By Ben LuthiDoes Applying for a Credit Card Hurt Your Credit?
By Ben Luthi
Quick Answer
- Applying for a credit card can temporarily lower your credit score if it triggers a hard inquiry.
- Opening a new card may also affect your credit history length and credit utilization.
- With responsible use, such as paying on time and keeping balances low, managing a credit card can help your credit improve over time.
Applying for a credit card can hurt your credit temporarily, usually by only a few points, because card issuers typically run a hard inquiry. If you apply for and open multiple cards in a short period of time, your score may take a larger hit. Here's what you need to know about how credit card applications can impact your credit and how to apply responsibly.
Does Applying for a Credit Card Hurt Your Credit?
When you apply for a credit card, the card issuer will typically run a hard inquiry on one or more of your credit reports. These inquiries can have a temporary negative impact on your credit, though the impact of a single inquiry is usually negligible. The real problem happens when you have multiple hard inquiries in a short period of time.
To minimize the potential impact of hard inquiries, look for opportunities to get prequalified before you apply. Many card issuers offer prequalification tools that can give you an idea of your approval odds using just a soft inquiry, which doesn't affect your credit score. Some issuers may even send you a preapproved offer in the mail based on a soft inquiry.
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How Much Does a Hard Inquiry Affect Your Credit Score?
The impact of a hard inquiry on your credit score is usually minor. According to FICO, a single hard inquiry will typically knock fewer than five points off your score. In many cases, the impact is even smaller, depending on the overall strength of your credit profile.
But while a single application is unlikely to do lasting damage, multiple inquiries in a short window can add up. This is because FICO data shows that people with six or more hard inquiries on their credit reports can be as much as eight times more likely to declare bankruptcy.
That's why spacing out credit applications and using prequalification when available can help protect your score over time.
Does Opening a New Credit Card Hurt Your Credit Score?
Getting approved for a credit card means your account will be opened automatically. From that point, the card can affect your credit score in a couple of ways:
- Length of credit history: The new account will lower the average age of your accounts. That may not be a big issue if you have a long credit history, but if you're relatively new to credit, it can have a more significant impact on your score.
- Credit utilization: With a new credit card, your total available credit will increase, which can help lower your credit utilization rate—the percentage of available credit you're using at a given time. However, if you start racking up debt on the new card, it could increase your utilization rate, damaging your score.
The good news is that the impact on your credit score for both of these factors is generally temporary in nature. Paying your bills on time and maintaining low balances can make it possible for you to improve your credit over time with a new card.
Learn more: How Credit Cards Can Affect Your Credit Score
Does Being Denied a Credit Card Hurt Your Credit Score?
If you apply for a credit card and get denied, there's no additional impact on your credit score beyond the initial hard inquiry.
Remember, though, that multiple hard inquiries in a short period can compound that impact, so it's still worth making sure you're looking at credit cards that match your credit profile.
Tip: If a card issuer denies your application based on your credit, you have the right to request a free copy of your credit report.
How a New Credit Card Can Help Your Credit Score
While there are some temporary negative effects when you apply for and open a new credit card, you can ultimately use the new card to improve your credit score over time. The following scoring factors come into play here.
Payment History
Your payment history is the most important factor in your credit score, and paying an additional debt account on time every month can help you improve your credit history over time.
Credit Utilization Rate
If the new card helps you maintain or reduce your credit utilization rate, it could have a positive impact on your credit. To find your utilization rate on your credit cards, divide your total balances by the cards' total credit limits, then multiply by 100 to get a percentage.
For example, let's say you have two credit cards and want to add a third. Here are their current balances:
| Balance | Credit Limit | |
|---|---|---|
| Card 1 | $2,000 | $5,000 |
| Card 2 | $3,000 | $10,000 |
| Card 3 | $0 | $7,500 |
With the first two credit cards, your combined utilization rate is roughly 33%. However, adding the third card will lower your combined rate to approximately 22%. As long as you keep your overall spending roughly the same, it can help boost your score.
How to Minimize Impact When Applying for New Credit Cards
There's nothing wrong with using multiple credit cards to maximize rewards and benefits, but a responsible approach can help protect your credit score in the process. Here are some steps you can take:
- Get prequalified. Prequalification tools typically only use a soft inquiry to evaluate your approval odds. While there's no guarantee that you'll get approved for a card after passing prequalification, it can help minimize your chances of getting denied. Experian's credit card comparison platform can match you with personalized credit card offers based on your credit profile, with no impact on your score.
- Don't open too many cards in a short period. While it may be tempting to open multiple cards quickly to take advantage of welcome bonuses and other new cardholder perks, try to space out your applications by at least six months to lessen the impact on your credit score.
- Don't open new accounts before applying for a loan. If you're planning to apply for a mortgage or car loan, it's best to avoid applying for credit cards in the months leading up to your loan application. The temporary credit score dip and a potential increase in your debt-to-income ratio can impact your loan approval odds.
- Manage newly opened cards responsibly. Each time you get a new card, it's important to ensure that your spending doesn't change. Racking up a balance on the new card can increase your utilization rate and make it more difficult to keep up with all of your monthly debt payments.
Learn more: How to Use a Credit Card Responsibly
Frequently Asked Questions
Monitor Changes in Your Credit Score
Reviewing your credit score before applying for a credit card is a good way to minimize the chances you'll get denied. With Experian, you can get free access to your credit report and FICO® ScoreΘ, making it easy to evaluate your credit card options and identify areas of your credit profile where you can improve. Plus, you can see your progress over time and get alerts about changes to your credit.
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About the author
Ben Luthi
Ben Luthi has worked in financial planning, banking and auto finance, and writes about all aspects of money. His work has appeared in Time, Success, USA Today, Credit Karma, NerdWallet, Wirecutter and more.
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