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Every time you apply for a new card, you get a hard pull. Credit agencies don't like too many hard pulls in a short period of time because it looks reckless to

by jljljl 10y ago

Every time you apply for a new card, you get a hard pull. Credit agencies don't like too many hard pulls in a short period of time because it looks reckless to open so many new lines of credit at once. It's unlikely that opening a new credit card from time to time will do serious damage to your credit. And over the long term, having a lot of credit available can be beneficial to your credit score.

jay_kyburz 10y ago
Why do people in US care about your credit score? What difference does it really make? Genuine question. Here in Australia it seems the banks want to shovel credit cards down our throats no matter how much debt we are in or how bad we are at paying.
- yolesaber 10y ago
  The credit score is used for all sorts of things in the US, from the interest rate on your mortgage to qualifying for renting to even some employment checks. It's fucked up, especially since the formula for calculating the 'score' differs from one agency to another and is deliberately kept obscured.
  - nitrogen 10y ago
    It also seems kind of like voodoo; scores change up and down over time with zero change in behavior.
    - yolesaber 10y ago
      Yeah that's why I really don't pay attention to it. Plus the fact that it is so easily gamed: if a party wanted to (such as a realtor or someone else with access), they could just run hard credit checks on you all day and tank your score. To illustrate how fucked it is, I use a credit tracking app from my bank and it consistently reports scores of 700 and above yet I've had realtors tell me they weren't sure if I could get an apartment because of my credit score - showing up with enough cash for the first six months of payments quickly resolved that issue.
- kalleboo 10y ago
  Some employers will even decide who to hire based on their credit score. Bad credit = can't get a job. John Oliver did a bit on the whole credit scoring system scam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrDsbUdY_k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrDsbUdY_k
ben174 10y ago
It also lowers your average length of account. If you have two cards for 10 years, your average account age is 10 years. If you open another account, that instantly drops down to 7 years.

by jljljl 10y ago

jay_kyburz 10y ago

Why do people in US care about your credit score? What difference does it really make? Genuine question. Here in Australia it seems the banks want to shovel credit cards down our throats no matter how much debt we are in or how bad we are at paying.

yolesaber 10y ago
The credit score is used for all sorts of things in the US, from the interest rate on your mortgage to qualifying for renting to even some employment checks. It's fucked up, especially since the formula for calculating the 'score' differs from one agency to another and is deliberately kept obscured.
- nitrogen 10y ago
  It also seems kind of like voodoo; scores change up and down over time with zero change in behavior.
  - yolesaber 10y ago
    Yeah that's why I really don't pay attention to it. Plus the fact that it is so easily gamed: if a party wanted to (such as a realtor or someone else with access), they could just run hard credit checks on you all day and tank your score. To illustrate how fucked it is, I use a credit tracking app from my bank and it consistently reports scores of 700 and above yet I've had realtors tell me they weren't sure if I could get an apartment because of my credit score - showing up with enough cash for the first six months of payments quickly resolved that issue.
kalleboo 10y ago
Some employers will even decide who to hire based on their credit score. Bad credit = can't get a job. John Oliver did a bit on the whole credit scoring system scam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrDsbUdY_k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRrDsbUdY_k

ben174 10y ago

It also lowers your average length of account. If you have two cards for 10 years, your average account age is 10 years. If you open another account, that instantly drops down to 7 years.