Inquiry sensitive/too many inquiries

[Anonymous]

I'm just curious as to how new inquiries need to typically be to be flagged as "too many recent inquiries". I know the general rule is app every 6 months, but I'm not sure if that's based on the above. 

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Depends on the issuer, some banks have strict rules and others are hit or miss. For new accounts Wells Fargo denied me for 3/12 (3 new accounts in the last 12 months), Chase will deny for 5/24, BoA is 3/12 unless you have a banking relationship then its 7/12.  AmEx and Discover don't seem to care. Any particular bank you are trying to get approved by?

[nccarguy1]

There just isn't a hard fast rule on inquiries with the exception of Chase with 5/24 or a few lenders who publish their standard.  Denial for too many inquiries is usually just an excuse.  Your credit profile and relationship with a particular lender is the most important factor.  For example, I've banked with US Bank for 25+ years.  When the Altitude card was first introduced there were posts that said people with 4-5 inquiries were declined.  I app'd with 18 inquiries and got instant approval for $17.5K.  Hope this helps. 

[Aim_High]

Let's don't confuse the issue of "new inquiries" versus "new accounts" @Anonymous and @nccarguy1.  It's already complicated enough!  Lol

Chase's 5/24 rule is not inquires.  It's new accounts, specifically new personal credit card accounts approved and opened in the past 24 months.  It has nothing to do with inquiries, but they could have some additional rule for that also that is not well-known.

As stated above, @Anonymous, there's no hard and fast rule.  Some lenders are more sensitive than others.  Some look heavily at inquiries while others might just care more about new accounts.  The focus might be on new accounts in six months but it could also be on new accounts in 12 months or even 24 months based on the lender.  We know about Chase's 5/24 because they are a large lender and the webz have assembled enough data points to identify the existence of that rule.  Other lenders probably have similar guidelines.

I've been applying a lot for new credit in the past year or so and I've seen both reasons listed on a couple of recent denials.  From my experience, the limiting factor with most lenders is more about new accounts than with inquiries.  And if you're careful, you can spread your inquiries out among the credit reporting bureaus so keep them more manageable by timing your applications.  (See the My Fico thread about "Which Banks Pull Which CRBs..." 

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/The-quot-Which-Banks-Pull-Which-Report-For-Apps-quot-list/td-p/5542910

US Bank is a lender that is known for being 'inquiry' and 'new account' sensitive, for example.  Some others much less so.  Bank of America has different (more lenient) standards if you have banking accounts with them.

Applying for one new card every six months is usually a way to keep you safe from denials due to either too many new accounts or inquiries.  But today, with coronavirus effects on the economy, it appears many lenders have tightened their standards further. 

[Anonymous]

+1

and if you’re speaking in regard to scoring, one will get that negative reason code.