Hi guys, noob here but trying to figure out the max number of CC's I can open/rate at which I can churn given that theoretically meeting min. spend thresholds for multiple cards at a time is not an issue

I guess theres 2 components here im looking for clarification on

1.)
I know the damage done due to a hard check is eventually offset with paying ontime but when I close accounts before the end of the 1 year/when I meet the min spend will that hurt my credit score significantly?

2.) I know CC companies have policies to limit signup bonuses for the same card like once per 12/24 months. Will they eventually start getting pissed/not approve me if Im opening/closing all the cards they have?

all help is much appreciated. cheers

I see this is your first post. Welcome to FlyerTalk!

I've found articles such as "What's in my FICO scores" at (http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducatio...YourScore.aspx) to be interesting reading about the factors in general that affect your FICO score. The exact formulation of the number is a trade secret, of course.

When you apply for a credit card, banks consider both your FICO score as well as other aspects of your credit history. How permissive or tight they are varies considerably. For example, Citi seems fairly generous with allowing people to open new accounts. I've opened 5 in the past year across various cards. Chase seems to have tightened up recently, rejecting applications from people who've opened more than, say, 3 accounts across all Chase cards within the past 12 months.

As far as I'm aware, there is no max. The more cards, the better. You just have to manage AAoA as new accounts are opened.

I also wouldn't worry too much about inquiries, unless we're talking about a few dozen in six months, or you're going to apply for a mortgage soon. Inquiries only affect FICO for twelve months.

All I can tell OP is that I have opened way over a hundred card accounts in the last few years and been approved for just about all. Got lots and lots of bonus miles and my credit scores remain very high.

No bank has ever told me they were pissed at me.

Although there is a lot of chatter about watching this and that to protect your credit score I never worried about it and it doesn't seem to really matter much.

Pay your bill on time and in full every month = no problem with score.

If you start with no credit history and start trying to churn heavily as your first use of credit cards, you're likely to run into trouble.

But if you already have a decent "anchor" or two (or more) in your credit history (cards you've kept for years and can continue to keep for years), then what you do churning wise is going to be way less significant to your credit score.

We can't tell you that. It varies not only with credit profile but by creditor as well. For X cards, creditor A may approve while creditor B may deny. Person 1 may be approved while person 2 may be denied. There's no set number that applies for every person and creditor.

Creditors are not all identical. Some are more churn sensitive than others.