when you go on an app spree, how can it help?

[dominow]

i see and read about all the app sprees, and the success and denials. how or does this harm or help  scores? i app'd two new cards last week, one new approval and one 7-10 day worry.  got 2 cli's on 2 of my older ones.  i had only one inq, now 3. i feel as if i screwed up by getting new accounts. i'm hovering 700 scores. when i decide to grow my garden, should i acquire lots of cards first or be happy with the 6 i have? my wallet has: discover 7k, cap1, 9.5k, amazon 2k, elder beerman 1k, ge care credit 2.5k, just app'd citi visa 3k. just app'd usbank is the 7-10 worry. some folk have a dozen or more with blessed numbers. my goal is to one day,  have a steady 780 number.

[RnJ]

App'ing hurts more in the short term due to INQ's, lowering of AAoA, new accounts (too many new accounts can cause a denial with many creditors), and possibility of denials or low limits.

In the long term, IF you let new accounts age (generally 6 months to a year), the INQ's will be less severe in a year (but still remain on your report for 2 years).  In a year's time frame or so, you can always try for CLI's on current cards.  After six months to a year, depending on the card issuer, you can decide if another card is worth it, if another HP is worth it, and if AAoA dropping is worth it.

It takes time to accrue credit, decent cards, CLI's, lengthy history and thicker file, plus higher scores - it doesn't happen overnight.  With proper planning, it can be done, but it is still a slow process.

[BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest]

+1 it also helps your available UTL

[Kayo]

Agree with everything said above.

The amount of inquiries will definetly hurt in the short term, especially if you get multiple pulls from the same lender but your overall utlization and trade lines will help in the long run. No lender likes to see you apply for multiple amounts of credit at once. I would plan your "app spree" with lenders that pull different reports to reduce the amount of inquiries per CR.

I would recommend an app spree if you've gotten your credit profile to a good place for the cards you're trying to get and you don't plan on applying for any additional credit for the next 6 months to a year.

[dominow]

thanks! i'll begin my garden with 6 cards, 7 if my us bank 7-10 comes back favorably.  i''ll have 3 only inq's, dropping 1 this fall.

[RnJ]

If your recent INQ's are spread out across all three CR's, it isn't half as bad as having them all on one credit report.   Just keep in mind that future apps with different lenders *might* pull more than one report (for example, if your file is borderline with a certain lender, they might pull both EX and EQ, etc)