Hit 50 round-the-world flights this year and my credit score dropped 30 points from all the card applications

I signed up for 12 different travel rewards cards chasing sign-up bonuses for flights and hotels, and now my score tanked right when I was about to refinance my car - has anyone else dealt with this catch-22 of chasing points while wrecking your credit?

3 comments

3 Comments

bens8122d ago

Asked my buddy Mike about this, he did the same thing chasing hotel points and his score dropped 40 points right before he tried to buy a house. Ended up having to wait six months for it to bounce back before he could get a decent rate.

sammoore21d ago

Yeah @thomas275, that's a really good question actually. I bet a lot of people get scared and freeze up, but Mike probably did better by just keeping his regular spending on the cards he already had open. I've heard you should never close old accounts, especially right after a bunch of hard inquiries, because it messes with your credit history length. What really stings is that 40 point drop right when you need it most, I'd be so frustrated if I were in his shoes. Hopefully he was still putting normal stuff on the cards and just paying them off every month, that's usually the safest way to ride it out.

thomas27521d ago

bens81 said his buddy had to wait six months for it to bounce back. That wait time is brutal. What did Mike actually do during those six months to rebuild his score besides just waiting? Like did he keep using the cards he already had or did he shut them down completely? Kinda curious if there's a way to soften the blow while you're still in the application spree phase.