ok....there is a lot of correct and incorrect info on here. Everyone thinks they are correct, so take my info with a grain of salt too...
but....everytime you apply for credit, whether you get it or are declined, this has an impact on your beacon scoring - and negatively. Each time you apply for credit, it will lower your score, by how much, I have no clue, but it WILL lower your score regardless of whether you qualify
Each application will appear on your bureau - TRUE
- every time you apply, it WILL appear on your credit report. If you get turned down, it doesn't necessarily tell that, however, it will show that you had an enquiry from say AMEX on June 2005, and if there is no record of you having an AMEX card, then they can assume that you either got declined, or that you changed your mind. Either way, it shows that you applied for the credit.
The more credit you have, the worse it looks on you - TRUE
- this is true even if you have a zero balance and aren't using the credit limits. Now before everyone jumps me, this is because you have the credit limit available to you, and there is nothing stopping you from max'ing it out in two days time. So if you don't need more credit cards, I would recommend not applying for them.
Bottom line, is that everything that you do financially will impact your credit score. If you're late with a payment, whether it's only 30 days or not, this WILL lower your bureau, again, by how much, I don't know. Someone mentioned that this won't matter much if you're applying for a mortgage, but keep in mind, if you're on the borderline for minimum scoring for qualifying, the bank may decline you if there's a lot of late payments and they don't want to take the risk on you.
Anyways, hope this helps people out....