Apologies if posting in wrong section. Had a general question about Credit Card Rewards:I started adding some credit cards last year. It seems like once I have 7 Hard Inquiries (not just Credit card opening ) on report I have been rejected for all cards (That is the reason they gave). My score is over 800 and never late on payments. I was not able to get them to budge on the reconsideration line. My question is: How are people able to add more than 3 credit cards /year if it is hard to get approved after 7 hard inquiries (assuming they drop off after 24months). I want to apply again (been 6 months since last rejection-still 7 hard) but scared to get rejected. I read how people sign up for Alaskan airlines every few months and add a new card every 2-3 months and I dont get how it is possible. Any advice is greatly appreciated

Thanks for your time

Welcome to FT! I've asked a moderator to move this to the credit card forum.

kind of you....thanks

It depends on which credit bureau and which credit card you're applying for.

If my memory serves, Trans Union "dings" hard inquiries more than Equifax (so your FICO scores can be many points different between the 3 bureaus).

I'd suggest you get a copy of ALL THREE bureaus. You can get the free experian one and use credit karma for Trans Union and Equifax, for these purposes.

You'll notice that (more than likely) all 3 bureaus will show a different number of hard inquiries in the past 12/24 months. Typically the credit card companies only care about the last 12 months (although this isn't a hard and fast rule).

For example, Barclays seems to pull Trans Union and is 'very sensitive' (IMO) to inquiries in the last 6-12 months. If you have more than 2, they will typically decline. Chase seems to pull credit bureaus based upon your state. I'm in NY, so they pull Equifax. They don't seem to be as picky about hard inquiries (compared to Barclays) but again, it will depend on which bureau and what your inquiries are for the last 6 and 12 months.

Typically in the denial letter, they'll give a variety of factors, so it may not be "just" the # of inquiries (although it CAN be). Perhaps you're at your max credit line to income ratio, etc.

Hey, thanks for all the good information. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Business cards often do not get reported to your personal credit profile. And if you have two businesses, it is possible to open the same card for each of your different businesses.

This is true, although it will still yield a hard inquiry on your personal credit report, although Amex seems to not do this (if already a customer of theirs). I know Chase, Citi and Barclays all do hard pulls and they show up on your personal report although the new business accounts do not.

thats a great point! I did not think of that. I tried opening the Chase ones before doing the personal to try and get under the 5/24 rule, with a business I had not had ran for a number of years but still had Fed ID number. It got rejected. I said income was like 50K even though it was $0. I will have to find a way to get one approved. Any more advice is appreciated.

What do you mean by "New business accounts do not"

It all depends on the issuer. To most of them, a large number of inquiries in a limited time is proof of risky behavior. I would look at which bureaus have what number of inquiries and focus on the one with the least. Credit Pulls Database can help you determine what banks pull what reports going forward.

To avoid hard pulls, some lenders like AMEX, don't hard pull for new accounts for existing customers. Navy Federal there are ways to get soft pull cards at certain times of the year.

Thats useful...I tried looking at the website CreditBoards for credit pulls, but there really was a hard time finding a lot of useful data searching for my state of Michigan. It also seems that everyone has been using Experian on all my pulls across all banks. I will try AMEX next since I have the gold. Do you know of a good resource to come up with some of these data points like you mentioned on AMEX and Navy Fed? Thank you very much

So let's say you apply for a Chase Business Card and are approved.
The inquiry (hard pull) will show up on your Personal Credit Report (in my case, Equifax). However, the new card account doesn't show up on ANY personal credit report (thus, you "stay under" the Chase 5/24 rule). MOST business credit cards don't show up on your PERSONAL credit report (there are a few exceptions but Barclays, Citi, Amex, and Chase don't show up on personal reports). But when you are seeking credit, the inquiry WILL show up (again, Amex is a different animal as typically if you have a credit card with them already and apply for another Amex card, they "generally" don't do a hard pull on your personal report).

Thanks, I appreciate your time. I see that now, as I had a reject on the Ink Chase but was still able to open 5 Chase after that in under 24 months.

Not sure what you meant to type here, but bear in mind that Chase's 5/24 rule refers to the total number of personal cards issued in 24 months from ALL issuers. This is not determined by inquires (pulls). It is determined by accounts opened.

got it, thank you!