If you apply for credit cards and get declined does that ruin your credit?

Question

I have heard plenty of different things about credit history and what effects it. My question is are they true. If you have a lot of credit cards, does that ruin your credit too? And how do you know if you have good or bad credit?

Answer 1

Any inquiry drops your score.I don't know where one user got the 2 points answer,but that is WAY off.My Experian score dropped 50 points from one inquiry.It's really dependent on how nay inquiries you have.1-3,4-6 and more will hurt worse.Every bureau uses its own scoring model to evaluate your creditworthiness.So this will vary from bureau to bureau.
An inquiry from a creditor with no open account is certainly derogatory because it looks as if the creditor did not see you as a good risk.You should always check your reports as often as possible.These are what's referred to as soft inquiries and they are viewed only by you.They do not hurt your score as hard inquiries do.
Paying off you balances before the creditor reports to the bureaus will help your score as you will have more available credit.I always know when my creditors report and pay my balance a few days before.You can ask them what date they report every month.HSBC (Orchard) is the 4th of the month and First Premier(stay away from them!) is on the 5th of every month.
Check your reports here.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
These inquiries will not hurt your credit.And I don't know why people are telling you to check with your credit union because it's against federal law for them to share your report with you..You'll se that when you aggree to the terms and conditions when ordering your report.
Inquiries stay on your report for a minimum of two years.Even the bureaus will tell you that.
Edit:Your score can drop 50 points from one inquiry becaus all scoring models have set amounts of inquiries that drastically affect your score.1-2 won't hurt but 5 will in a two year period.
This is copied and pasted directly from my online report:


Each time a potential lender or landlord pulls your credit report for review, an inquiry is placed on your file. Having several inquiries on your credit report is negatively affecting your score. Inquiries stay on your credit report for up to two years. They are not necessarily negative information, but too many inquiries may indicate to lenders that you are trying to take on more new debt or possibly overextending yourself. Try to keep your inquiries to a minimum and apply for new credit only when necessary. (N-D)
And 620 and up is NOT good.My score is 695 and it clearly says this is FAIR not good.

Answer 2

Eligibilty for anything in life these days seems to revolve around your credit score. Getting one or two declines a YEAR isn't bad, every couples months IS. Being declined more than once should tell you that there's something going on with your credit and it needs to be fixed. Having a lot of credits cars with a lot of balances is a bad things, not only does it put you at a potential risk for using all those credit cards, it also makes your debt:income ratio look bad. Have 1 or 2 credits cards is good, as long as you can keep them paid off every month. If you're looking to owning cars, houses, etc later in life, you need to take care of your credit, it will help you get better interest rates and possible qualify for better, bigger things. And I would def. suggest obtaining a copy of your credit report if you haven't done so already. You get one free one a year, or if you have been declined credit you can get a copy too and dispute any wrong information. Go to any of the credit brueas websites...www.experian.com www.transunion.com www.freecreditreport.com you can sign up for a 30 free trial of credit monitoring and they'll give you a report for free. Keep an eye on your credit, identiy theft these days is getting horrible, protect yourself!

Answer 3

It doesn't ruin your credit, but it does give you a low credit score. Every time someone inquires about your credit that gives you negative points. If you have a lot of credit cards it will show on your credit report that you have too many revolving credit, and some times that gives you negative points. You can inquire for your credit report to the credit bearou, I believe you can even do it on line for a small fee. Its best to not apply for a credit card, or credit if its just to receive a small gift that some credit cards offer. Its always good to ask for your credit report for accuracy, and report any discrepancies.

Answer 4

The decline is NOT shown on your report-- only the fact that you had an inquiry. A single inquiry deducts 1-3 points off your score. . . so if you're looking for a new card, its best to do your research (check out www.whogavemecredit.com) rather thenjust applying for whatever and hoping you get a card.

Also, its okay to have a handful of cards (more than 10 is a bit much), but keep those balances below 35% overall (an average between all, not per card), and if you need to close some cards, close only newer cards...you want your average account history/length to be longer, not shorter. Constnatly opening new cards drags down your overall account length.

FYI, your score WILL NOT drop 50 points over one inquiry. That's ridiculous. Something else changed that changed your score...I've also seen scores drop for no apparent reason. I'm on a monitoring service and i can check my score every single day-- and I've seen scores drop 20-40 points and I CANNOT figure out why as there wasn't a single change.

But when I've added an inquiry, it went down ONE point.

Answer 5

Too many credit applications will lower your credit score. The credit report doesn't actually say that you were declined. It just shows that a visa card or a mastercard was applied for because the company pulled your report. While all those hits on your report show, it looks like you could be carrying around all those cards. Having too many credit cards will also lower your score. For example: Your credit report shows that you carry five credit cards with the credit limits on each of those totally $20,000.00. That shows that at any given time you could be owing $20,000.00. If you also have a car loan for $20,000.00 and a house loan for $150,000.00, then at any given time you could owe up to almost $200,000.00, versus what you make in a year. This affects your credit rating. The best thing to do is to carry one credit card with a limit high enough for your demands, but yet low enough to not affect the amount of credit you have out there. Don't just let the cards keep raising your limits. It might look good to you, but it looks terrible to people who are reviewing your credit report to give you even more credit. Also, pay more than the minimum balance. This also shows on your credit report. Your report shows the minimum that should be paid and shows what you pay. Paying more than the minimum looks better on your report.

Paying off a credit card and cancelling it does not hurt your credit. It actually opens up the ratio between what you make and the credit you are carrying around. This helps your credit score. Always pay off your card and close that card in an effort to show that you are carrying around say 10% in credit versus what you make or in easier terms.......say you carrying around 10,000 in credit versus the 100,000 you make a year. A company seeing this will see that you are open to be able to finance whatever else it is that you are wanting.

Answer 6

No getting declined does not ruin your credit. But, the reason you got declined may be because your credit is already bad. Try to get a copy of your credit report/score

Answer 7

yes, applying and getting declined will hurt ur credit. not because of the declination but bc each time your social security # is pulled is drags ur credit score down. (this applies to things other than credit cards as well, like applying for phone, buying car, house, etc) each time that # is pulled to "check" your credit it also causes score to decrease. so if you have lots of applications floating around then your score will be effected.

having lots of credit cards dont hurt your credit, as long as they are paid off and not late. my dad currently has 6. however, he is never late on a payment and doesnt carry a balance but once in a blue moon. when you start nearing your limit, being late with payments and carrying/transfering balances (huge ones are worse) then that looks especially bad.

there is a website that you can go to to check your credit, but im not sure what it is. just make sure that it is free and wont drag ur score down. bc if you are pulling ur credit and its not labeled like that then you are also causing ur score to go down.

good luck, credit can be a tricky thing

Answer 8

If you are being declined, you need to stop applying. The chances of anyone approving you is pretty low. If you are under 21, you need to prove income or have your parents cosign in order to get a card.

Answer 9

If you have mulitple credit card companies pulling your credit within 90 days of one another, yes, it hurts your credit. Getting denied doesn't.

A lot of cards doesn't hurt your credit unless they have a balance.

Get a copy of your report and check the number. 620 and up is good. If you're under that, you need to do something about it.

Answer 10

i dont think it can ruin your credit if u dont have one. if u have a alot of credit cards and dont pay them off on time that will give u bad credit. when u have bad credit then u will be declined.