Update: DEAD! Don’t miss it if this becomes alive again. Sign up for deal notification alerts here!
Find other articles like this by clicking on the “credit card posts” tab on top of the DansDeals banner at the top of this site.
————————————————-
First in a series. In the future I hope to cover topics like building credit for beginners, FICO vs. FAKO scores, credit pulls by state of residence, credit freezing for more card approvals, when to pay your bill to gain points on your credit score, and more.
Have a question about your credit score? Post a comment and I’ll try to tackle it in a future FAQ post.
Part of my collection…
————————————————-
Q: Doesn’t opening and closing cards hurt your score?
A: Not if done properly.
Opening a card typically entails a credit check, also known as a hard pull, which can lower your score by a couple points. However the “New Credit” category only makes up 10% of your FICO credit score, or 85 of 850 possible points. Even if you theoretically you had zero points in that category (extremely unlikely) you can still have a top-notch credit score by scoring well in the major categories. Payment History makes up 35%, amounts owed and credit utilization make up 30%, length of credit history makes up 15%, and types of credit used makes up the final 10%.
To mitigate the effects of opening a card for a signup bonus I always apply for cards via the “2bm/3bm/mbm method.” This means using 2 or 3 web browsers, like IE, Chrome, and Firefox, to apply for 2 or 3 different cards from the same bank, as close to each other as possible. Personally I’ll fill out the application form on all 3 browsers and then hit submit on all of them within a few seconds. This way you can get 2 or 3 cards with just 1 credit pull. There’s no guarantee you’ll get accepted to all 3, but this increases the odds of getting multiple cards.
An “AOR” or app-o-rama is the process of using multiple 2/3bms from multiple banks as quickly as possible, in order to get approved for more cards from more banks.
Note that when applying for a Capital One credit card you will get 3 hard credit pulls for a card application, while every other bank only does 1 pull.
Hard pulls count against you the most for about 6 months and fall off your report completely after about 2 years.
The bottom line is that by having more total credit which means lower overall credit utilization and by paying those bills off on time your score will easily recover the few points lost for opening the card and your score will be even higher than where it was in the first place. That’s how I’m able to have a top-notch FICO score even with applying for hundreds of credit cards.
As far as closing cards, there are many different options here:
-You can downgrade a card to a free version, sparing yourself the annual fee. This can be done even after you get a statmeent with the annual fee due.
-You can speak to a retention department who will often be willing to either waive an annual fee, give you miles to stay, or give a spending credit for you not to close your card.
-You can apply for new cards and after being rejected talk to the Reconsideration department and the vast majority of the time they will be willing to approve a new card in exchange for you agreeing to close an older card and move the credit line from an old card to a new card. You can also always get reconsideration to move over part of the credit line of an old card to get a new card approved.
Bear in mind that with cards from American Express there are just so many promotions they run, that they should easily be paying off your annual fee and then some, especially if you add free additional cardholders that can also participate in all of their promotions.
A common misconception is that closing a card hurts your score. This does not have to be the case. Even after you close a card it still remains on your credit report for at least a decade and still helps the average age of your accounts/length of your credit history. When you do close a card if you lose the credit line that can hurt your total credit and credit utilization, however if you close old cards by getting approved for new cards via reconsideration then you can have that entire line moved over to a new card. By doing so there will be no hit to your credit score, at least until that account falls off your report in a decade from now, though by then you will have other older cards to take its place.
You generally should not close your oldest credit card though, as that card sets the date of your credit age and you don’t want that to ever fall off your report.
It’s worth noting here that AMEX cards actually always backdate the opening to when you first opened an AMEX card, so opening AMEX cards can actually have a very positive effect on your credit score. You can especially use this to your advantage by adding yourself as an AU to one of your parents cards, but that’s for another article…
Leave a Reply
127 Comments On "Credit Score FAQs Part 1: Opening And Closing Cards."
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
What do you suggest is better to build credit history a gap credit card or a capitalone credit card (MTV visa)which is for average credit history???
Dan,
So if I get a second the Starwood card, after I spend the necessary amount and got the miles/points. Do I close the card and transfer the line of credit? Will that affect my credit history/score score?
If I open up 3 different chrome windows will that have the same desired affect as 3 mb or does it have 2 b different browsers specifically? also will this work when applying 4 business & personal?
Dan, if you downgrade a card or transfer a credit line, how does this affect the average age of your accounts? In other words, is this considered like a brand new account, or a continuation of the previous credit line?
How does it work for AMEX? You are always deemed a “member since” with a date. Wondering if that means your credit has been open with them for that long if you open and close different AMEX cards or if opening and closing AMEX Cards (all the while having at least one AMEX Card) hurts the score.
It seems you are suggesting in your analysis that it is viewed as a brand new account, but it would be great if you could confirm.
How about asking for a credit increase from amex does it hurt ? Is it worth ?
What credit score do I need to get accepted for Amex? I just applied for a business starwood. And they rejected me because I only have Fico 637.
Would it help to call reconsideration? Or is there a minimum Fico I need first
@avram:
Capital One is 3 credit pulls, GAP takes just one.
@Jay:
If you transfer the credit line then it won’t affect your credit, but why close it?
Open free AU’s and make a profit on all of their promotions like Small Business Saturday, etc.
@sol:
No, it needs to be different browser brands.
It’s really hard to get 4 new cards approved.
@Gilad:
Downgraded cards typically retain everything from the previous card.
When you transfer credit to close a card then that card is closed, however it continues to improve your average age for at least 10 years until it falls off your report.
@J:
I’ve added a paragraph to the end of the article for you.
@cw3323:
Usually that will entail a hard pull, but you can ask if you qualify for an increase without a hard pull.
@YouG:
It’s always worth calling reconsideration, but 637 is a low score. Definitely try working to improve that.
@sol: Must be 3 different browsers. Try and keep it just business or just personal. Also for Amex use incognito or clear cache and cookies.
Great post series. Looking forward to the rest.
if I closed a card and transfered most of the credit line to a different card besides $500 that they didnt let me, will that effect my credit?
@Dan: TO CLARIFY: WILL THE 3-BROWSER’S HELP FOR CROSS BTWN BUSINESS AND PERSONAL CARDS OR ONLY 1 TYPE?
@Sunny:
Unless you have a small overall credit line I wouldn’t sweat the $500.
However had you applied for a new card and offered to close the old one in the process you can usually salvage the entire credit line.
@sol:
It’ll still help to get approved for both cards, though if you mix consumer and business it can cause a 2nd pull.
How many Cards are in that Picture?
Are those cards all open or closed or a mix?
What’s your credit line?
I just got the Amex Platinum card. Anyhow I can use the $200 annual airline credits for airline vouchers?
Also can I close out a line with Amex and move the line to a new card the way it can be done with chase credit cards? I know the Plat is a charge card but I’m wondering about what to do because I have no other MR cards and I want to be able to transfer to airlines…
Also how long can I wait from signup until I can sign up for another plat and get signup bonus?
Please help! I’ve tried a few times not to pay my annual fee on the Starwood card and the Platinum card but to no avail. How do I do it? What do I say? Who do I speak with?
A few questions:
1) Does closing charge cards have an effect on your score? (Since there is no “official” line of credit)
2) How does business credit cards affect your score?
3) Is the damage of closing a credit card so great that it is worth the hassle of asking the cc issuer every time to move over the old line?
In the past i have applied for chase credit cards but was rejected because i had too many chase cards already open. It seems that by not closing some accounts you will be prevented from opening new ones. Is this true? Is it so terrible to close accounts and then apply for new ones from the same bank?
Also, if i continually apply for new credit cards to get the promotion sign up bonus and then cancel after a few months or a year, can i then just re-apply for the same card to get the sign up bonus again? Would i have problems getting approved? is there a waiting period? And how would this all effect my credit score?
Thank Dan!
Where is ur virgin america credit card?
If i have 15 credit cards should i try to use all of them every month or just use some
are all ofthose credit cards active and open? is it possible to gain sign up benifits from a card when you already have that card open? i tried getting the sign up bonus from starwoods but since i closed my last starwoods card back in november, it hasnt been a year yet and i cant get the 30,000 bonus points. any pointers?
I’m really excited about this new series, it’ll surely help clear up misconseptions and be a great source of knowledge. Thanks Dan! I’m looking forward to the next one!
is fico my real score? i got approved for for an amex and they gave me my score with it, just wana know if thats the right score
Does getting rejected for a card affect your score?
@jj1000: Yes. Everytime you apply for credit, whether you are approved or not, your credit is (hard) pulled. Every hard pull causes a slight dip (up to 7 or 8 points or so) in your score.
@dan they gave me my fico score, said its 764.. is it accurate?
I opened an amex gold card last year in july, and they did pull from all three credit bureau’s.
@hey:
If it’s FICO it should be accurate. Good score by the way!
@do100:
I’ve never heard or experienced AMEX doing that, sounds very strange.
I just opened a sapphire preferred card- after getting the sign up bonus how much spending on the card justifies paying the annual fee? if i dont reach that threshhold and they wont waive the fee what is the best option? closing it? getting a non preffered instead??
wow dan great post! 🙂 u quickly threw it in “adding an au helps credit line” http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=18923.45 there is a whole argument if this is even true…
also i second that about amex, my father opened me up a looong time ago bec i thought i needed a biz card for a corporate acct and till today amex acknowledges that im a long time costumer with them, even though i have never seen that card and that i signed up for my first card with them 5 yrs later
thanks!
@dave:
Applying for more Chase cards and getting them approved by closing the Sapphire Preferred card.
Alternatively you can apply for a Sapphire Preferred Mastercard and have them close to Visa to approve it and get the signup again.
Sapphire Preferred World Mastercard
Sapphire Preferred Visa
@rots5:
There’s no argument, it does.
@jj1000: K THANX- IM ASSUMING 3 DIFFERENT COMPUTERS/SMARTPHONE WONT HELP UNLESS DIFFERENT BROWSERS? FIREFOX AND I.E. ARE SO UNRELIABLE TO FUNCTION PROPERLY AND SUBMIT SAME TIME..
@sol:
3 different computers will do the trick as well, even if it’s from the same browser.
dan,
1)how much spending do i need to do on that card to justify paying the $95?
2)if i dont spend enough which cards should i apply for? i have freedom, should i downgrade to sapphire non preffered? or does it make sense to just keep the card regardless bc eventually i will be spending more money on the card?
Dan
I recently applied for the business spg and Platinum , they said they need a copy of my tax return to process the application. Do you recommend me sending it in? I dont really have a business but im a teacher and could use it to buy supplies. My income on my tax return is about half of what I wrote.I currently have active personal amex cards
dan,
if i close down visa sapphire preffered to open mastercard sapphire preffered to get the signup again- wont i run into the same annual fee problem the next year?
I Dan I recently applied for 2 Citi AA cards and was approved but right after i applied i realized that there was an offer for Citi Amex for 50k bonus miles so i applied for that one as well and was rejected, when i called reconsideration they said that i cant have 2 AA cards, even if its Visa and Amex, Now my credit score went down from 761 to 741 does that make sense, just for 2 pulls and one denial?
I had a Costco card from amex and when after 3.5 years I changed it to amex blue cash it I lost my whole history with amex
I applied and was approved for a couple of amex SPG (wife myself personal business etc…)
Could I transfer all points into one account to avoid confusion?
@Helene: Amex DOES NOT waive annual fees.
Dan, I’m really looking forward to the building credit for beginners post. I recently moved here from the UK and don’t have a credit score over here, whenever i applied for CC i was sent a letter saying “to few revolving accounts opened”.
Dan,
Thanks very much for all that you do.
Thoughts on United PP card. Will it help my kids get “free luggage’ on their flights to TLV?
I have a score in the 720 range. I already have the Continental One Pass Plus card – $95 card.
yasher koach for a fantastic site/service.
A question on credit.
About five years ago i was using a debt counseling service and when Amex found out they immediately closed my accounts (which were all in good standing to that point and i had been with them for about 15 years.)
After that, i settled the two amex accounts for less than the full amount and that was that.
Do you think at this point they’ll approve me for credit with a new account?
does a charge card like amex gold if closed do anything to your credit
so you say that a closed card still counts towards credit lenght, how about closing a new/yong card does that help increasing the average age of credit cards since the new one was closed or does it still count towards age, in that case for the bad meaning that your accounts are in average new ?
thanks for your great work
Hey Dan, great post!
You wrote that it’s free to add AU’s. I have only two amex cards – the plat and the Mercedes benz plat.
Is there a fee to add an AU with these cards?
dan. if i dont have any credit cards yet and i want to start building my credit, how shud i start?
If I apply and get approved for a new credit card, will that hard pull still effect my credit score negativley?
Dan: When CC companys offer balance transfers, is that what you mean when you say moving a credit line to a new card?
Thanks for the great article btw! Your articles are straight to the point and very informative.
Dan:
1. I have capital one no hassle with 50k credit line. I want to upgrade to venture or their cash rewards. My fico is 795 but want to buy house in a few months. Should I spring for it? Is their hard pull when staying with same issuer?
2. I have Amex gold. Is it worth to upgrade to premier gold and pay a little more annual fee?
Thanks,
OMG
I just drooled a little bit after looking at your pic of CC’s
@dave:
Too many factors, it depends what you spend in the bonus categories and abroad.
@Aryeh:
I’d probably pass in your case on the business cards.
They don’t usually ask for tax-returns, though they do occasionally.
Unless you want to tell them it’s for a new business, etc.
@dave:
And back and forth every year to get more points, not exactly a bad gig.
@Berryl:
Where are you checking your credit score?
@dovid:
Seems hard to believe. With AMEX your cards should always be backdated.
@yosele:
Yes, call SPG.
@pilot:
But they do give points and spending credits if they feel like it.
@HLS:
Sure if they fly United.
@Yochi:
You won’t know if you don’t try.
@MG:
Not much.
@quick question:
It stays on either way.
@deal lurker:
Nope.
Get a Starwood card!
@john:
Stay tuned 🙂
@dave:
That is explained in the article.
@Balance Transfers??:
No.
@Tzws26:
1. Capital One points are garbage compared to SPG or Freedom/Sapphire.
2. Nope, but it’s worth getting it for the points and closing before the annual fee in a year and getting the points again.
Hi Dan or anyone else,
I was not sure what Dan meant in article by saying you can get benifits on Amex if add on new users – does that mean I can get the 30k starpoints for example twice if add wife as authorized user?
Thanks dan this was very helpful
Dan:
I assume u mean capital is garbage compared to spy or sapphire for mileage not for cash back?
dan what should i do with my spg card if i don’t use it and i dont want to pay the yr membership fee
I checked it at credit check total
A bit off topic, but what’s the best signup bonus I could get for opening a Chase Freedom card?
Thanks for your great website!
How long do you need to have a card before getting approved for your first (real) credit card?
just applid for ae card got declind becouse my score was 525
how do i get my score to go up i got in the last year 6 chase cards i make sure not to spend more then half of my credit limet pay allways on time in full i have one outstanding bill what i am still fighting with a madcel cop
how can i make my score to go up
thanks
Dan, please explain the flow:
If I close a card that has a $10k line, but then I open an entirely new card that has a $10k line, shouldn’t that bring the score back to where it was?
Is there some kind of “permanent damage” done when a line of credit is closed?
Also, what is generally considered a “healthy” credit score (or at least range)?
I have a question on a related but slightly different point. Do bank accounts have any effect on your credit score ie., having very little in an account or over drafting etc…?
Thanks
When are you planning to have your next seminar? Personally, I would love to learn how to use miles to get tickets. I have heard there are different ways to search, etc. I have made quite a bit of money with credit cards and now I would love to learn how to get airline tickets. I usually sell my miles. BTW at your next seminar, I think E should get an award for pulling off Hong Kong, and Mickeyg should get an award for posting the Elal bonanza. Thanks for a very informative website.
hi dan great post, i applied for a british and a saphire but was only aproved for the british. said not enough history bec min credit limit needed is 5000. any suggestion?
@tyler:
Ask them to take some of the credit from the British card.
I HAVE BAD CREDIT WHAT DO I DO TO FIX IT THANK YOU
Is there ever a time where it makes sense to close a credit card without an annual fee?
I have 16 open credit cards with $250K+ in credit limits and virtually no credit utilization, and annual income above that. I have a couple cards that I opened about 2 years ago (my credit history and oldest card go back about 15 years) that I have no real need for. . . I’m thinking of closing them to reduce the number of open accounts and since it won’t matter from a credit utilization standpoint. Any reason not to?
This is a fantastic series!!
Can’t wait for more
Hey Dan,
I was trying to get a preapproval for a mortgage yesterday and had noticed that my credit score was just above 600. There are 2 delinquent accounts that i have being reported and a few past 30’s ranging from 4 years ago up to 2 years ago. What can I do to fix my credit score ASAP? Thanks,
They write that they are affiliated with Experian and BTW the only credit score touched was my experian, the 2 others stayed at 771 (those were 771 to begin with)
If they are a hokes where is a good place to check your credit score without a hard pull?
Also can I email you the 2 pulls I have from Credit Check Total so you could tell me what I did wrong (if i did?)
Should I hold back on applying for more cards now since i was turned down by Citi and that caused the made up score to go down or it should not be a problem to apply for more cards?
Also I was never yet approved for a Amex card (except for one at Macys and Amex says its a third party) what is the criteria to meet to get approved for Amex?
Thanks Dan for this great site
Dan, I currently have a capital one card with a very low credit line. I also have an Amex with a decent credit line. Is there any reason for me to keep my capital one open? Should I be making purchases on both every month or close one?
Also, what site do u recommend for checking credit score?
Thanx
Dan, You answered twice that a charge card doesn’t do much damage when closed.
Does it do damage when opened?
I.e. with no credit limit, so did it add to your overall credit availability?
Does it recover from the 5-7 points that you loose from the hard pull?
@ DAN
1)I have sold the points and collected the airfair vouchers with pltm and mercedes AMEX for me and my wife. Instead of closing them which cards should I transfer the credit to (avoiding loosing credit line, and free card open being that they wont have to check into my credit to issue me a new card?
2)and when I do this, do I call customer service and ask them to switch my credit into the new card and ask them for the signup bonus?
Thnaks!
Dan and DDF- FYI
Called amex customer service on Friday to cancel Amex PR Gold to avoid annual fee. Just called amex today to reactivate and downgrade to Zync to avoid cancellation on credit report. Was advised because cancellation was by cardholder request and **after 24 hours** federal regulations require a new application to be submitted. Will call back retention department when i have time later today
If that’s not the right FICO where should I look for the right one it should not be a hard pull, BTW they claim that they are affiliated with Experian, and interesting enough the only one that was changed was my Experian score according to Credit Check Total.
Whats the Criteria to get approved for a Amex card? I tried it a few a year ago or more time and was always denied I would like to try it again but i dont want to mees with my credit so should I wait since I was denied from Citi or it dosen’t matter, I have a Macys Amex card but Amex claims its a third party whatever that means.
Thanks Dan for this great service
if i have a $8000 credit limit and use for example $20000 a month by paying multiple times during the month will that hurt my credit score if my balance is $0 when the statement closes?
just applid for ae card got declind becouse my score was 625 how do i get my score to go up i got in the last year 6 chase cards i make sure not to spend more then half of my credit limet pay allways on time in full i have one outstanding bill what i am still fighting with a madcel cop
how can i make my score to go up
thanks
@dave:
Get all 3 of your free reports at http://annualcreditreport.com/ and see what it bad on them.
To be that low you probably have missed payments or delinquent accounts.
Im stuck with two accounts of 29000 mrp can’t combin them and don’t know what to use them for who should it transfer to I would love to put towards Isreal tickets
@Eg:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/23168
so if i want to get approved say to gap credit card and i do it 3 times in 3 sep. browers i have a better chance and it will cost one pull? also if 2 is gap and 1 old navy is that considered 1 pull or since its 2 companies it will cost me 2 pulls??
@mendel:
No!
A 2bm/3bm is for different cards from the same bank.
I don’t know if Gap/Old Navy/Banana would process as 1 pull, but why would you want more than 1 of their cards?
How Can I get all 3 scores?
myfico.com ONLY gives you Trans Union & Equifax??
@Anonymous:
As far as I know consumers cannot get their Experian FICO score unless they go through a hard pull.
Correct me if I’m wrong though.
What do companies look at the FICO score or do they go to them directly- Experian, Trans Union, & Equifax?
Great website, thanks a lot for it. great work.
@Anonymous:
Most companies are pulling your FICO scores.
They’re definitely not using Credit Check Total 😀
I signed up for the SPG guest card just now and got approved. I already have one already. Do you recommend me calling & have AMEX close the old one and transfer the credit to the new one or just downgrade the old one?
@Shmuel:
So you have 2 consumer SPG cards now?
See if they’ll change it into a blue cash preferred (6% cash back at groceries though with a higher annual fee) or other useful card for you. If you downgrade to a free card don’t forget to ask for the annual fee you already paid to be prorated.
what about to increase my chance so i apply 3 times for the same card is that make sense?
@mendel:
Not even remotely.
So your saying that the companies on get the FICO Trans Union & Equifax scores?
@ME: Called retention and was advised the same thing. No Can Do
@Dan- a second application for the same AX Charge card cannot be resubmitted 13 months from original approval date. after the 13 months you can reapply. my intention was to downgrade Gold to Zync but too late. This was my wifes card.
Interestingly enough, i called AX on friday to explore my options to replace my Platinum card, which to be honest i am sorry to see go, and was offered the $100 statement credit to sway my cancelation. I wrote all the options (zync,green,gold regular, gold premier) down and told the CSR i would call back. then wrote a SM an hour or 2 later and had the $100 statement credit in online account. however the account was cancelled! I called them up and for some reason had cancelled by account and issued the credit. as this was their mistake they were able to reinstate the card. a CSR has advised me the ‘Vice President’ had signed off on it.
I have never had a credit card before. Applied for a Delta Gold card and was denied because “We have been unable to obtain your consumer credit bureau score from the agency”. I see you wrote about calling reconsideration department in the comments, is there a benefit in me doing that? And what do you suggest I do to build a credit score?
@@ rp:
That’s not true, I’ve opened/closed multiple charge cards in the same year.
@Question:
You first need to be added as an AU on your parents cards or start with a store card.
I’ve had secure card for 6 months but chase says i need a year… is this true or just an excuse? Amex approved me right away
@MosheD:
HUCA the various Recon departments.
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8028
Or get yourself added onto a good AU card from your parents.
Can you clarify-is it better for my credit score to use more cards with lower balances rather than one or two with a higher balance(s)?
@Dan
Great article…You said that you can get sign-up bonuses even if you already have that card open. I recently applied for the SPG Amex and they told me i would not get the welcome bonus if i had one in the last 12 months. Being that i already have one open and this will be my second SPG card, how can i get the bonus offer of 30,000 points? If i can’t i would want to cancel the card in order to avoid paying the annual fee twice every year. Unless you have a better idea.
Thanks!!!
@Yitty:
Possibly, depends how often you can pay down your balance.
@spgX2:
In my experience that rule is not enforced.
@Dan
Thanks for the response…Does it matter if i put my SPG# on the application or not?
@Dan
Also, what’s the best card for someone to open if they have bad or no credit?
Thanks
If I Already have a Starwood card and want to take advantage of the 35k offer ten I don’t put in my spg number.
Do they then assign me a new number?
How do I combine all the points to one account?
Do I just combine the accounts?
How many times can I get the card?
@Chaya:
They may give you a new number or put it in your old number.
You can merge accounts on SPG.com
How often would you recommend doing App-o-Ramas? And in each AOR would you recommend using the 2BM/3Bm for each of the major credit card issuers (Chase, AMEX, BofA and Citi)?
Dan i have a quick question. How do you keep track of all your Credit cards do you have an excel sheet or a software??
thank you
i was just added as an AU how long should i wait before applying to a chase perferred card??
how many cc can i open up at once (meaning how many a week, month, year) b4 it will hurt my credit?
is there a good card to open that has no interest for the year? if i recently got two cc and got this type would it affect my credit?
i have a citi card now and want to cancel it bc i don’t think it does much and has an annual fee. is there one that you would recommend so i don’t lose my credit history from the card?
One question i want to apply for the 3 best chase cards (meaning the most rewards)with the 3bm methud which three shuld i try and the same with amex which three should i try and whan will i be able to combine does points Thanks
When is coming the next chapter please ?
Special an authorized user issue
I am closing Platnm Regular and Mercedes anything I should do like transfer to a different card, or just close them? (I already got all the benefits from the card, now just avoiding the annual fee.)
In what way does a business credit card affect my personal credit score?
if the amex wants to speak to u about youre buisness cc meaning you being viewed what do u do? have u eve been viewed what did u do
I tried a 2BM today with the usair barclays card and i got an instant approval on one browser but the 2nd browser said that I had already applied for a card etc. Obviously there was a time lag between the two browsers. What did I do wrong?
Many of my AMEX cards have no credit limit. (I pay my bills on time.) How does that affect credit utilization? There’s no ‘percentage of credit used’.
Can I downgrade my sapphire preferred to just regular sapphire(dont want to pay annual fee anymore) or should i just cancel and transfer line of credit to freedom?
when’s part 2 coming?
I liked the information the way you wrote it here. It was concise, and to the point.
I might be applying for a mortgage in a couple of months. should I not apply for cards now?
I currently have a capital one secured card ($3,000), PayPal Extras Mastercard ($4,250; most underrated card out there if you know how to use it), Chase Freedom Visa ($1,000; increased from $500 to $1,000 out of the blue when I just happened to deposit $10,000 into a new chase savings account), Bank of America Cash Card ($2,000), Discover It ($2,500) and Barclays Arrival World Mastercard ($2,500). I’m planning on closing my capital one account because it has an annual fee and no rewards. Which card do you think is suited to me next? Also, is it true that if you have more credit than your income it’s not good?
@Dan I just got off the phone with Citi and they no longer do line transfers for credit lines. Should I cancel my Citi Premiere card and just sign up new for something else? is there anyway to save the credit in order to not hurt my credit score?
If I want to apply for 3 credit cards with three different browses how do I know which credit cards use the SAME BANK to get only one credit check?
how often can u apply for chase cards and still get the sign up bonus?
If I do not pay my statement in full by the due date, will that ruin my credit? Is it better to pay in full or leave over something due?
p.s.Until now, I have been very careful with paying on time my full statement credit and my credit limit has really increased.
Data point: I applied for 2 Amex (2bm style) and got a message one one that I needed to call Amex. When I called they told me that applying for 2 cards close in time triggers a fraud concern. I confirmed that they were both mine and they said the 2nd application should clear in 5 business days. So, though this might save me a credit pull, it is annoying.
@Dan
2BM does NOT work for AmEx
I applied for 2 Amex (2bm style) and got a message one one that I needed to call Amex. When I called they told me that applying for 2 cards close in time triggers a fraud concern. I confirmed that they were both mine and they said the 2nd application should clear in 5 business days. Experian now reports:
11/25/2014 AMEX has requested a copy of your Credit Report
11/19/2014 AMEX has requested a copy of your Credit Report