Card Sprees

[Anonymous]

So you've done your time in the garden, two years or so and you are offically 0/24. 

It's at this point I've seen people go on card sprees and take on anywhere from 2-3 to 5-10 inq as they add to their collection. 

My question is, what are some of the benefits and dangers of going on some of these sprees?

I assume that ideally if you were attempting to build credit, 1-2 inqs every year would be okay if you are trying to build/churn slowly.

But as someone that had 6 inqs this past summer I also see some of the benefits.

From my perspective, pros include access to lots of subs, improved utilization, feelings of accomplishment/pride and general happiness from approvals, and help in establishing a better long term AAOA (the accounts will age faster bunched up in contrast to opening 2 a year) 

Some negatives would be banks possibly closing your accounts due to appearing too credit hungry, hurting your score in the short term, denying yourself a good shot at any new great subs/cards that come out within 6 months. 

What are some things that I'm missing that makes app sprees something positive or something negative? 

[ChessChik47]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So you've done your time in the garden, two years or so and you are offically 0/24. 

It's at this point I've seen people go on card sprees and take on anywhere from 2-3 to 5-10 inq as they add to their collection. 

My question is, what are some of the benefits and dangers of going on some of these sprees?

I assume that ideally if you were attempting to build credit, 1-2 inqs every year would be okay if you are trying to build/churn slowly.

But as someone that had 6 inqs this past summer I also see some of the benefits.

From my perspective, pros include access to lots of subs, improved utilization, feelings of accomplishment/pride and general happiness from approvals, and help in establishing a better long term AAOA (the accounts will age faster bunched up in contrast to opening 2 a year) 

Some negatives would be banks possibly closing your accounts due to appearing too credit hungry, hurting your score in the short term, denying yourself a good shot at any new great subs/cards that come out within 6 months. 

What are some things that I'm missing that makes app sprees something positive or something negative? 

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Hi OP!  There are lots of existing threads on the credit card app spree topic already, I suggest researching and reading through them as there is very good information out there.   I think for me the bottom line is:  building good credit doesn't happen overnight.  Folks constantly state that building credit is a "marathon, not a sprint".  App sprees may provide some benefits in the short term, but this credit game is a long term thing.  

[FinStar]

OP, as mentioned above, plenty of threads on this topic. Here's a link to a recent one by using the search function :

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/App-spree-gone-horribly-wrong/m-p/5259086

[HeavenOhio]

The only benefit I see is that one's AoYA (age of youngest account) is only reset to zero once rather than repeatedly if apps are spread out. But oftentimes, people who spree are going to app again within a few months anyway and reset AoYA to zero again at that point.

When someone wants to retool, I'm a fan of one card every six or seven months. Six months is enough gardening to keep from spooking lenders and keeps you under 5/24.