I want to apply for a Mileage Credit Card - but will it affect my credit score?

Question

I've been reading up on credit scores and I understand that closing Credit Card accounts can negatively affect your score. My FICO score is great right now and I'd like to maintain that.

I have three active credit cards and I cancelled one long ago. What I'd like is to apply for another credit card with rewards, like the United Mileage card.

Would opening another Credit Card account negatively affect my score? I'd mainly use the card for purchases but pay those purchases in full before the monthly cycle is over, so I'm definitly not using credit badly.

Any advice or pointers would be great. Thanks!

Answer 1

it will take a few points but if you plan to use it and make payments on time you should be good plus you will earn miles for every dollar you spend I do the same thing you are wanting to do and it work out perfect but you just have to be on top off it to make sure you do not pay interest check out www.fastcreditcardapprovals.com and apply for American Express Delta Skymiles you are able to use these miles with any airline plus the upfront bonus is great.



http://fastcreditcardapprovals.com/

Answer 2

Hi.



I have been searching the internet for a little while now, for information on what you have asked about credit cards. I finally found this site that really rocks!



There is a host of information on it on I think, any aspect of credit card you can possibly want to find out about. Maybe you can check it out. I'm sure you'll find the answer to your question there.



http://www.smartecredit.com/fyi/credit/site-map.php



Best Regards

Answer 3

Looking at the general tone of your question, I will try to provide some general guidelines on credit cards and credit card application. I hope that this helps you by providing the information you need.



The onslaught of consumer information has had a negative impact on the consumer. Many people have an average of five credit cards in their wallets - some more. This has resulted in a huge national credit card debt, with many consumers filing for bankruptcy and countless others with very bad credit ratings.



The same due diligence ought to be used when applying for a credit card online as you would have applied prior to the information age. It all boils down to you the consumer knowing yourself, knowing and understanding and controlling your spending habits, and selecting a credit card that suits your needs. Applying for a credit card that does not compliment your lifestyle may be a recipe for financial disaster. So how exactly do you apply for a credit card online? Here are a few pointers:-



Know your credit score when you are going to apply for a credit card. The credit that will be made available to you is determined to a very large extent by the state of your credit score. I guess one of the interesting things about the credit cards that are available now is that there is one for almost everyone. If you have an excellent credit rating, the sky is the limit for you. The best credit facilities at the best rates will be extended to you. If however, your credit score is not good, then all is not lost. There are bad credit credit cards available to you. While you will not get the best credit facility nor the best rate if interest, these cards, if used correctly, will help you to improve and build your credit score, so that in the future, you can get the type of credit you really want. In short, manage your credit score well and you would have conquered most of your financial challenges.



Know what your spending habits are. Apply for a credit card that will compliment your lifestyle. It will not make much sense applying for a credit card that gives rewards on gasoline for instance, and you do not own a car, or one that gives travel miles and you hardly travel.



If you are in the habit of carrying forward the substantial balance, then you should look for a credit card that has a low APR - or Annual Percentage Rate. The APR is the interest rate that you will be charged on all outstanding balances. Therefore the higher the interest rate the more interest you will be charged. Conversely, the lower the interest rate the less interest you will be charged. Therefore if you are in the habit of carrying forward a balance on your credit card, it will be best for you to apply for a credit card with a low APR. If on the other hand, you would normally pay off your outstanding balances each month, and do not normally carry forward a balance, then the APR will not really matter since you will not be paying interest.



If you have problems keeping track of what your card balance is and may go over your limit, or you are often late in making your credit card payments, then you should look very closely at what the charges are for late payment and overdrawing your limit. A credit card with low charges might be best suited for you in this instance. Ultimately though, your goal should be to pay on time and to stay within the limit of your credit card.



With the US economy being in the state it is in, you should be thinking seriously about lowering your expenses. If you are making multiple payments on multiple credit cards, you may want to consider consolidating your credit card payments into fewer monthly payments. One such option here is the Balance Transfer Credit Cards. This is normally for persons with very good to excellent credit scores, and allows you to transfer the balances from some of your credit cards onto one card. The beauty about this type of card is that, apart from the competitive normal interest rate, many of them have 0% introductory APR, and this can run for as much as 15 months. That will give you lots of time to get your balance down - without paying any interest. Pretty cool I'd say!



A quick word on bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy does have a negative effect on your credit rating, with a chapter 7 and a chapter 13 bankruptcy staying on your credit report for as much as 10 years. Apart from this, debts that are discharged during bankruptcy, are not automatically removed from your credit report. While you may get the creditors off your back, you would also put yourself in a position that makes it near impossible to get any kind of credit for quite a while. So while this may be an option, you should very carefully weigh all the consequences of this action.



Finally, you should carefully examine your lifestyle when selecting a credit card. You should try to apply for a credit card with benefits that matches your lifestyle. Pay attention to your credit score, do not live beyond your means and budget well.



www.smartecredit.com

Answer 4

You can skip to the next paragraph now if you don't want to read this disclaimer. Many people fret and worry about their credit scores when they have good credit (say in the 700's) but, if one is following responsible habits (making payments on time, no late payments, and card utilization is fairly low), the last 10 to 30 points on one's FICO credit score are usually not that important until one is within six months of needing to borrow a substantial amount (think: mortgage, car loan, student loan), so anxiety of slipping from 740 to 700 for a year or two isn't worth the mental effort for most people.



Applying for a credit card generates in inquiry, which will have a small, negative impact that might last up to six months. Many inquiries (many applications) will significantly negatively impact your credit score, so generally it is recommended to not apply for more than two trade lines (credit card applications, "90 days same as cash" offers, etc.) in any 6-month period. (Exceptions: mortgage shopping within a 30-day window will be treated as 1 inquiry for scoring purposes since it is understood one will be getting just one mortgage, not multiple mortgages in that short timeframe; multiple car loans within a 15-day period is also treated as 1 inquiry for scoring purposes, but be aware that I have read reports of lenders not always coding the loan correctly for the credit reports so half may end up appearing as consumer loans instead of a car loan.)



Another negative is that a new card will bring down your "average longevity" of your revolving credit lines, again this is temporary (a few years) and the impact can be minimized by using your oldest open card at least occasionally (at least once every six months) for something you would be buying anyway, and paying it off in full every month it has a balance.



If there are other credit concerns coming up (mortgage, car, school), it may help to enumerate them now since borrowing substantial amounts are when one wants to qualify for the best rates. But for ordinary things like credit cards and paying them off in full every month, once one has the card, the credit score doesn't mean much as long as one doesn't fall into late payments and defaults--unless one is considering substantial credit in the next few months or the next year.



As far as an awards card goes, many charge an annual fee, so you will have to check your own numbers to see if the awards card will give you enough benefits to justify the annual fee. I hope you have considered the amount you are likely to put on the card and your ability to still stay within your budget while using the credit card. (My budgeting method is my check register balance, which would make pacing out my discretionary spending a little more awkward if I used a credit card for everyday things. That and I put so little on my credit card that it is hard to justify an annual fee.)



(Mortgage companies are finicky so one should do nothing with credit between applying for a mortgage and the actual closing on the house, except where directed by one's mortgage officer, with the exception of the customary pay-down of one's balances; in particular, one shouldn't take out any new consumer loans, credit cards, "x days same as cash" offers from when the mortgage company pulls your credit report until the mortgage company produces the cash at closing.)



Happy trails!