How Many Credit Cards For Best Credit Score

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your input !
I have read different things about store credit cards in the past that I just wanted to clear this up.

[delaney1]

I’ve seen three mentioned here a lot. Earlier this year I came across some info that said Five was the optimal number to maximize your score.

[shadanat]

That is probably a misconception because many times store cards have lower limits. However, there are some people who hold store cards with higher limits than a bank card.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Whether or not a card is retail tends to only matter with selective lenders and applying for a mortgage, but in the big picture, doesn't really matter.

[Anonymous]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

Whether or not a card is retail tends to only matter with selective lenders and applying for a mortgage, but in the big picture, doesn't really matter.

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Good point BES.  One caveat is that the non-FICO scoring models used by the insurance industry do penalize you for store cards.  Unclear by how much.  That in turn could conceivably affect a person's monthly premium.

[Anonymous]

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@delaney1I’ve seen three mentioned here a lot. Earlier this year I came across some info that said Five was the optimal number to maximize your score.

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While this may be true, it's important to at least attempt to quantify "maximize" your score.  My research has shown the average gain of 3 revolvers [at AZEO] compared to just 1 to be 8 points.  The proposed gain in going from 3 revolvers to 5 revolvers [at AZEO] has always been less, so while I've never tried to quantify the difference I think it's safe to say that it's less than an average of 8 points.  It's also worth noting that as little as 4 points has been cited as the gain in going from 1 to 3 revolvers, so it's conceivable that for some the move from 3 revolvers to 5 revolvers may yield a gain of 3 or less points.  My point here is that the scoring gains realized by adding more revolvers while rarely quantified are rather insignificant in many cases.  IMO if I were to make a top 5 list of the reasons people should consider adding additional revolvers, potential score gain may make #5 on the list, but possibly not make the list at all.

[Shooting-For-800]

One thing to consider...

The more accounts you have the less impact a late will have.

Yes, it will sting, but 1 late with 20 accounts is much different than 1 late with 3 accounts.

YMMV.

[Anonymous]

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@Shooting-For-800One thing to consider...

The more accounts you have the less impact a late will have.

Yes, it will sting, but 1 late with 20 accounts is much different than 1 late with 3 accounts.

YMMV.

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I don't know that this is true above.  At least not all the time.  Maybe in the example of 3 verses 20 accounts, since you're arguably talking a thin file verses a quite thick one.  If you're talking two files that are closer in number of accounts, say 7 and 9, I have my doubts that a late would impact those otherwise equal profiles any different.

[tooleman694]

I got a big boost from after adding the 1st card, another after the 2nd and a little with the 3rd. I added several more after and nothing happened. My scores are just kind of sitting there not moving, in the upper 600s.

I think I just need time now.

One plus though, is if I let a card report it doesn't change my overall util much and my score doesn't move up or down. If anything 1 or 2 points.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Shooting-For-800One thing to consider...

The more accounts you have the less impact a late will have.

Yes, it will sting, but 1 late with 20 accounts is much different than 1 late with 3 accounts.

YMMV.

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I don't know that this is true above.  At least not all the time.  Maybe in the example of 3 verses 20 accounts, since you're arguably talking a thin file verses a quite thick one.  If you're talking two files that are closer in number of accounts, say 7 and 9, I have my doubts that a late would impact those otherwise equal profiles any different.

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Fico scoring looks at the severity of lates, recency of lates and quantity of lates in absolute terms. The models do not use a % of total payments metric for lates.  For example, if a profile has five open revolvers with one three year old 90 day late and two recent 30 day lates, adding 5 additional revolvers will not lessen impact of the lates.

However, as BBS suggests, thin profile scorecards may weigh impact of lates differently than on a thick file scorecard. Fico does mention that targeted scoring factors may be assigned scorecard specific signal strengths.