Credit Card/Score question...

If I open a new credit card (a store one) - will it lower my score? I pay my bal in full every month, yada yada...

Thanks ladies!

every time you get a new card it lowers your score a little bit for a little while but its not a huge deal.

and, if you pay off your balance in full every month you arent building up credit - you have to leave a little bit a few months so you can build it up

eta: i know this bc i had almost $10K on my cards at one point and FH NEVER carried a balance - but bc i paid on time every month my credit was much higher than his!

cool thanks Tilde!

So if I open a card now, you think my score will be back up in time for us to get a mortgage in 8 months???

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Posted by LuvMyAlfonse

cool thanks Tilde!

So if I open a card now, you think my score will be back up in time for us to get a mortgage in 8 months???

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i am not sure of the specifics so i dont want to mess you up

i would do it though - if you have no other problems with your credit!

there are a lot of things that factor in
the amount of your limit, unused credit, used credit so yes, applying for and opening a new card may lower it for a few months, but if you charge and pay it off or d ont use it at all; your score will go up
actually goes up more if you use it and pay in full

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Posted by ant n tilde

i am not sure of the specifics so i dont want to mess you up

i would do it though - if you have no other problems with your credit!

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yeah...... what the hell! thanks Tilde!

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Posted by Snowflake08

there are a lot of things that factor in
the amount of your limit, unused credit, used credit so yes, applying for and opening a new card may lower it for a few months, but if you charge and pay it off or d ont use it at all; your score will go up
actually goes up more if you use it and pay in full

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Thanks Laura!

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Posted by Snowflake08

there are a lot of things that factor in
the amount of your limit, unused credit, used credit so yes, applying for and opening a new card may lower it for a few months, but if you charge and pay it off or d ont use it at all; your score will go up
actually goes up more if you use it and pay in full

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that 'unused' credit really caught me off guard!!! i had no idea about that - i used to have abotu 12 cc's but only used 1 and bc i had 'potential' for a larger debt due to all the cards it lowered my score! so i got rid of all of them except for one that i use and one that is for emergencies

yes, because credit grantors look at it as debt because you could potentially owe that amount that is unused

crazy

if you have too many credit cards (store cards included), it lowers your credit score. keep your longest credit card open though. close some that are recent and have no activity.

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Posted by graezie

if you have too many credit cards (store cards included), it lowers your credit score. keep your longest credit card open though. close some that are recent and have no activity.

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^ that is super important. all of a sudden my credit score started dropping and i had no idea why. after i cancelled some credit cards that i never used it went back up again

I used to think that open/unused credit was bad b/c they say you can go out tmorrow ad charge it all up, but lately I heard that they look at your debt to credit ratio.

there are sooo many little things that go into a credit score.


Don't go by me though:
try this link

this is from there:
Use these percentages as a guide:

35% - Your Payment History
30% - Amounts You Owe
15% - Length of Your Credit History
10% - Types of Credit Used
10% - New Credit

if you know someone with bad credit..make them an authorized user on one of your cards and when it comes in just cut it up..it can help their score..my sister did this for me 2 years ago..i never saw the card and it helped me get a car loan because it lookes like someone lended me $20,000 credit limit..when in fact..at the time she made me authorized..my credit score was ..and ill say this 2 times because its crazy 450!!!!

with the help of her making her payments on her card everymonth..it made my score go up almost 200 points in 2 years

Something else that effects credit score is the amount you have on the card (the balance)

The balance should always be less than 1/2 of limit

In my experience (with real estate and credit scores)- it should not at all affect you negatively- one of the main things that your credit score is based on is your debt ratio--- i.e. if you have 10,000 in available credit and $2,000 on those cards- that makes it 20%--- the more credit that you have available that is not used is considered good... also if you are planning on opening the card and paying regularly- it will contribute to your clean record.

if you have any specific questions, i work with an excellent mortgage broker and i can give you her contact information.

DEBT RATIO!

that's the word I was looking for

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Posted by failurebydsign

if you know someone with bad credit..make them an authorized user on one of your cards and when it comes in just cut it up..it can help their score..my sister did this for me 2 years ago..i never saw the card and it helped me get a car loan because it lookes like someone lended me $20,000 credit limit..when in fact..at the time she made me authorized..my credit score was ..and ill say this 2 times because its crazy 450!!!!

with the help of her making her payments on her card everymonth..it made my score go up almost 200 points in 2 years

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I've heard this too. I might do it with my parents!