Advice on mortgage / credit card application

richtips86

Sorry, I wasn't really sure where to post this, however my wife and I are just at the final stages of completing on a house purchase; we've just had our mortgage offer sent out and looking to complete in the next 4wks.

However my Santander Credit Card is due for renewal at the end of August and am looking to get a different credit card. We have a very good credit record but are we now past the stage where the bank will be looking at our credit score and am I safe to apply for a new card? The reason I ask is that I'm looking at an Amex with decent first 3mth bonus cashback cards as we'll be making quite a lot of expensive purchases stocking up on the new house. As such, I'd like to have the card to start spending asap rather than waiting once exchange has taken place.

I know it's not possible to give a definitive answer, but any opinions are much appreciated

Alexsas

safest bet is to avoid doing anything as the stakes of not getting mortgage funds are very high (well, 10% deposit + any other expenses people may incur due to your inability complete).

on the other hand, the risk of this happening is rather low: i believe (based on what i have seen on the forum and my personal experience of two mortgages) lenders customarily don't do another credit search post formal offer (maybe the time between offer and funds request matters, e.g. they may want to check if offer is a few months old?), and even if they did make a search credit card application is not something outrageously substantial to warrant offer withdrawal.

it is obviously up to you and your attitude to risk, but I'd play safe...