Should be on credit spree or not?? Biggest dilemma...Help me out....

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone...I am very much confused on my situation....Never thought to find myself ever in this situation. I am just unable to decide if I should be on a credit spree or not at this time....Its a catch 21 for me...Let me explain my dilemma.

I have been stragically preparing myself for the last 6 months for this time so that I could apply for at least 15-20 credit cards at the same time from banks and credit unions. I am darn sure that I have a pretty good chance to get most of them if not all...with good credit limit... because I have 821-842 credit score across all 3 credit bureaus right now...0% utilization...absolutely zero debt...never have had any late payment, collection.. bankruptcy...no any baddies whatsoever...not even any closed account except one (Discover) which shows that I closed that account even though Discover closed it down. Some might argue that closed accounts don't cause any problem if they are paid, but its not completely true as per my research, observation and experience. Lenders or their system don't see closed accounts favorerly if there are a few of them. And a closed account still falls under 5/24 rule with Chase and with many more lenders' internal rules...Anyway, I do not have to worry about it as well...And I also have a good verifiable income as well. My morgage and auto loan are shown fully paid on my credit report a few years back which is a combination of credit accounts (installment accounts) that lenders prefer to see in anyone's credit report...Further, I have only one credit account opened in 24 months and only one inquiry in 24 months. So I believe I have a very good chance to get good amount of credit right now.

However, here is the problem. I am very much interesting in Navy Federal's total exposure. And I know that in order for me to get their full exposure, it might take over a year or more if I do get lucky...but I believe I might never be able to get their full exposure if I go on a credit spree now...Why? If I apply for Navy Federal card now, I will get only one card...then after 91 days -3 statements later another one and then 6 months later...and don't know how much credit limit they would give...nobody knows...So its a long shot to get their full exposure which is still subject to be lucky...But if I do go on credit spree now then my chances will be gone for good with them  because- I already have too many open credit cards and over the top adding more will definately be a closed deal with Navy Federal for good since Navy Federal is extremely sensitive to those who have high score, high income, many accounts...many inquiries...and I also have over $600k available credit...so everything is already looking bad in my situation when it comes to NFCU given all the data points on various forums and then over the top going on a credit spree will definately close all doors for me for good for NFCU exposure.

But the problem is- if I do not go on a credit spree now then my chances with other incredible lenders will hamper in the future because then they will see some of new inquiries and new accounts there which will not look good to them than how many open accounts and total available CL I already have. I mean I do want to apply at least for two cards if I do not go on spree...US bank and NFCU but then I would need to wait almost two years to get all the cards I want from other lenders if not now because this much time it will take to get the full exposure from NFCU if I do get lucky...

I just can not give up obtaining their exposure and I also can not think of not getting other incredible cards from other lenders too...but given how many open accounts and total credit line available to me then its a hard decision what to do because I might never get second chance because of these two factors alone. I understand some people are still getting approval after 68 inquiries and with $67k income and 48-65 accounts in 22 months but those are not norm...Those situations are very hard to believe but if those are true then they are certainly not norm...

So, don't know what to do...Should I go on a credit spree and get at least 10-12 more good credit limit cards and forget about full exposure from NFCU for good....or just get 2 cards now and wait almost 2 years to be done with NFCU exposure and then take my chances with other lenders??? Not that I need any credit now...but my only concerned is-time is the essence in my situation..And please don't ask me as to why I need any more accounts...etc...etc...All I can say is- obtaining as much as credit is my passion and I also like challenges...I get thrill from obtaining big-big credit lines from as many lenders as I can...especially from rough and rowdy lenders..I never go for SUBs, APR..or this and that reasons to seek credit, rather I go to get them for my passion....Anyway, anymore credit added to my profile from now on will lower/hinder my future chances with future lenders given how many open accounts I already have and how much total credit available for me. Please help me to decide. Thanks....

[Anonymous]

Get the 2 cards and wait to get other cards. Although I love a good spree 10-12 IMO is excessive. Even if you get approved for all, you will see unfavorable results like low SL and high APRs. Believe me Ive been there. 

[Anonymous]

It seems to me that you already see some of the issues a planned spree of that magnitude will cause. I guess your decision is, do you want cards with useful limits that meet you needs, or do you want a bunch of useless limit cards sitting in a drawer somewhere so that you can feel like you've accomplished a goal of having x number of cards with x lenders?

That said, I don't care how good you feel your profile is or how confident you are that you'll see success on all of your planned apps, I doubt you'll make it 10 for 10 or 15 for 15. I'll place my bets on maybe 5 or 6 deep before it goes south. I don't know if there is ever a time for adding 10-15 cards in a matter of minutes, but if there is, now isn't it. 

Good luck though. 

[OmarGB9]

I don't think now is the time for any sort of app spree. We're still in the midst of a pandemic, and lenders have tightened up considerably, including NFCU. If you try applying for 10-20 cards now, I honestly can't see you getting approved for all or even most of them. Not in this economic climate, even with a perfect credit profile.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Something else that hasn't been mentioned yet, when lenders do their AR and SP your credit, you may see a rash of AA due to opening so many new accounts so quickly. You could see limit decreases, spending limits installed, or even account closures because a lender wants to mitigate their risk 

[simplynoir]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

Something else that hasn't been mentioned yet, when lenders do their AR and SP your credit, you may see a rash of AA due to opening so many new accounts so quickly. You could see limit decreases, spending limits installed, or even account closures because a lender wants to mitigate their risk 

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This is the main point for me. Even if by some lottery chance you're successful in applying and getting approved for all the cards you want in this proposed spree, the SP reports will almost ensure it will get taken back just as quickly because they see you as a huge risk no matter the scores or income you have. Just apply for the 2-3 cards you want to have and take into account any signup bonus spending you need to accomplish as well. Take a break for six months and re-evaluate your position before taking further action

[SecretAzure]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

Something else that hasn't been mentioned yet, when lenders do their AR and SP your credit, you may see a rash of AA due to opening so many new accounts so quickly. You could see limit decreases, spending limits installed, or even account closures because a lender wants to mitigate their risk 

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I am not an app spree kind of person, I have slowly acquired all of my CC's but I do read these forums and like Brian said, account closures are possible. But I don't think in the situation you're describing that it will just be possible. In that scenario, it seems very likely to happen. Even with a great profile at the start, nothing spooks a lender more than seeing a profile suddenly littered with HP's and new accounts. Sync has been on a spree of closing entire portfolios with them. IDK how many cards you currently have with Sync but be forewarned, they are no longer in the mood for playing games to appease those who app for everything under the sun. 

Again, I don't do sprees but I do read. Perhaps there is an income threshold where lenders stop caring about risk, I am not familiar with that. Just do be careful in the midst of a pandemic. Things aren't the same as they were 1.5 years ago.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello everyone...I am very much confused on my situation....Never thought to find myself ever in this situation. I am just unable to decide if I should be on a credit spree or not at this time....Its a catch 21 for me...Let me explain my dilemma.

I have been stragically preparing myself for the last 6 months for this time so that I could apply for at least 15-20 credit cards at the same time from banks and credit unions. I am darn sure that I have a pretty good chance to get most of them if not all...with good credit limit... because I have 821-842 credit score across all 3 credit bureaus right now...0% utilization...absolutely zero debt...never have had any late payment, collection.. bankruptcy...no any baddies whatsoever...not even any closed account except one (Discover) which shows that I closed that account even though Discover closed it down. Some might argue that closed accounts don't cause any problem if they are paid, but its not completely true as per my research, observation and experience. Lenders or their system don't see closed accounts favorerly if there are a few of them. And a closed account still falls under 5/24 rule with Chase and with many more lenders' internal rules...Anyway, I do not have to worry about it as well...And I also have a good verifiable income as well. My morgage and auto loan are shown fully paid on my credit report a few years back which is a combination of credit accounts (installment accounts) that lenders prefer to see in anyone's credit report...Further, I have only one credit account opened in 24 months and only one inquiry in 24 months. So I believe I have a very good chance to get good amount of credit right now.

However, here is the problem. I am very much interesting in Navy Federal's total exposure. And I know that in order for me to get their full exposure, it might take over a year or more if I do get lucky...but I believe I might never be able to get their full exposure if I go on a credit spree now...Why? If I apply for Navy Federal card now, I will get only one card...then after 91 days -3 statements later another one and then 6 months later...and don't know how much credit limit they would give...nobody knows...So its a long shot to get their full exposure which is still subject to be lucky...But if I do go on credit spree now then my chances will be gone for good with them  because- I already have too many open credit cards and over the top adding more will definately be a closed deal with Navy Federal for good since Navy Federal is extremely sensitive to those who have high score, high income, many accounts...many inquiries...and I also have over $600k available credit...so everything is already looking bad in my situation when it comes to NFCU given all the data points on various forums and then over the top going on a credit spree will definately close all doors for me for good for NFCU exposure.

But the problem is- if I do not go on a credit spree now then my chances with other incredible lenders will hamper in the future because then they will see some of new inquiries and new accounts there which will not look good to them than how many open accounts and total available CL I already have. I mean I do want to apply at least for two cards if I do not go on spree...US bank and NFCU but then I would need to wait almost two years to get all the cards I want from other lenders if not now because this much time it will take to get the full exposure from NFCU if I do get lucky...

I just can not give up obtaining their exposure and I also can not think of not getting other incredible cards from other lenders too...but given how many open accounts and total credit line available to me then its a hard decision what to do because I might never get second chance because of these two factors alone. I understand some people are still getting approval after 68 inquiries and with $67k income and 48-65 accounts in 22 months but those are not norm...Those situations are very hard to believe but if those are true then they are certainly not norm...

So, don't know what to do...Should I go on a credit spree and get at least 10-12 more good credit limit cards and forget about full exposure from NFCU for good....or just get 2 cards now and wait almost 2 years to be done with NFCU exposure and then take my chances with other lenders??? Not that I need any credit now...but my only concerned is-time is the essence in my situation..And please don't ask me as to why I need any more accounts...etc...etc...All I can say is- obtaining as much as credit is my passion and I also like challenges...I get thrill from obtaining big-big credit lines from as many lenders as I can...especially from rough and rowdy lenders..I never go for SUBs, APR..or this and that reasons to seek credit, rather I go to get them for my passion....Anyway, anymore credit added to my profile from now on will lower/hinder my future chances with future lenders given how many open accounts I already have and how much total available credit available for me. Please help me to decide. Thanks....

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Honestly, if you like challenges, your biggest challenge will be keeping the cards you already have, in addition to keeping new ones opened.

10-12 is excessive over the period of 2-3 years, and while in the past it was possible for some, but most ended up with some form of AA (especially when churning is suspected). 

If you're getting 😮 responses on CC forum, imagine how it will look to UW algorithm for any lender. 

Times have changed, and you need to change your thinking to how lending landscape looks now. 

[Anonymous]

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@Remedios wrote:

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Honestly, if you like challenges, your biggest challenge will be keeping the cards you already have, in addition to keeping new ones opened.

10-12 is excessive over the period of 2-3 years, and while in the past it was possible for some, but most ended up with some form of AA (especially when churning is suspected). 

If you're getting 😮 responses on CC forum, imagine how it will look to UW algorithm for any lender. 

Times have changed, and you need to change your thinking to how lending landscape looks now. 

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 You are right. As for keeping the cards that I already have then I think I have been handling that challenge quite well for a long time since I have those accounts for many many years except the one that opened 6 months back. Nobody wants to lose an account or get lowered their credit line, so obviously I will try my best to keep them, but sometimes lenders do things in very unimaginable way...They can shut down an account or lowered the credit line for no reason...Thank you for your input....appreciated...

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[Anonymous]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

Something else that hasn't been mentioned yet, when lenders do their AR and SP your credit, you may see a rash of AA due to opening so many new accounts so quickly. You could see limit decreases, spending limits installed, or even account closures because a lender wants to mitigate their risk 

---

I am not an app spree kind of person, I have slowly acquired all of my CC's but I do read these forums and like Brian said, account closures are possible. But I don't think in the situation you're describing that it will just be possible. In that scenario, it seems very likely to happen. Even with a great profile at the start, nothing spooks a lender more than seeing a profile suddenly littered with HP's and new accounts. Sync has been on a spree of closing entire portfolios with them. IDK how many cards you currently have with Sync but be forewarned, they are no longer in the mood for playing games to appease those who app for everything under the sun. 

Again, I don't do sprees but I do read. Perhaps there is an income threshold where lenders stop caring about risk, I am not familiar with that. Just do be careful in the midst of a pandemic. Things aren't the same as they were 1.5 years ago.

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I have also acquired all these cards slowly...in 13-15 yrs period. I've never applied more than 2-3 cards in a year at most until now...which is why I have only one account opened in last 24 months and only one inquiry I have in last 24 months which is also only in one CB. But I was thinking to go on credit spree this time because I thought if I don't go then I would never be able to get all those good cards ever given my situation. But I understand your point and do appreciate you. Time has changed....and we are still in the midst of pandemic..and acquiring this many accounts is certainly not a good idea unless I wouldn't care for them to shutting down any of my prospective accounts which I certainly won't like to have it....Thank you so much...