How soon is too soon to apply again?

[Hut1]

So, I'm almost 40 and never owned a CC until about 4 months ago. I know.. face palm. Long story short - I left home still wet behind the ears, married young and let him wash what little bit of credit I had down the toilet. We're talking low 5's for a decade. There were some auto repo's, medical bills, etc.. just typical irresponsible things that could've been avoided if I wasn't so naiive to how credit works. I pretty much gave up and started paying cash for everything. 

Flash forward to about 6 mos ago - my current hubs made me download CK and I got all excited when I saw I had somewhat mid 6's. (Of course, I know now Vantage & FICO are different.) Hubs persuaded me to apply for a Navy Go CC in May & I was appoved w/ a 15K CL. Woah. They offered a free EQ FICO and I noticed it was different than what CK reported, so that's how I ended up here. My score jumped 110 points on CK.. not sure what my FICO was before I got the card. I just applied 2 days ago & was approved for a Cap1 QS w/ 5K CL.

So, here's my stats:

- OPEN: 2 installment accts (student loans $9K total) - on time/good standing

- OPEN: 1 revolving (Navy Go - QS hasn't hit CRA yet) - PIF monthly/0 balance/low UTI

- 0 collections

- 2 HI within 6 mo

- AAoC is 6y

- CLOSED: 2 installment accts (vehicle loans) - on time/good standing

- CLOSED/SOLD: 2 +120d late installment accts (my student loans came out of deferment - I had no idea. It's 5 mos worth of those w/ the last baddie being 2/2015. They were reopened under my current loans)

The simulator says I'm only going to receive a 5 point bump for the Cap1 QS. I'm hoovering between 678-691 FICO8 now. Hubs said I need a 3rd CC. Would that push me over 7 and if so, how soon is too soon to apply? Short term goal is to reach the 740 club. Hoping this is the right forum to ask this..TIA!

[Anonymous]

Welcome. 

If I was in your situation, I’d wait a minimum of 6 months before I applied for an additional card. 

You’ve got 2 cards with good, usable limits. Use them appropriately, PIF (but let at least a very small balance report on at least one of them, FICO penalizes for $0 revolving balance), and let them age. 

[Medic981]

Personally, I would limit my applications for credit cards and revolving lines of credit to 1 account every six months. By doing this you will always be below Chase's 5/24 rule which some other CC issuers seem to be slowly adopting. 

[Hut1]

Thanks for validating how I was feeling. I see so many contributors, yourself included, who have a ton of cards. I have no idea how you guys handle them all! Is 3 CC's enough for my overall credit health? Especially if I can negotiate a CLI down the road?

[Hut1]

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@Medic981 wrote:

Personally, I would limit my applications for credit cards and revolving lines of credit to 1 account every six months. By doing this you will always be below Chase's 5/24 rule which some other CC issuers seem to be slowly adopting. 

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I had to google the 5/24 rule after reading your Chase covet thread. Lol. 

[Anonymous]

There is no specific number you need. That said, if you’re looking for max FICO points, a minimum of three cards with only one of them reporting a very small balance is ideal. 

Again, this is if you’re trying to maximize your score and it isn’t necessary to race to that point.  Check prequals in about 6 months (AMEX and Discover might be good options) and then pick up another card that’s useful to you. 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@Hut1 wrote:

Thanks for validating how I was feeling. I see so many contributors, yourself included, who have a ton of cards. I have no idea how you guys handle them all! Is 3 CC's enough for my overall credit health? Especially if I can negotiate a CLI down the road?

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You can get a perfect score with 1 card.

[Hut1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

There is no specific number you need. That said, if you’re looking for max FICO points, a minimum of three cards with only one of them reporting a very small balance is ideal. 

Again, this is if you’re trying to maximize your score and it isn’t necessary to race to that point.  Check prequals in about 6 months (AMEX and Discover might be good options) and then pick up another card that’s useful to you. 

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That's very helpful. Thank you. It seems like every month or so, they have new offers that come out to lure you in. It's overwhelming. I have my cashback card, and my points card and I have no idea where to go from there. Lol. I don't travel much, but maybe I should consider it in case I do.

One question I did have is, should you try to diversify your lenders? Does that make a difference with FICO calc's?

[Hut1]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

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@Hut1 wrote:

Thanks for validating how I was feeling. I see so many contributors, yourself included, who have a ton of cards. I have no idea how you guys handle them all! Is 3 CC's enough for my overall credit health? Especially if I can negotiate a CLI down the road?

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You can get a perfect score with 1 card.

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I have so many questions. Lol.

[Anonymous]

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@Hut1 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

There is no specific number you need. That said, if you’re looking for max FICO points, a minimum of three cards with only one of them reporting a very small balance is ideal. 

Again, this is if you’re trying to maximize your score and it isn’t necessary to race to that point.  Check prequals in about 6 months (AMEX and Discover might be good options) and then pick up another card that’s useful to you. 

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That's very helpful. Thank you. It seems like every month or so, they have new offers that come out to lure you in. It's overwhelming. I have my cashback card, and my points card and I have no idea where to go from there. Lol. I don't travel much, but maybe I should consider it in case I do.

One question I did have is, should you try to diversify your lenders? Does that make a difference with FICO calc's?

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Diversification can have its positives, for sure. From a FICO standpoint, however, it makes zero difference.