Does Opening a Credit Card Hurt Your Credit? | Capital One (2024)

FAQs

Does Opening a Credit Card Hurt Your Credit? | Capital One? ›

It's also worth keeping in mind that opening a new credit card could result in a decrease in your credit scores. That's because applying for the card will result in a hard inquiry. And opening the account will lower the average age of your credit accounts—a factor in calculating credit scores.

For example, pre-approval at Capital One uses soft credit checks, which involve a simple review of credit and don't affect scores. Will opening a new credit card affect your credit scores? Yes, opening a new credit card can affect your credit scores temporarily.

If you have average credit and are looking to build up to a good or excellent credit score, it's a good idea to consider a credit card designed for average credit applicants, such as the Capital One Platinum Credit Card (see rates and fees).

When you apply for a new card, the credit company may perform a hard pull of your credit report for review as part of the approval process. The inquiry on your credit history may lower your FICO Score but generally the impact is low (for most, this means fewer than 5 points).

Understanding the 5/24 rule:

The most important rule to consider in collecting points is the “5/24 rule.” The rule is simple: If you get 5 personal credit cards in any 24-month period, you're automatically prohibited from getting a 6th Chase or Capital One card.

That's because a new credit application generally creates a hard credit inquiry, which can cause your credit scores to drop by a few points. Multiple credit applications in a short period of time could also indicate that your financial situation has changed negatively—and they might cause your credit scores to drop.

The best credit card overall is the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card because it gives 2% cash rewards on all purchases and has a $0 annual fee. For comparison purposes, the average cash rewards card gives about 1% back. Cardholders can also get an initial bonus of $200 cash rewards after spending $500 in...

The best Capital One starter card is the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card because its available to people with limited credit. It gives 1.5 - 5% cash back on purchases, with no earning limit, and charges a $39 annual fee.

Chip Lupo, Credit Card Writer

You should use less than 30% of a $1,000 credit card limit each month in order to avoid damage to your credit score.

Is it bad to have a lot of credit cards with zero balance? ›

However, multiple accounts may be difficult to track, resulting in missed payments that lower your credit score. You must decide what you can manage and what will make you appear most desirable. Having too many cards with a zero balance will not improve your credit score. In fact, it can actually hurt it.

If you don't use a particular credit card, you won't see an impact on your credit score as long as the card stays open. But the consequences to inactive credit card accounts could have an unwanted effect if the bank decides to close your card.

Opening new credit accounts can hurt credit score in two main ways: The credit card issuer could pull your credit report as part of their review process. This kind of inquiry on your credit report can negatively affect your score, though it generally has a small impact on your FICO® Score (Fair Isaac Corporation).

“Existing or previous cardmembers are not eligible for this product if they have received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 48 months.” This means it may be possible to earn a welcome bonus for a given card more than once, though it's not guaranteed.

Capital One application limits

Capital One has a single restriction on credit card applications, and that is a firm limit of one application every six months. The rule covers both personal and business credit card applications, and it doesn't matter whether you were approved for a card or not.

There is no general starting credit limit for Capital One credit cards. Your credit limit will be based on your creditworthiness once your application has been approved.

The most likely reasons are: your balances increased, you recently closed accounts, you applied for new lines of credit, or there is inaccurate or fraudulent information on your account. If your credit score dropped by 40 points, this is likely due to late payments that continue to compound on past-due bills.

For your credit score to drop 100 points at once, you're most likely talking about being 90 days late or more on a loan or credit card payment you're on the hook for. Believe it or not, a single late payment could cause damage in that ballpark, especially if your credit score is higher to begin with.

Being denied for a credit card doesn't hurt your credit score.

Remember, building credit takes time and credit scoring models are based on your activity and account history over time. Simply put, one month of positive on-time payment history is great, but six to 12 months of positive payment history is better and will have a greater impact.