Limit to how many FF-Credit Cards you can sign up?

[Alanslegal]

That anyone knows of, if there any danger in me say applying for the ANZ deal to get bonus 16k points and then cancel, as possible the AMEX Edge as well?

Does anyone know if doing this kind of thing is monitored by any entity and does it effect your credit rating history to have had a lot of different cards? (im only 26 and don't wanna screw it up)

Personally I have no issue with churning through credit cards purely for sign up bonuses etc

As long as you meet your current debt obligations, generally you should not have a problem with applying for future debts eg. home loan. I believe there is a record of all the credit applied for, regardless of the outcome (I could be wrong but I assume there is one just for the sake of it) so if you apply for 5 cards in a year, your record may be noted as 'applied 5 times'. A potential lender may review your history and see this as negative, however as a potential borrower I disagree. I believe the bigger deciding factor is your ability to meet your (potential) debt obligation, and whether you have had any problems in the past. If you have good capacity to meet you obligations and have never had historical problems, then I believe one should be a good credit risk.

I guess your main concern is that by churning through alot of credit cards now, it may affect your chance to get a home loan in the near future. Again I disagree, as long as your total credit cards limit PLUS the home loan is within your ability to repay, then there shouldn't be an issue with lending issues.

 

[The Rok]

Personally I have no issue with churning through credit cards purely for sign up bonuses etc

As long as you meet your current debt obligations, generally you should not have a problem with applying for future debts eg. home loan. I believe there is a record of all the credit applied for, regardless of the outcome (I could be wrong but I assume there is one just for the sake of it) so if you apply for 5 cards in a year, your record may be noted as 'applied 5 times'. A potential lender may review your history and see this as negative, however as a potential borrower I disagree. I believe the bigger deciding factor is your ability to meet your (potential) debt obligation, and whether you have had any problems in the past. If you have good capacity to meet you obligations and have never had historical problems, then I believe one should be a good credit risk.

I guess your main concern is that by churning through alot of credit cards now, it may affect your chance to get a home loan in the near future. Again I disagree, as long as your total credit cards limit PLUS the home loan is within your ability to repay, then there shouldn't be an issue with lending issues.

Your sort of right. When it comes to mortgages lenders look at three things primarily:

1. Security (The Asset)
2. Capacity (Ability to meet the payments)
3. History (Your defaults, bankruptcies, etc.)

When it comes to unsecured lending the ball park changes. Credit Card issuers look at things like your request for credit (your credit file) and the potential for unsecured debt. Although you might say to a CC issuer that you only have one credit card already they have no real way of finding out without diving into your daily cash handling. CC issuers do not have that amount of resources so base it on a risk assessment.

All bank and CC issuers use a credit file scoring system to identify your risk. VEDA do not release those scores to the individual but they range from 0 – 1200 points. When it comes to mortgages anything under 600 points will be an auto decline, not sure what the base is for CC companies.
A bank issuing a mortgage will request an abundance of documents to back up your claims, a credit card issuer will usually ask for very little so will take the visual things more into account, i.e. the number of credit applications.

As a general rule when it comes to credit cards then the issuer will want to see no more than 6 enquiries in the last 12 months and none in the last 3 months. A mortgage provider will take those enquiries into account but can be swayed otherwise if there is good capacity and security.

 

[JohnK]

I am wanting long term relationships rather than a six month flip so if bad times ever come I think "member since 1970 something" may carry some weight.
Economic downturns occur so you should have 9 months safety money IMHO.

I also believe a long term relationship with banks/credit card companies can come in handy. They would be willing to waive establishment fees, approve higher credit limits if you have history with them etc.

 

[nn31]

Quite interesting points people are making. I was thinking along the same lines as Alanslegal- but see the POV from others too
Last year, from bonus points, i managed to bundle up : 52,000pts - and currently awaiting 16,000pts to arrive from my Westpac card.
It does make me feel a bit like a porper on these forums, because I'm not netting anywhere near you guys, but I figure: HEY! They're offering it!

Plus - like JohnK says - building long term relationships with banks can come in handy - and I see these flings with different banks as a very good look into their workings to give me an idea of their customer service and options etc... For instance, I have learned that I probably would not do my banking with Westpac - after the colossal stuff up they made with my Credit Card application, and after the way the branch manager and other staff members made me feel whilst in the branch. My experiences with AMEX however have left me wishing, wishing, wishing that they offered more banking services, as I've never had such good service from a financial institution before.All very interesting PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!