My brother got a slew of preapprovals this weekend, including MBNA, AMEX, Citibank, and Chase. He already has four cards. Is it going to murder his score to take all his offers and accept them? He expects maybe $1000 on each, as he is a student and doesn't make much money. Is it going to murder mine if he adds me as AUs on them all? Has anyone ever been denied credit for simply having too many accounts even if the ratios are good?
Generally yes, because creditors will look at the total amount of debt you could get yourself into. I had over 20, and closed 12, and my fico is jumping a few points.
Years ago I had almost $200,000 on <$35,000 income...real "PRE-APPROVED" came all the time...and I was NEVER denied... Now with F.I.C.O. I had to cut back to under $100,000...I am DENIED all the time... (Income $XXX,000)... NO BK PERFECT PAYMENT HISTORY SINCE 1978 I CAN'T EVEN GET A CARD TO INCREASE THE LIMIT AFTER 6 YEARS OF NONE...(10 YEAR CUSTOMER)
12 cards? For some, 12 is NOT enough...for some one is too many... IT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON... My wife and I have around 20 total.
Years ago we had all the store cards...PENNEYS, SEARS, WARDS, MERVYNS, BULLOCKS, HINSHAWS, ROBINSONS, MAYCO, some more I can't remember... Gas cards...SHELL, CHEVRON, TEXACO... Now with 99+% of ALL businesses taking VISA/MC/AMEX/DISCOVERCARD...there isn't a reason to carry 30+ I do use SEARS for 0.00% and 10% off sales.
(Income $XXX,000)... This is "CODE" for over $100,000 So I could get almost $200,000 on <$35,000 But can't get ANYMORE credit with $100,000+ (even though I cut back to under $100,000 in credit lines)
I think having 4 or 5 cards is ideal, but I don't think having 7 or 8 cards hurts either. Twelve cards seems like too much. The main thing is not to have over $100,000 in credit when your income is not that high because the creditors may view you as a risky individual. I would recommend cutting back on some of the department store cards and keeping the Visa/MC cards.
