topic Re: How much do you value a HP? in Credit Cards

How much do you value a HP?

eagle2013 — Sat, 10 May 2014 05:51:53 GMT

How do you diffrentiate when and whether it's worth it to take a HP or add a new tradeline?

I'm fully aware that those who have their core cards can be more discriminatory, but if I were to put a threshold on whether to take a HP it would be----

CLI ---> $5000+ would be worth a HP to me

New tradeline ----> Nothing for me at this point. WF Propel World is tempting, but still rather meh at this point. Would definitley take a EX hp for a 70k+ AMEX platinum offer.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

mongstradamus — Sat, 10 May 2014 05:54:50 GMT

@eagle2013 wrote:
How do you diffrentiate when and whether it's worth it to take a HP or add a new tradeline?

I'm fully aware that those who have their core cards can be more discriminatory, but if I were to put a threshold on whether to take a HP it would be----

CLI ---> $5000+ would be worth a HP to me

New tradeline ----> Nothing for me at this point. WF Propel World is tempting, but still rather meh at this point. Would definitley take a EX hp for a 70k+ AMEX platinum offer.

For me i don't like using HPs unless i really have to , i will almost never use HP for an cli i will try and weasel an way into getting them to SP cli me or just wait for auto cli. Even with cards I am pretty patient with HP , i am going to try and wait this year till they reach 1 year anniversaries before using another HP. I feel i am in the minority tho with HP usage.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

eagle2013 — Sat, 10 May 2014 05:58:41 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
@eagle2013 wrote:
How do you diffrentiate when and whether it's worth it to take a HP or add a new tradeline?

I'm fully aware that those who have their core cards can be more discriminatory, but if I were to put a threshold on whether to take a HP it would be----

CLI ---> $5000+ would be worth a HP to me

New tradeline ----> Nothing for me at this point. WF Propel World is tempting, but still rather meh at this point. Would definitley take a EX hp for a 70k+ AMEX platinum offer.
For me i don't like using HPs unless i really have to , i will almost never use HP for an cli i will try and weasel an way into getting them to SP cli me or just wait for auto cli. Even with cards I am pretty patient with HP , i am going to try and wait this year till they reach 1 year anniversaries before using another HP. I feel i am in the minority tho with HP usage.

Good for you! I'm way too impatient! Hahaha. The two cards (BofA and CSP) I took a HP for are now at $10k, which is my personal threshold.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

Luscher — Sat, 10 May 2014 06:01:02 GMT

At the point I'm at in my life (young) I don't have a problem wasting hard pulls for CLI's because Id rather use them now and get my CL's as high as possible so later in the future when I need to buy something like a house and I have bills and wished i had a higher CL, I'm already here and will most likely by that time have 0 inquiries on my account.

Another way to look at is this:
What is your current limit? If you have a toy limit like $500. Using a hard pull to make that $500 go up to $2000 if you are just starting out. IMO that is well worth it.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

NoAnchoviesPlease — Sat, 10 May 2014 12:38:53 GMT

I want to keep it to around 3/year per CRA. Ultimately if it's a card I have a use for, or could have more of a use for, I'll take a hit.

The only wasted ones are the ones that don't stand much of a chance of helping. And ultimately, like acne, they go away. So don't skip prom because of a hard pull.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

DaveSignal — Sat, 10 May 2014 12:52:40 GMT

I don't have many HPs, and will always ask/hope for a SP, but a HP is not going to wreck my credit and only affects scoring for 1 year. If I wanted a new tradeline or CLI, I would definitely be willing to take a HP, and I certainly wouldn't let the fact that a HP is going to hit one of my reports stop me. I might weigh the benefits of the new tradeline though... if its not something that is going to get good use, there is little point in adding it.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

Dw4250 — Sat, 10 May 2014 13:24:18 GMT

@NoAnchoviesPlease wrote:
I want to keep it to around 3/year per CRA. Ultimately if it's a card I have a use for, or could have more of a use for, I'll take a hit.

The only wasted ones are the ones that don't stand much of a chance of helping. And ultimately, like acne, they go away. So don't skip prom because of a hard pull.

HP's are precious so should not be used unwisely. I am a big believer that while there is no definitive 'good' or 'bad' number of HP, it is important to use them strategically. In my case, I recently did a major app spree that cost me 7 INQ on TU; 5 on EX and 1 on EQ. I took a pretty big INQ hit, but was able to net most of the cards in my sig and went from $500 in unsecured credit to more than $35K in available credit. So to me, the HPs were worth it.

Having said that, I would not recommend this strategy for everyone. For me, the app spree was a once in a lifetime deal. I was in a good place in my life where I could afford to take the temporary INQ/TL hit. I bought a new car prior to the spree, and plan to stay in my current home for at least another year. Therefore I have no plans to apply for anything major for at least 12-15 months. And once my scores recover, I will actually be in a stronger overall position credit wise.

Bottom line if it's a card you really want/need, then I say go for it and take the HP. However, you must always keep in mind there may be something truly important you want to app for (i.e. car loan or a new/refi mortgage), and that should come before any credit card app. It would be a shame to get a denial/less than favorable terms on a mortgage because you needlessly burned through HP's...

2-3 HP per year per report seems like a reasonable number to me.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

gh17 — Sat, 10 May 2014 13:33:39 GMT

I don't mind hard pulls too much. They're temporary, and I have no immediate plans for a mortgage.

However, I'm much more careful with adding new tradelines. I don't like lowering my average age of account. There has to be a good rewards structure in place for credit cards, particularly one that I anticipate will last a long time. At this point, I'm not anticipating adding new cards until 1) the rewards programs on my current cards significantly changes, leaving me with a void to fill, and 2) no product changes are easily available to fill that void, or 3) my spending habits significantly change. For example, I currently don't travel very often, so I don't have any travel rewards in place, but maybe that will change five years down the line. Or maybe if I moved to a city and wasn't driving, some other category of rewards would become more important than gas.

Admittedly, I did just splurge and go on an app spree - Discover and Chase weren't really filling any voids. Part of that was that I wanted to up my number of cards so that I end up having more "old" tradelines in the future, and part of that was anticipation that my Citi Forward rewards may not go on forever and wanting alternatives for restaurants. I also like the idea of having cards with the major companies since maybe I'll be able to product change down the line. However, I think I'm done with new tradelines for a while.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

CarnegieS — Sat, 10 May 2014 13:56:42 GMT

Well I really only care about being hit with a hard pull if I don't get accepted for the card or CLI. Everytime I have been approved though I feel it was worth the hard pull! My credit is knew though so I figure it's better to get stuff now and let it age

Re: How much do you value a HP?

parakleet — Sat, 10 May 2014 14:02:27 GMT

@Luscher wrote:
At the point I'm at in my life (young) I don't have a problem wasting hard pulls for CLI's because Id rather use them now and get my CL's as high as possible so later in the future when I need to buy something like a house and I have bills and wished i had a higher CL, I'm already here and will most likely by that time have 0 inquiries on my account.

Another way to look at is this:
What is your current limit? If you have a toy limit like $500. Using a hard pull to make that $500 go up to $2000 if you are just starting out. IMO that is well worth it.

HPs only stay on your report for 2 yrs and stop havin negative impact on your score at 12 months. In other words, it doesn't matter where you are in life as far as the impact of a HP since it doesnt discriminate.

I think people obsess on the importance of HPs. If everything else is good on your report, a number of HPs isn't going to kill your score. Not saying that you should be willy nilly about them but I don't think most people outside of these credit forums obsess to the level that some people here do.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 May 2014 15:38:31 GMT

We bought a new car last month, so I got quite a few HPs from banks and the dealership. Prior to that, I dont have any HP for 2 years. I feel that its all worth it since we got a good deal for the car.

Then, I went on a app spree and took in more HP. I got 15 on EQ, 2 on TU, and 7 on EX alltogether. I got 2 cards with 0% APR on both purchases and BT for 12 months. So, I plan to garden until next year. And these cards help my DH score too as he is AU.

As others have said, you will need to weight the benefits and decide for yourself

Re: How much do you value a HP?

eagle2013 — Sat, 10 May 2014 15:53:28 GMT

@Dw4250 wrote:
@NoAnchoviesPlease wrote:
I want to keep it to around 3/year per CRA. Ultimately if it's a card I have a use for, or could have more of a use for, I'll take a hit.

The only wasted ones are the ones that don't stand much of a chance of helping. And ultimately, like acne, they go away. So don't skip prom because of a hard pull.
+1

HP's are precious so should not be used unwisely. I am a big believer that while there is no definitive 'good' or 'bad' number of HP, it is important to use them strategically. In my case, I recently did a major app spree that cost me 7 INQ on TU; 5 on EX and 1 on EQ. I took a pretty big INQ hit, but was able to net most of the cards in my sig and went from $500 in unsecured credit to more than $35K in available credit. So to me, the HPs were worth it.

Having said that, I would not recommend this strategy for everyone. For me, the app spree was a once in a lifetime deal. I was in a good place in my life where I could afford to take the temporary INQ/TL hit. I bought a new car prior to the spree, and plan to stay in my current home for at least another year. Therefore I have no plans to apply for anything major for at least 12-15 months. And once my scores recover, I will actually be in a stronger overall position credit wise.

Bottom line if it's a card you really want/need, then I say go for it and take the HP. However, you must always keep in mind there may be something truly important you want to app for (i.e. car loan or a new/refi mortgage), and that should come before any credit card app. It would be a shame to get a denial/less than favorable terms on a mortgage because you needlessly burned through HP's...

2-3 HP per year per report seems like a reasonable number to me.

I would say this closely resembles my strategy. I think there is value in apping for your core cards/limits at one time, especially if there isn't a major purchase coming into play in the future.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

SuperKirby — Sat, 10 May 2014 17:00:13 GMT

For me, a HP is only worth a new account for sign-up bonuses. Otherwise i leave it alone, no need for HP CLIs.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

fot1 — Sat, 10 May 2014 18:14:50 GMT

Hp's are worth about 8-10 points for me.. I kinda go off the guide line of 2-3 apps every 6 months and so far that has worked well.. Last month I added Amex BCE, Sallie Mae, and PSECU PSL/CC combo.. I plan to sit on those for another six months then look at CSP and Fidelity Amex.and ?? At that piont I will have eveyrthing I want covered... I think.. Outside of when I was looking to purchase a home I am not too concerened with using HP's

Re: How much do you value a HP?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 May 2014 18:29:25 GMT

When buying a house or a car all yur HPs only count as one in like 30 days, right?

Re: How much do you value a HP?

Anonymous — Sat, 10 May 2014 18:58:26 GMT

I have lots of foolishly acquired HPs on mine from about 6 months back. Since then I've gotten my AA "store" card, but all others have been SPs. I plan on doing a little 4-line spree within a few months, and then nothing else until the original ones are past 12 months old.

Personally I don't think the HPs are that big of a deal. But I avoid them unless there's something I really want.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

fot1 — Sat, 10 May 2014 19:00:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
When buying a house or a car all yur HPs only count as one in like 30 days, right?

Something like that.. But they have to coded the same way..

Re: How much do you value a HP?

dodgerslv — Sat, 10 May 2014 19:21:50 GMT

I have come to the point where i have slowed down on my apps. I went crazy in 2013 and added about 18 INQ on my EX report alonefor card products and one auto loan (i know, kinda foolish). Surprisingly about 80-90% of those HPs were succesfull for me. This year i have started with 6 total among all 3 CB so far. I will try to garden till september when i plan to try for the Cash+ and then Amex on Jan 2015 for backdating. Hopefully i can accomplish that. I gotta stop or else i will have a repeat of 2013.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

nhl1508 — Sat, 10 May 2014 20:02:24 GMT

@SuperKirby wrote:
For me, a HP is only worth a new account for sign-up bonuses. Otherwise i leave it alone, no need for HP CLIs.

Yes, this is my strategy too. I never took a hard pull for credit line increase, and it turns out just well.

My first card (Cap1 has just a $500 CL), not I got it up to almost $2000. Just 7 months ago, I got only about $4500 CL. Now all my total CL is more than $47,000. Even if I did hard pull CLI on all my cards back then (Discover, Cap1, Chase Freedom and Barclay NFL), I don't think I can get to where I am now. Compared to 4 assumed hard pulls for CLI with 5 hard pulls for all 5 new cards that I got, I am so glad that I apped for new cards.

So why not just spend your HPs on new cards, get a huge limit increases and some very nice sign-up bonuses on the process like I did? Your current trade lines will eventually catch up with auto CLI or SP CLI.

Re: How much do you value a HP?

Involver — Sat, 10 May 2014 20:13:03 GMT

EX HPs are worth about 2500.

EQ 50

TU 10