No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
How many new accounts is considered too many new accounts in a 24 month period? I am aware of Chases 5/24 rule but in general, what do creditors consider too many?
@Medic981 wrote:How many new accounts is considered too many new accounts in a 24 month period? I am aware of Chases 5/24 rule but in general, what do creditors consider too many?
Every creditor is different and every profile is different. There is no universal answer to your question.
One thing to keep in mind is you may not be approved for credit when you need it because you over did it when you simply wanted it.
I feel it depends alot on the other factors as well tbh. Average age of accounts is a biggie, sure you may have 4 new accounts in past year but you have 10 years of history with exceptional payment history etc. etc. and you can get approved or you have 1 new account but no real history and a low income and could get a denial. 5/24 may be chase's rule but I think you can realistically go 7-8/24 if you divide it up and have a good AAOA, EPH, not too much debt. There come's a point when you have to figure how much do you actually need at this particular moment in which case 2-3 can be a solid number. I recently opened 5 accounts in the last month but I'd be lucky to even get CLIs in the next year due to AAOA. At the end of the day just use cost-benefit analysis. Think would an extra account here be worth it, how so, how likely does it get approved and what's the cost if I'm denied. If the card or account is worth taking a hit then go, but if you're hesistating and can wait a few months, then wait. A bunch of new open accounts probably means instant denial, but if you are really committed to whatever benefit you could get, then tell your story to a recon line and snag that line. For example, I had 6 inqs but really wanted an amazon card to build chase relationship. Instant denial due to inqs. Called and explained desire to build relationship, use benefits, etc. etc, approved. I can't promise a recon works for anything, but if you want something enough that you're willing to take a hit for it, 1 more account is ok (within reason, like I said don't go above 7-8 because it may cause some doubt) and if you can't accept a hit without the approval and live with that, then wait on applying for a bit.
Some issuers have hard limits on how often you can obtain new cards/how many of their cards you can have. Capital One's, for example, is 1 card per 6 months, and Discover is 1 card per year, with a maximum of 2. Beyond that, any issuer will decline your application if they consider, upon reviewing your application, that you've been opening too many new accounts or generating too many hard pulls on your report in too short a period of time - though that, of course, is a subjective judgment for every issuer.
The real question to ask is whether the card you're interested in is one that you expect to be using regularly and makes sense for you given the current state of your finances. If the answer is "yes", everything else falls into place in one way or another given enough time and planning. My own sense is that, all things considered, it's better to have a smaller number of cards with higher overall CL's, better rewards programs, no AF's and lower APR's than a lot of low-CL, high-interest cards which may or may not have AF's.
@Remedios wrote:
Every creditor is different and every profile is different. There is no universal answer to your question.One thing to keep in mind is you may not be approved for credit when you need it because you over did it when you simply wanted it.
+1, Exactly
Keep in mind there can be many reasons why someone has, in the issuer's opinion, too many new cards (or cards in general).
Is the person a bonus chaser who isn't likely to use the card much beyond minimum spend? An Egyptian disguising growing debt? Is a light spender building a credit empire with no real intention of using much of it?