Question about applying and getting approved but not signing

nekr0mantik

cymruchris said:

nekr0mantik said:

cymruchris said:

nekr0mantik said:

cymruchris said:

nekr0mantik said:

Yeah I know about that but I was wondering is it worth just opening it as I have already had a search and just not use it as it has no fees or don't sign it but then would that have any impact at all or not.

Why did you apply in the first place?

How many other cards do you have (if any)?

What's your overall credit limit between all cards (if you have them)?

It's better for a positive credit history to have well-managed, frequently used accounts. 

I got one with utilisation of around 40 percent and another with less then 30 percent and last one with zero utilisation. 

One more would reduce your overall utilisation by having a greater combined credit limit with one additional card (have you actually been approved? or are you still 'applying'?)

A total of four cards wouldn't be excessive.  You could still use the new card as originally planned, and keep the one with the new offer on standby for future use. 

Already applied and approved.

Is there a max number of cards person should have? Would too many affect future credit eligibility? Like 5 or 6 be considered too many even if some unused?

Not really - it's more about how you manage the accounts rather than how many you have. If your utilisation percentage stays low, your payments are made on time, and balances aren't carried for excessive amounts of time, or better still paid in full each month, you'll begin to look more attractive from a risk perspective. This over a long period of time will allow you to get better offers, and if needed when the time comes, a reasonable mortgage deal. 

Ok. Cheers 🙂

Chino

nekr0mantik said:

Ok. Cheers 🙂

Before you go away feeling reassured, you should bear in mind that no one responding on this or similar threads has any knowledge of how lenders use credit reports and are merely engaging in uninformed speculation.

cymruchris

Chino said:

nekr0mantik said:

Ok. Cheers 🙂

Before you go away feeling reassured, you should bear in mind that no one responding on this or similar threads has any knowledge of how lenders use credit reports and are merely engaging in uninformed speculation.

It's likely a little more than uninformed speculation. As much as the financial institutions don't reveal exactly what they look for, and indeed between them they all have different criteria, I'm sure you'll agree that the majority of the mainstream lenders will be looking for customers that don't have defaults, bankruptcies, repeat late payments, balances maxed out across all cards for the last 5 years, large debt to income ratios, just as a rough example.

Having a positively managed responsible credit history is more favourable to these mainstream lenders than a chequered history showing irresponsible behaviours. From that perspective we as a forum can provide a general reassurance that if you have 4 cards where payments are made on time, and balances not consistently high, with a low utilisation percentage is nothing to provide any major concerns for the OP (Unless you can provide something that proves otherwise?) 

Yes it's all 'speculation' as we as forum members are talking from shared personal experiences, and we learn from each other. Of course, none of us are 'Head of Customer Selection Criteria' for American Express (At least I don't think anyone here is!), so we as forum members can (and do) provide general thoughts on posts that pose questions. It's all opinion - and sometimes we can be wrong - but normally if anyone gives truly bad advice - it's usually pulled up by other experienced forum members. 

Of course we all have personal responsibility for our financial decisions, but there's no harm in asking a forum as good as this one for a bit of advice (It would be a fairly boring place if nobody asked any questions), and don't think the OP has received any poor advice in answer to their questions. (But happy to be proved wrong if you believe anything I've said is 'bad information')