For the first two months I applied to one every two weeks (4 total) and they kicked out the second and fourth applications as "duplicates." Then I applied for one every month. (I'm still doing applying for these too)

I always find the discussion of good score vs. bad score interesting. The main consequence of having a less than perfect score seems to be a hurt ego.

If you don't foresee needing a very large, traditional loan in the near future, then the debate just isn't that important. And, even if you do, a local credit union or bank can work with you to make it work when you need it.

In the US, not sure about Canada, a person's car and homeowners insurance premiums are also based on their credit score. Many people disagree with this but it is the one of the factors that insurance rates are based on.

North America is rapidly moving towards a cashless market and with this I think we'll see more and more parts of our life based on our credit score. It�s one of the few ways left to legally discriminate.

Credit Unions are moving towards the true bank model more and more every day. There is even pending legislation in the US Congress that will modify their 501c3 status, though admittedly its not receiving much attention right now. As they expand their charters and get bigger and bigger and therefore compete with the banks more directly that will happen. I�d bet that there are only a handful of credit unions that operate today on a good will basis.

After all that, a credit score can be a ego issue, but it is more important then it ever has been in the past.