Thread: Opening new cards too soon?

I'm in my young 20s and have only ever used 1 credit card. I have pretty good credit and recently decided it's time to get a card that rewards me rather than does nothing. I just opened a AmEx Cash preferred and I am wondering that, with how many places don't accept Amex, would it be worth opening secondary card (don't really want to use my original card since it offers nothing).

My question is -- would it hurt my credit to open two new cards in the same month? There are next to 0 "credit increase" in my history, maybe once every other year a small limit increase on my original card.

If it would hurt to do this -- roughly how long should I wait before opening a secondary card?

Finally, my original card is a boring Bank of America card -- is it possible to upgrade this card to one of their cash reward cards rather than opening up a new card?

Thanks in advance for anyone who replies -- and if this has been answered in the past sorry I missed it -- searched the forums and didn't see it. A link to a past post would suffice in place of an answer ^^

My recommendation would be to not get a new card, and just use your BCP everywhere. If after a few months if you are unhappy with the amount of places that don't take it, you can re-evaluate it at that time, but trust me - Amex is accepted almost everywhere. It is an "urban legend" that many places don't accept it. I have had one for over 6 years, and have only stumbled on about 2-3 places...

Welcome to the forums. It depends, are you planning on buying a house or car anytime soon?

Otherwise all of the credit "hit" you will receive will be temporary. In fact, it makes sense to open them now since your Average Age of Account will be reduced anyway. You might as well do it now if you are planning on opening another account. Furthermore, it will help your credit score to have the extra available credit. It is much easier to increase your available credit with 3 cards than two. To me, 3-5 cards is the perfect number. Just remember to not get spend happy, never carry a balance.

Originally Posted by ryanp

Finally, my original card is a boring Bank of America card -- is it possible to upgrade this card to one of their cash reward cards rather than opening up a new card?

Sorry, I seemed to have missed your final questions. From what I understand, yes, it is possible. However, I would recommend you keep that card as it is for awhile. Issuers are more likely to increase the limit on lower tier cards with no rewards. Since you are building your credit, I wouldn't change it right now.

Additionally, you might be interested in the Chase Freedom or the PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards Card:
Chase Freedom Card Review
https://www.penfed.org/productsAndRa...ewardCards.asp

Thank you very much for the replies.

As far as a car or a home -- no intentions of either of these -- although if my 12 year old car craps out then that'll be happening as needed (knock on wood) but that can be paid off in full should need be.

Chase freedom is exactly what I was looking at getting if I opened an additional card - that or the Capital One Cash.

I part of my concern about opening a new card/requesting a credit line increase is that in my "myfico" report it says I am benefited because I have not recently (this report came before I got my AmEx Blue Cash) requested new credit. My Amex blue cash card opened with 1/2 the credit limit of my Bank of America card. Is it wise to continue increasing my credit line and if so is it better to request a line increase or to get a new card?

Lastly, would my chances of being approved for the Chase Freedom be decreased since I just opened the Amex card?

You can have three hard inquires per bureau. If they are spread out correctly and only pull one each, that's nine inquires. Since you don't know where they are landing, three would be a safe place to stop. I think your chances are good.

How high was your FICO score?
The report showed no inquiries?
Just what is the limit on that BoA card?

Blue Cash; Not the Blue Cash Everyday? 3% Grocery, 2% Gas/Dept. Stores and 1% everywhere on the Everyday card.
Boring BoA. Call and see if they will product change to a Cash Rewards. 3% Gas, 2% Grocery and 1% everywhere. Plus a 10% bonus on your rewards if you have a banking relationship with them, $1500 minimum. Or to just a straight 1% card.
That Freedom card you think you want has the same deal, 10% bonus if you have a banking relationship with them, I don't know the minimum. Why this one?

You're looking at the 1.5% Cap1, this is quite a departure from what you have so far.

Originally Posted by requiredfield

You can have three hard inquires per bureau.

I don't believe that this is correct. You can have an unlimited number of hard inquires. The question is the impact to your FICO score. Each inquiry will reduce your score, usually only about 5-10 point. Theoretically, you can apply until your score is so diminished no one will approve you. Inquires stay on your report for 2 full years; but they only affect your score for 12 months with the first 6 months being the highest. It is true that sometime they will only pull from one bureau; however, they frequently pull from all three when you open a first account with an issuer.

I wouldn't worry about your FICO score in the here and now. It is worth reducing it now, so it grows back stronger, similar to building muscles. What good is a decent FICO if you won't use it. You should try to build a strong score for when you do want to finance a home.

I would try calling into BOA for a Credit Limit Increase (CLI). I recently called into Discover to ask for a CLI. I have been complaining about it for months. Long story short, they increase the card from $2000 to $6000 without even doing a hard pull. I would recommend you try that first. Just be sure to ask them if they can do it without a hard pull.

OK. Relatively pain free, you can three inquiries per bureau. I hope all that was for their benefit because it sure wasn't for mine.

Originally Posted by requiredfield

You can have three hard inquires per bureau. If they are spread out correctly and only pull one each, that's nine inquires. Since you don't know where they are landing, three would be a safe place to stop. I think your chances are good.

How high was your FICO score?
The report showed no inquiries?
Just what is the limit on that BoA card?

Blue Cash; Not the Blue Cash Everyday? 3% Grocery, 2% Gas/Dept. Stores and 1% everywhere on the Everyday card.
Boring BoA. Call and see if they will product change to a Cash Rewards. 3% Gas, 2% Grocery and 1% everywhere. Plus a 10% bonus on your rewards if you have a banking relationship with them, $1500 minimum. Or to just a straight 1% card.
That Freedom card you think you want has the same deal, 10% bonus if you have a banking relationship with them, I don't know the minimum. Why this one?

You're looking at the 1.5% Cap1, this is quite a departure from what you have so far.

The BoA card has a CL of 4k -- the new Amex blue cash preferred was opened with 2k

I applied for the Capital One Cash because I wanted a card which had 0 international fees and offered a decent flat cash back but was denied for it sadly.

Upon arrival of my Amex card they gave me an updated credit score which is experian 774 - so I am left to assume that even with a good score not having the 5k minimum credit limit that Capital one considers required for excellent credit I was left out in the cold. -- hopefully that rejected app wont hurt my score too badly --

Myfico report showed 1 inquiry from AT&T when I had gotten a cellphone with them.

Also, why is the capital one cash 1.5% quite a departure?

@zapper - I was thinking about calling in BoA and asking for a CL increase but online it only shows an option that would involve a hard hit -- do you happen to know if it's possible to get an increase with BoA w/o a hard hit?

As far as Amex acceptance goes, I'd say it depends on your lifestyle and location.

I've noticed more and more in my own spending, that I shop at a lot of mom and pop/up-and-coming establishments- all of which don't accept Amex. They give me the stink-eye even when I pulled out any sort of plastic, because of the fees related to running cards. But sometimes when I forget to brown bag it for work, I go to the only mom and pop cafe in the area, which doesn't take Amex.

So in that event, I do have a Capital One Newcomers card, and just got approved for a Chase Freedom card today as a backup. I still do try to keep my Amex as the main card however.