Originally Posted by
pkerr
Just an FYI on C.C. churning...
This is from the Frugal Travel Guy...
Inquiries are a negative, but not that severe. I guesstimate it is about 2 points per inquiry. If you pay your bills on time, keep your outstanding balances low in relation to your credit limit and have a decent mix of installment and revolving credit, you are capable of generating sign up bonuses.
The number one reason people screw up their credit is LATE PAYMENTS and over extending themselves. If you can't make your current payments on time and have to carry balances, credit card sign ups are probably not for you."[/I]
Here is a link to his WEB site.
http://frugaltravelguy.blogspot.com/
Do a search for "churn". He has some really good info on churning and how it might effect you.
Late payments definitely are the prime factor. For those that never do that, however, and have high scores, other factors do come into play. Length of credit history, for example, accounts for about 15% of the FICO score. If one is already hit with late payments and down in the 600 or 700 range, this may not matter. Those with good credit scores, though, may see more of an effect.
This thread has some good discussion on the topic, including links. Is is a sure thing that it will hurt everyone in all cases in a noticeable way? Not at all. But it certainly won't increase the score
Cheers.