Quick background on me - got into points accumulation very recently. Nothing too drastic yet (three credit cards for me, two for wife, but we may want to get at least three more each this year). We rent and may be looking for a home in under a year, or maybe a year, or maybe two years or longer; it just depends on if we find something that we like. We are in no rush there.

My concern - These credit cards that we are thinking of getting (not the ones we already have) will take a HUGE toll on our mortgage payment. Is this true? If so, by how much? Can 3 FICO points translate to what in terms of a mortgage payment? Very little? A lot? Our credit scores are excellent and we have a great lender at Merrill Lynch, but I don't know if that makes a difference in the analysis of the credit score.

Bottom line - we can wait on some of these cards if we're going to end up paying a lot more a month on a mortgage just because of that Marriott free night I needed, or that Grand Slam US Airways hit and the 40,000 sign up points.

short answer: 3 points does not make much of a difference to any lender esp. w/ excellent credit.

longer answer: it really depends on where those three points shift you. the difference between 813 and 810 is non-existent. the difference between 697 and 700 might matter (though I doubt it). But if you're worried, then don't do it. credit offers come and go ... which means other offers will come.

My suggestion is to find loans through local banks or a credit union. These usually have 1 rate instead of a spread depending on credit score, and you either qualify for the loan (at the listed rate) or you don't qualify for a loan period. As long as your credit is decent, you'll get the loan and the low rate (which is often much lower than the bait and switch "low low" bank rates you see on websites, once you take into account the closing costs).

I applied for > 30 credit cards in the past 6 months, lost about 60 points on my credit score.

2 weeks ago I applied for a mortgage on a 2nd home, got the loan no problem; 10 year fixed @ 2.85%. Works for me.

Thanks to both of you! These are very helpful suggestions, neither of which had occurred to me before.