Is there any drawbacks to apply for as many credit cards as you can while young?

[techcrium]

Assuming you are responsible with your credit, is there any drawbacks to applying as many credit cards as you humanly can when you are 18?

I am responsible with my credit card and so is my brother. We both pay back in full every month and have never carried a balance (not to mention late payment)

I am in the process of getting him to apply for as many credit cards as he can while he it still 18. For example, 10-12 this year. By the time he is 23-24 and finished college, he will have 10-12 credit cards with an average account age of 5-6 years and possibly a credit limit of $20K.

By the time he is ready for a mortgage, say age 30, he will have 12-15 credit cards with an average account age of 11-12 and possibly a credit limit of $40-50K.

The way I see it is, when you are 18, you can't afford an auto loan, you definitely can't afford a mortgage....so why not apply to 30-40 credit card companies (sure you will get rejected by half of them) but when you finish school, you will have a nice portfolio of cards with decent history.

What are the drawbacks to this? (assuming you are responsible with credit)

[blondy250]

Yeah, generally aaoa is important, but just applying for credit to have it is not such a great idea. First they'll probably be what are considered sub prime card, and you'll probably get denied after your second or third app anyway but still get all those HP's. Of course this is all dependent, what's your brothers FICO and income?

[techcrium]

I don't know what his FICO is.

His income is probably $4000 a year?

[09Lexie]

With an income that low, he'll be limited to the card he could qualify for...quality over quantity is always best.

He can get a secured card, keep it for a year and if his income increases next year, get an Amex. if he adds an additional Amex in a few years, he'll have the sufficient credit he will need without damaging his AAOA.

[brother7]

My advice: start off with one card, something that's practical and will be used. He's a student with a job so a student card which generally has more relaxed underwriting requirements would be a good choice. I would suggest Citi Forward for College Students.

Six months down the road, add another card, say Discover it for Students.

Then every six months, evaluate spending patterns and consider adding a new card to fulfill a certain need, such as a card with gas rewards or a particular store card where you shop a lot or a Walmart Discover card to get a free monthly TU score.

According to this myFICO infographic on FICO high achievers (those with FICO 785 or higher), high achievers have an average of 7 credit cards. I think that's a good number of cards to have.

[coldnmn]

Credit is not a race it's a journey.  Slow and steady wins the race.