Help! I think I opened too many cards......

[Anonymous]

We closed escrow on our home on July 31st and knew we were going to obtain new cards for home improvement and furnishings.

It started out innocently enough, I applied for Target ($300 SL) & Home Depot ($1000 SL), both which were approved. 

During this time my husband applied for Walmart MC ($500 SL) and was also approved and I was added on as AU. 

I should have just stopped there but noooo. I guess the excitement of being a new homeowner and actually being able to apply for credit with a "good" credit score got the best of me....(we had previously worked super hard to raise scores to qualify for mortgage)

Since then I've also obtained the following:

Mor Furniture ($5500 SL)

TJX Rewards ($400 SL) 

Kohls ($300 SL)

Ulta ($1000 SL)

I also applied for the Chase Disney Visa, Hobby Lobby (US Bank) & AMEX.....all which were declined. 

I guess I am starting to see the consequences of all these new accts and inquiries....

I know for a fact TU & EX FICOs have taken at least a 40 point drop since we closed escrow, with EQ probably not far behind. 

Did I make a huge mistake by obtaining all of these cards at once?? 

My mortgage is not even showing on my credit report yet...should I expect another point drop when it does??

I am currently open to all comments and suggestions on what my course of action should be. 

[Anonymous]

your score will definitely drop because your credit age will drop but it will come back up if you stop applying for new credit and let your new accounts age for 6 months to a year

[UpperNwGuy]

Yes, you applied for too many cards.  The denials are the proof of that.  Stop applying for new cards and carefully manage the cards that you have.  No new cards until sometime next year.

[xaximus]

As others have stated - too much, too fast. Slow down and build on what you have now. Utilize the cards you have obtained and whatever you don't need, use it once in 6 months to keep active. Make sure you set everything on Auto-pay so nothing is late and your scores will recover over time. Definitely time to garden for atleast 6 months to a year (minimum). Also - apply for the cards you actually need and use, not just because you can. I wouldn't fret too much since what's done is done now.

[Anonymous]

First, congratulations on your new home. It certainly is an exciting time for those who really put in the effort to see those goals realized. Surly too many cards are being applied, and when a person sees such small SL that should be the first sign to stop. Clearly the denials indicate it is past the time to have stopped. 

However, having stated that, work on letting them age. Yes the mortgage is going to drop the score due to being not only a new account but also being too close to the starting balance. 

I still think you’re in a place to enjoy your efforts. While you’re letting them age, think about building a portfolio that is going to reward you for how you shop and your lifestyle. 

Again, congratulations and I look forward to you posting some thing 9 to 12 months for now. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you all very much for the input. Deep down I knew I had over extended my self. But like mentioned above what’s done is done. All I can do now is try to be smart with all of these cards and let them grow.

Should I be worried about my older acct creditors like Disover or Cap 1 taking any type of action on me since I’v opened up all these accts?

[Anonymous]

Any damage to your actual credit score is just temporary and can't be unchanged.

My recommendation with all your new credit lines is first to stay out of debt -- don't pay any interest!  Pay your statement in full each month, this will keep you from paying interest and help your credit score.  Let things settle down for at least 6 months before you think of opening anything new.  Next time you might want to strategize a bit more on which cards you want to open instead of applying on a whim.  

[FinStar]

OP, what's done is done and all you can do is make it work for you. So, as it's been mentioned above, congratulations on the new home. Definitely a great achievement nonetheless.

It's easy to get caught up in the moment (almost like playing the slots) when favorable outcomes occur. But, as with anything, too much in such a short time can backfire sometimes.

Not all is lost, you can definitely grow some of your new fruits over time and get those scores resituated. For instance, TJX (SYNCB), Kohl's (Capital One) and Ulta (Comenity) all have SP CLI potential, including your DH's Walmart CC. What I would suggest is not to overextended yourself by increasing debt on those new CCs since that can be a slippery slope. But, use them periodically to build history and age things for a while.

[Gmood1]

What's done is done. It's unlikely your other lenders will do anything.
Chill out and use what you have. Your scores will return and be higher than where they were when you started.
The scores will stabilize.. trust me.
They will likely dip lower before they start to rise.

[Anonymous]

A couple of questions and comments for the OP here.

First, what are your FICO scores?  You mentioned "good" credit, so that sounds like you're looking at a chart or something provided by a CMS that uses some fluff software.  Knowing where your FICO score stand is very important.  One thing that's concerning to me and one of the reasons I ask what your scores are is that your approval limits overall were very low.  This is usually indicative of a weak file, but lots of different things can make a file weak.  High utilization, negative items, a thin file, a young file, low income, etc.  Any one or more of these factors (among others) can cause your profile to be weak enough to register tiny limit approvals or denials.

One thing I would definitely caution you on is obtaining so many "store" cards rather than major bank cards.  Store cards are typically easier to get approved for, but they generally aren't all too useful since they can only be used in one place.  It looks like you received denials when applying for major bank cards (Chase, Amex) which is a strong indicator that you need to slow down on the apps and lay off the store cards going forward IMO.