You should wait six months to one year between credit card applications in most cases, regardless of whether your last application was approved or denied. Most people's credit scores will bounce back from a credit card application in about six months.
How long you should wait to reapply for a credit card after an application is denied varies with each person's situation, so there's no hard-and-fast timeline to follow. The typical recommendation is that you should wait six months between credit card applications.
Waiting about six months between credit card applications can increase your chances of getting approved. Apply more frequently than that, and issuers may see you as a riskier bet and reject your application.
You could apply for multiple credit cards at the same time. But it's worth keeping in mind that it could affect your credit scores. Read on to learn more about how multiple credit card applications can affect your credit and what you can do to minimize the impact.
But getting denied doesn't directly hurt your credit scores. Instead, applying may lower your credit scores—usually by just a few points, according to credit-scoring company FICO®—because applying for a credit card will trigger a hard inquiry.
Being denied for a credit card doesn't hurt your credit score. But the hard inquiry from submitting an application can cause your score to decrease.
In general, six or more hard inquiries are often seen as too many. Based on the data, this number corresponds to being eight times more likely than average to declare bankruptcy. This heightened credit risk can damage a person's credit options and lower one's credit score.
Nothing is stopping you from applying for two or more credit cards in a short period of time, or even at the same time. But multiple credit card inquiries can hurt your credit score and raise a red flag for future creditors.
Hard inquiries serve as a timeline of when you have applied for new credit and may stay on your credit report for two years, although they typically only affect your credit scores for one year. Depending on your unique credit history, hard inquiries could indicate different things to different lenders.
When a credit card issuer declines to grant an applicant a new account, it is required by law to provide a reason. And thankfully, most card issuers are willing to hear an appeal. Applicants can simply contact their bank's reconsideration line and speak with a representative about their application.
Debt. One of the most common reasons people are rejected for a credit card — even people with good credit — is a high debt-to-income ratio. Age. If you're under 21, you'll face income requirements mandated by the federal government.
Technically there's no minimum income requirement to get a credit card. A student's disposable income could be as low as $100 and they would still have the potential to be approved for a credit card. Higher incomes generally give applicants a better chance of getting approved for a card and a higher credit limit.
If you find an unauthorized or inaccurate hard inquiry, you can file a dispute letter and request that the bureau remove it from your report. The consumer credit bureaus must investigate dispute requests unless they determine your dispute is frivolous.
Is It Bad To Have a Lot of Credit Cards With Zero Balance? Unfortunately, it can be. Keeping a low credit utilization ratio is good, but having too many credit cards with zero balance may negatively impact your credit score.
In general, you should plan to use your card every six months. However, if you want to be extra safe, aim for every three. Some card issuers will explicitly state in the card agreement what length of time is considered to be inactive.
The Capital One Platinum Credit Card is a solid option for those with average credit. It has an annual fee of $0 and also charges no foreign transaction fees. But for many, its standout feature may be that it also offers the chance to earn a higher credit limit after making on-time payments in as little as six months.
The credit scores and reports you see on Credit Karma should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those bureaus. This means a couple of things: The scores we provide are actual credit scores pulled from two of the major consumer credit bureaus, not just estimates of your credit rating.
How Often Can You Check Your Credit Score? You can check your credit score as often as you want without hurting your credit, and it's a good idea to do so regularly. At the very minimum, it's a good idea to check before applying for credit, whether it's a home loan, auto loan, credit card or something else.
If you spot a hard credit inquiry on your credit report and it's legitimate (i.e., you knew you were applying for credit), there's nothing you can do to remove it besides wait. It won't impact your score after 12 months and will fall off your credit report after two years.
While the exact impact may vary from case to case, generally speaking, you can expect your score to drop by about five points each time you apply for a new credit card.
Approval Odds are an Estimate, Not a Guarantee
If you apply for a credit card based on Credit Karma's Approval Odds and are declined, Credit Karma recommends that you check your credit report to make sure your information is correct.
If you don't have a substantial source of income — or none at all — you may struggle to be approved for a credit card. Having poor payment history is an indicator that you may not be able to repay the credit lenders extend. Lenders may not look favorably upon applicants who are carrying debt.
But with the Platinum Secured card from Capital One, you can get a credit limit of $200 after making a refundable deposit of as little as $49. The Platinum Secured card is another second-chance credit card with no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.