Juggling hard inquiries - Credit Card Questions

[Anonymous]

Having discovered the benefits of cash-back cards, I did my research and now want to apply for three different ones. But that means three hard inquiries and three big hits to my score.

How should I manage it? How long to wait in-between each one?

(Is it really true that hard inquiries stay on your score for two years??? Omg.)

[Pikaboo-icu]

Welcome to My Fico! 

The HP's don't have a huge affect on your score, it's minimal but adding new card will.

Depending on the age of your credit now, that can have a larger impact.

They do stay on your report for two years but stop effecting your score after a year.

Timing on apps can be dependant upon what cards you're applying for..

What are you going after? Current cards & ages? 

CHEERS

[CreditInspired]

Welcome OP

If it’s just CB cards you’re interested, just apply for 1 vs 3 right now. I suggest the DiscoverIT. The first year is double cashback and during 5% categories, you can really wrack up. Also Disco has 12-mo 0% APR so it’s almost like hitting the jackpot.

GL2U

[xaximus]

Which 3 CB cards are you looking at? As far as apping, I would space the apps around 3-6 months each. Just to be on the safe side. As mentioned above, Discover IT is a good card, depending on what your expenses/purchases are, Amex BCE, Citi DC/Paypal 2%, Freedom, and a few others come to mind.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, everyone, this was really helpful! Please excuse my ignorance, Pikaboo and Credit, but I don't know what "HP's" and "OP" mean.  :*)

You asked about which three cash-back cards I had chosen. I did extensive research on www.nerdwallet.com (great site for card comparisons!), and found three that give 5% back on revolving categories with no annual fee. The three I chose are:

• USBank Cash+ Visa Signature

• Chase Freedom

• Citi Double-Cash

I found that all three of the above are better than the Discover It. (At least for me they are.)

I applied for the USBank card first, and it is currently in process. My credit history is rather short, which makes these hard inquiries even worse. Ugh. I think I should take the advice of Xaximus and wait three months before applying for the next one.

Pikaboo, you asked about card ages. I'm sorry, I just don't know what you mean. Can you please clarify?

(I wanted to show you all the results of my research on nerdwallet.com, but there doesn't appear to be a way to attach a file here....)

Thanks for your help. Would love to hear anything else you have to say! I'm really not very knowledgable about credit scores.  :-)

[Pikaboo-icu]

No worries, sometimes we forget about using the abbreviations, it's just automatic..

Here's a link with the common ones, in case (hopefully) you decide to stick around, post and learn about credit..

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

OP- Original Poster

HP- Hard Pull or credit inquiry; note: there are also SP, soft pulls that do NOT effect your score.

Credit ages: The age and SL (starting limit) of your oldest card

Also if you have more than one, the age of all cards, this can help determine AAoA, average age of account.

Another factor will be UTI/utilization of your cards aka balance owed against the CL (credit limit). 

Also, where are you getting your scores? Most sites like Wallet Hub, Credit Karma are great for monitoring your reports but the scores are not FICO. FICO scores are the ones lenders use to determine granting credit so this is important to help you decide what you may be approved for.

Disco it may not "seem" like a good fit but if your credit is thin/new, Disco will grant credit to new files.

That way you can build your profile & qualify for better cards..

Good Luck on the US Bank Cash+  I have that card and it's a good one..

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

But that means three hard inquiries and three big hits to my score.

---

Not at all.  HPs are one of the smallest scoring impact factors.  They would be tiny hits, not big hits.  Also due to inquiry binning, if all 3 were to land on the same bureau, which is unlikely, not all 3 would adversely impact your score.  From the inquiries, you stand to lose maybe 5-6 points on each bureau if they are all spread out, or 10-12 on one bureau if they all land on one. 

The new accounts causing reductions to your age of accounts factors can have a far more adverse impact on your scores than inquiries.

[Remedios]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you, everyone, this was really helpful! Please excuse my ignorance, Pikaboo and Credit, but I don't know what "HP's" and "OP" mean.  :*)

You asked about which three cash-back cards I had chosen. I did extensive research on www.nerdwallet.com (great site for card comparisons!), and found three that give 5% back on revolving categories with no annual fee. The three I chose are:

• USBank Cash+ Visa Signature

• Chase Freedom

• Citi Double-Cash

I found that all three of the above are better than the Discover It. (At least for me they are.)

I applied for the USBank card first, and it is currently in process. My credit history is rather short, which makes these hard inquiries even worse. Ugh. I think I should take the advice of Xaximus and wait three months before applying for the next one.

Pikaboo, you asked about card ages. I'm sorry, I just don't know what you mean. Can you please clarify?

(I wanted to show you all the results of my research on nerdwallet.com, but there doesn't appear to be a way to attach a file here....)

Thanks for your help. Would love to hear anything else you have to say! I'm really not very knowledgable about credit scores.  :-)

---

When you say your credit history is short, how short are we talking about 

None of the lenders above are particulary fond of young files 

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you, everyone, this was really helpful! Please excuse my ignorance, Pikaboo and Credit, but I don't know what "HP's" and "OP" mean.  :*)

You asked about which three cash-back cards I had chosen. I did extensive research on www.nerdwallet.com (great site for card comparisons!), and found three that give 5% back on revolving categories with no annual fee. The three I chose are:

• USBank Cash+ Visa Signature

• Chase Freedom

• Citi Double-Cash

I found that all three of the above are better than the Discover It. (At least for me they are.)

I applied for the USBank card first, and it is currently in process. My credit history is rather short, which makes these hard inquiries even worse. Ugh. I think I should take the advice of Xaximus and wait three months before applying for the next one.

Pikaboo, you asked about card ages. I'm sorry, I just don't know what you mean. Can you please clarify?

(I wanted to show you all the results of my research on nerdwallet.com, but there doesn't appear to be a way to attach a file here....)

Thanks for your help. Would love to hear anything else you have to say! I'm really not very knowledgable about credit scores.  :-)

---

Citi Double Cash is a flat 2% cash back card. Discover It is a rotating 5% category card like the Freedom except the Discover is 2% back on everything and 10% back on the rotating categories due to cash back match for the first year. 

Out of all the cards you listed, none of them like young credit files as Remedios pointed out whereas Discover is known to be very generous to thin files. 

The Discover It at least matches the 2% rate of the Citi DC for the first year and then becomes a rotating category card. 

If you want a flat 2% card, check out the PayPal cashback card. It’s a flat 2% but it requires you to manage the card through PayPal but it tends to be easier to get than the Citi DC. 

[Anonymous]

Wow, this site is wonderful! I'm so appreciative of you guys! 

Pikaboo, thanks for the explanations. Quick favor:  Could you not use moving images in your replies? I have bad ADD and it's hard on me. Thanks for understanding!

Both you and Remedios asked about my short credit history. Let me explain. For all these years I've had one Visa debit card that I used for everything. (As I just learned, debit cards don't reflect in a credit history.) Then in late 2017, I acquired a Chase Visa. It offers 3% back on Whole Foods and Amazon. I do almost all my grocery shopping at WF, and buy other random things on Amazon. It then gives 2% back on all restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else. So I started using it for all WF and Amazon purchases.

In mid-2018, someone advised me I should use the Chase Visa for everything, and drop my debit card which had no cash-back at all. So I did. I'm loving the cash back! But the sudden increase in card usage hit my credit rating.  :-(

I'm now wanting to increase my cash-back benefits with other cards, and applied for the USBank one in early January. When I spoke to them earlier this week, it seemed likely I'd get accepted. I plan to take the advice of Xaximus and wait a few months before applying for another.

Finally, I use auto-pay and never carry any balances. (Actually, I have no idea what my credit limit is!) I will do the same for all future cards.

Brutal, I never knew that about bureaus -- interesting. But I don't have any idea how to learn that ahead of time. And could you please explain your last sentence? I'm afraid I didn't understand.

Thank you, everyone!!!