneous.

I'm nervous about going through with this out of fear that I'd be rejected by more than one/two cards. Last July I also applied for AmEx Blue Cash but they denied me, and last October REI Visa turned me down mainly due to recent account openings and low debt/income ration (due to the higher rent I pay in my city).

Should I just pull the trigger and see what happens? FWIW before signing up for this free trial I've been using CreditKarma for almost one year. I know that score is not as accurate, but it does show the trend that my score has risen the past couple of months after adding new accounts last July.

You guys are all experts and maybe have some good advice for me on how to approach this! Thanks.

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 01:16:11 GMT

@mondo84 wrote:
... Basically I'm trying to open more accounts to benefit my score in the long run.
This is not a good reason to add more accounts. Your FICO score does not depend on the number of accounts past 3 accounts.

If you want some of these accounts for some other reason, I suggest 1 at a time.

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

mondo84 — Wed, 11 May 2011 02:14:42 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
... Basically I'm trying to open more accounts to benefit my score in the long run.
This is not a good reason to add more accounts. Your FICO score does not depend on the number of accounts past 3 accounts.

If you want some of these accounts for some other reason, I suggest 1 at a time.

Hey thanks for your reply. Maybe it's because the three credit bureaus use different ways of calculating scores, but the consensus out there is that # of accounts and age are important parts of the score. You don't need 15 credit cards, but demonstrating the ability to keep utilizations low and not miss payments among more accounts should be a good thing, right?

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 03:43:48 GMT

@mondo84 --

Figure out which cards you really want/need and how you plan to use them. Then try to figure out if your usage pattern is what the creditor likes to see -- i.e Amex doesn't like it if you revolve balances for months.

Believe it or not, having a whole bunch of cards to track down and make sure that you are making regular purchases on them and paying on time work -- and there'd be nothing worse than applying for all this credit (and taking the credit score hit) and finding out that one or more of the creditors closes the account because you applied for too many new cards or because you forgot to use the card after a couple months because you just added for other cards.

FWIW -- It seems like, based on your income and spending, that you might have a hard time racking up rewards on all of these cards to make having all five cards worthwhile (at least in terms of rewards).

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:40:17 GMT

@mondo84 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
... Basically I'm trying to open more accounts to benefit my score in the long run.
This is not a good reason to add more accounts. Your FICO score does not depend on the number of accounts past 3 accounts.

If you want some of these accounts for some other reason, I suggest 1 at a time.

Hey thanks for your reply. Maybe it's because the three credit bureaus use different ways of calculating scores, but the consensus out there is that # of accounts and age are important parts of the score. You don't need 15 credit cards, but demonstrating the ability to keep utilizations low and not miss payments among more accounts should be a good thing, right?

Age is important factor. But total number of cards is not much of a factor for FICO score. Having more accounts builds more history and relationships, so it is helpful in that respect.

IMO, apply only for cards you have a need for and want to keep for the long term.

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:46:16 GMT

Having too many accounts can actually be a negative (though most people won't see this reason listed until they have both lots of accounts and high scores).

This is the only negative on my TU:

You have too many credit accounts.
Your FICO score takes into account the number of accounts (such as credit cards or installment loans) on your credit report. You have a large number of accounts. In general, people who have a large number of accounts pose more of a risk to lenders than people with a moderate number of accounts.

If you're wondering I have 16 trade lines (including open, closed and lost/stolen) on my TU report. Anyway, it's not hurting my score too much because I have a 791.

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:55:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
... Basically I'm trying to open more accounts to benefit my score in the long run.
This is not a good reason to add more accounts.    Your FICO score does not depend on the number of accounts past 3 accounts.

If you want some of these accounts for some other reason, I suggest 1 at a time.

Hey thanks for your reply. Maybe it's because the three credit bureaus use different ways of calculating scores, but the consensus out there is that # of accounts and age are important parts of the score.   You don't need 15 credit cards, but demonstrating the ability to keep utilizations low and not miss payments among more accounts should be a good thing, right?
Age is important factor. But total number of cards is not much of a factor for FICO score. Having more accounts builds more history and relationships, so it is helpful in that respect.

IMO, apply only for cards you have a need for and want to keep for the long term.

+ 1 mondo84, listen to the dads, moms, grand-dads, grand-mas, uncles, aunts in this forum ~

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:51:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
... Basically I'm trying to open more accounts to benefit my score in the long run.
This is not a good reason to add more accounts.    Your FICO score does not depend on the number of accounts past 3 accounts.

If you want some of these accounts for some other reason, I suggest 1 at a time.

Hey thanks for your reply. Maybe it's because the three credit bureaus use different ways of calculating scores, but the consensus out there is that # of accounts and age are important parts of the score.   You don't need 15 credit cards, but demonstrating the ability to keep utilizations low and not miss payments among more accounts should be a good thing, right?
Age is important factor. But total number of cards is not much of a factor for FICO score. Having more accounts builds more history and relationships, so it is helpful in that respect.

IMO, apply only for cards you have a need for and want to keep for the long term.

+ 1              mondo84, listen to the dads, moms, grand-dads, grand-mas, uncles, aunts in this forum ~

More importantly, listen to the furry mamals.

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:56:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@mondo84 wrote:
... Basically I'm trying to open more accounts to benefit my score in the long run.
This is not a good reason to add more accounts.    Your FICO score does not depend on the number of accounts past 3 accounts.

If you want some of these accounts for some other reason, I suggest 1 at a time.

Hey thanks for your reply. Maybe it's because the three credit bureaus use different ways of calculating scores, but the consensus out there is that # of accounts and age are important parts of the score.   You don't need 15 credit cards, but demonstrating the ability to keep utilizations low and not miss payments among more accounts should be a good thing, right?
Age is important factor. But total number of cards is not much of a factor for FICO score. Having more accounts builds more history and relationships, so it is helpful in that respect.

IMO, apply only for cards you have a need for and want to keep for the long term.

+ 1              mondo84, listen to the dads, moms, grand-dads, grand-mas, uncles, aunts in this forum ~
More importantly, listen to the furry mamals.

Wolf, I loved this reply I just had to say that!

PS: to the OP, I agree with the others, only apply for credit you need and intend on establishing a long-term relationship with!

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

DJH87 — Wed, 11 May 2011 12:23:00 GMT

You already have a few good cards. If I were you, I would consider adding an Amex card only. The Zync seems to be geared towards college students, then after a year you can add an Amex revolver like the Blue Everyday Cash card and you will get the backdating when you add the second card. You do not need several cards to establish a good credit record. My niece has a secured loan and a secured visa for $1000 each from her credit union and I added her as an AU on my 24 year old Amex and her FICO's are over 800 and she is about to purchase a house. Keep up the good work!

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

mondo84 — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:45:12 GMT

Thanks again for the advice, all. I see all your points and understand them.

I actually would plan on keeping all these cards long-term. If I successfully added five accounts that would put my total at 10. Realistically, what I may do is prioritize which cards I want and do the online applications sequentially. If I get two rejections then I'd probably just stop. Decisions! I really want to add an AmEx and will go for those first, but I have a feeling that's where I'm most likely to be rejected.

I am not a big spender but make sure to use most cards once per month. But, I can see that some lenders wouldn't like me having cards and barely using them (or not at all).

Re: Need advice on applying for new cards

Anonymous — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:17:31 GMT

@mondo84 wrote:
Thanks again for the advice, all. I see all your points and understand them.

I actually would plan on keeping all these cards long-term. If I successfully added five accounts that would put my total at 10. Realistically, what I may do is prioritize which cards I want and do the online applications sequentially. If I get two rejections then I'd probably just stop. Decisions! I really want to add an AmEx and will go for those first, but I have a feeling that's where I'm most likely to be rejected.

I am not a big spender but make sure to use most cards once per month. But, I can see that some lenders wouldn't like me having cards and barely using them (or not at all).

Then just wait for the good timing

So do I.

Just ask them how often do you need to use that card to keep that card active. Most of mine are as long as I use it once in between the 4~6 month period, it stays active/open.

This is not good idea.

* It is nothing but how you manage your cards/money.

* I have total of 9 ccs ...

Carry the statement balance on 3 ccs I uses mainly

Zero statement balance on 3 ccs with monthly small charges and 3 ccs once in the 4 ~ 6 months with small charges .