Hello,
I'm posting this in this forum because I feel it hinges on really 'understanding' FICO scoring and maybe people here have the best knowledge regarding the intricacies of how the score is calculated.
Some upfront information --
I'll be applying for a mortgage in the next few months.
I have 12 years of credit history (from student loans and auto).
I have one credit card (aquired 1.5 years ago).
I have one other card (though it's for jewelry, not sure if it counts as a different type of credit line).
The combined limit of the two above cards is 14,700.
I have very good credit and my utilization is quite low on the two cards (about 9%).
I have no inquiries in the last year.
In an effort to get the best rate on a mortgage, I'm looking to get my score as high as possible.
I'm wondering what the impact would be on my credit score if I did some sort of arbitrage, where I apply for another line of credit (which I will likely get) to drive down my utilization even further, even though I'll be hit with the inquiry. Seeing that the utilization carries more weight than the inquiry, it seems like a no-brainer. However, with credit scores, even the most common sense presumptions can turn out worse than expected (I read one person got hit with collections and their score increased...).
Another thing to consider is my limited lines of revolving credit and relatively short duration of credit history.
Bonus question - what is the easiest type of card to get, with the most generous limit? (ie. regular credit card vs something like a retailer issued card).
Thanks so much for any input.
