Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

One of the very first questions I get when I talk about the miles and points world is “Doesn’t opening lots of credit cards hurt your credit score?”

Of course you don’t have to have 43 credit cards like I do to get a lot of value from miles and points.  As I often say, start slow, only go as fast as you feel comfortable, and above all, DON’T SIGN UP FOR A CREDIT CARD BECAUSE SOME GUY ON THE INTERNET SAYS YOU SHOULD!

For today’s post, we’re going to talk about 5 myths about credit and your credit score.

https://pixabay.com/en/credit-card-master-card-visa-card-851506/

5 myths about credit and your credit score

  1. A credit card application will tank your score – Actually, the hard inquiry only counts for a few points, and other factors can compensate for the points lost (like utilization and credit mix). Also, inquiries affect people differently, depending on many other score factors.  I know there are many people that talk about “hard pulls” but personally I’ve never been super worried about that.  I have been doing this for nearly 5 years and last time I checked my credit score, it was is in the high 700s. (SEE ALSO: How do credit card signups affect your credit score?)
  2. It takes a year to recover from the hard inquiry – True, literally, but the recovery is incremental over that time. Plus the credit limit on the new card can cause your score to go up significantly as soon as it’s reported, more than compensating for the ding caused by the inquiry.  Here is some more on how utilization can affect your score: (SEE ALSO: Is it bad to cancel a credit card?)
  3. A high credit score will get you a low interest rate – Actually it only gets you the lower end of the issuer’s range for that card, but obviously having a high credit score will get you better rates than having a low interest rate.
  4. Carrying a balance helps your score – I know this seems ridiculous to think for many of us, but there are many people that believe this.  Consumers with best scores use no more than 5-7% of their limits, and my recommendation is ALWAYS to pay off your credit card statements in full each month.  If you have outstanding credit card debt, focus on paying that off FIRST, before you apply for any more cards.
  5. Avoiding credit is the best way to keep your credit score high – Actually, you have to have and use credit to build your credit score (SEE ALSO: Best cards for teenagers)

a group of credit cards in a pocket of jeans

How to check your credit score and improve your credit score

Personally, I have always used Credit Sesame to check my credit score.  You can check your credit score for free and I may earn a commission if you sign up for your free credit score check.  You can also see a personalized analysis of the factors holding your score down, as well as a list of all of the accounts and hard inquiries reported on your TransUnion credit report.  Keep in mind that your credit score is a snapshot of the moment in time it was calculated, and varies based on who calculated and what scoring model was used. Check several free credit scores to get an idea of what range you fall into.

There are also a variety of different credit cards that check your credit score for free.  Here are a few of them

Another nice thing about the different credit cards that give a free credit score is if you use Award Wallet to track your points, Award Wallet will also track your credit score for you.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your credit score, you might check out this article on Credit Sesame about ways to improve your credit score

Readers – what are your best tips on how to improve and check your credit score?  Leave a note in the comments


Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them

User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.

BoardingArea