multiple credit card switching, does it affect credit rating?
I have noticed the vast number of credit card deals offering 0% on both
balance transfers and new purchases for the first six months.
Having just applied for one, I was wondering, if I do this again in six
months and every subsequent six months, would it have an affect on my
credit rating? Assuming that I make the required minimum payment on time
each month?
As a software engineer for a bank, I had to implement software that carried
out their credit rating scoring process. They liked it if you had a credit
card because it meant that another company trusted you. They also preferred
it if you had a Visa and a Mastercard (as opposed to 2 Visa cards) as this
meant you were trusted by two different companies.
However, if you had more than say 6 or more credit cards, they didn't want
to know you at all as it didn't seem right that someone with 6 cards would
want another one.
To go through the credit rating combinations yourself, you could try this
freeware software I've written that gives you some idea of how credit rating
is worked out.
Direct download : www.CreditCheckSoftware.com/setup.exe (633K)
Web site : www.CreditCheckSoftware.com
My advice is to close credit card accounts if you can.