Would applying for new credit e.g. credit cards, auto loan, etc. lower your credit score. If so, by how much?
Numerous inquiries in a 90 day period usually will lower your score. If you are going to a dealership and they run you through a 'network' of banks it will show 3-5 inquiries in 1 day, which is better than 5 inquiries for a auto loan in a week, according to our TU rep.
The only inquiry I had in the past 90 days was in December when I got a Dell Preferred card. I haven't applied for any cards since then and my credit scores are all mid-600's. I would like to get a card through my bank - WaMu but I'm afraid it might drop my scores. Would anybody know if it would?
I also heard that auto and home mortgage apps processed within a couple of days count as "1" inquiry for FICO scoring. How much would it hurt? point-wise, not much (5-10 pts), but it would be a drop for a couple of months and depend on what type of credit and how many "hits."
Ohhhhhhhhh Dell is the DEVIL! With only have 1 inquiry in the past 90 days you wont have to worry about that.
Okay. Well, I won't be applying for an auto loan within the next 12 months, at least! I just wanted one credit card with maybe a $1000 credit limit instead of having Orchard and HSBC with $300 limits on both. I was also considering Citibank because I got one of those "pre-screened" offers for a Premier Card but I know that isn't a sure thing. What are some decent CCs for people who are in the midst of rebuilding credit and trying to get rid of cards like Orchard and Cap 1?
Yes, hard inquiries affect your credit risk scores. 'How much' depends upon what your histories look like BEFORE the inquiries. A handful of inquiries won't affect someone that is a good credit risk like they can/will someone that is a bad risk. IIRC: Coded properly, all auto loan inquiries within a single week will be treated as one as far as scoring algorithms are concerned. Mortgage inquiries should be grouped together within a 30 day period.
