Applying for credit cards

[Myra_n_luis]

Does applying for a lot of credit cards affect your credit when you always get denied?

[blewjaye]

Yes. Up until recently, the criteria for determining the credit score was a closely guarded secret. The credit unions were order to release certain aspects of their scoring system but were able to keep some of their methods confidential. One of the methods for determining your credit score is the frequency with which you apply for credit.

A second criteria is whether you are approved or denied. One of the most frequent downfalls in people's credit score is the frequency in which credit is either applied for or a company checks your credit score. You can have outside companies check a very limited number of times before each check starts to bring down your score.

[chane]

Yes, applying for any type of loan that involves pulling your credit is considered a hard inquiry and can negatively affect your credit if you have too many in a certain period of time.

10% of your score is based on inquiries. Don't apply for credit unless you know you can get it or that you need to get it; unnecessary credit inquiries are going to hurt the scores - especially if your over all credit file is small to begin with.

Inquiries remain on your credit report for 2 years, with those in the last 6 months usually given the most consideration