How does a hard pull affect one's credit score?

[FrugalSaver]

Say for example you have a credit score of 830.  If you did 2 or 3 hard pulls within a couple of days or weeks, how would that affect one's credit and how long would it take to "repair" back to the original score?

I am curious about this as i heard of people churning and to do that, you typically have to open a lot of credit cards which means you're very likely to be doing 3, 4, 5 or more hard pulls (unless opening a new card is not a hard pull) per year.

Also, does a request to increase one's credit limit cause a "hard pull"?

[renata ricotta]

My credit score hovers around 800, give or take 10 points based on where the score comes from (my cc company and Mint give me slightly different estimates).  I apply for a credit card or two every 4-6 months for a signup bonus.  In the short term, it can go down 7-10 points for a couple of months, but in the long term (since I started doing signup bonuses) it's gone up - from about 760ish to 800ish.  It helps overall because my ratio of used credit/available credit stays really low.  I have like $80k in available credit lines but only use $8k at a time, so it shows I could abuse my credit but don't.  It hurts a tad because my average age of credit gets pulled down, but I have one really old line of credit (15+ years old) that keeps it pulled up.  If your score is 830 I'm sure you're the same and will be more than fine.

Bottom line: anecdotally, pretty much everyone agrees that cc churning does not hurt your credit score if you always pay off your cards (and if you don't, you shouldn't be churning), and will probably even help it.

ETA: requesting an increase in credit does not require a hard pull.  The card company bases this decision on your history with the card at issue, not your overall credit score.

[Syonyk]

Does it affect your score?  Probably.  Is it worth worrying about starting from 830, unless you're one of those people who just needs to see a higher number?  Absolutely not.

There's no difference between an 800 or 810 and 830 in terms of what sorts of credit you'll be offered for things.

[MilesTeg]

Say for example you have a credit score of 830.  If you did 2 or 3 hard pulls within a couple of days or weeks, how would that affect one's credit and how long would it take to "repair" back to the original score?

I am curious about this as i heard of people churning and to do that, you typically have to open a lot of credit cards which means you're very likely to be doing 3, 4, 5 or more hard pulls (unless opening a new card is not a hard pull) per year.

Also, does a request to increase one's credit limit cause a "hard pull"?

A hard pull with lower your credit a few points. They are a "low impact" item.

Hard pulls stay on your report for 24 months, but only affect your score for 12 months.

Several pulls within 2-3 days of each other count as one (the idea being allowing for shopping around for rates).

Supposedly, a hard pull without a correlated new account dings you a bit more (the assumption being you were denied credit).

Unless you go crazy with applications, the hard pulls themselves won't hurt you too much. I have no idea on what all the new accounts will do (because it will seriously reduce your average account age/credit history age).

I suggest signing up for creditkarma.com. In addition to providing full reports and scores from transunion and equifax for free, they have some good materials including a factor analysis page and a community board that has some pretty knowledgeable folks.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

To answer OP's question:

Hard credit inquiries can only affect your FICO score for a maximum of 12 months. Usually, if they have any impact, it will be primarily in the first 6 months. They will drop off your credit report after 2 years. The exact impact inquiries have on your score depends on a number of factors.

(from Nerdwallet)

Practically for me, this has meant that after getting 6 or 7 new credit cards in the beginning of 2016, my score had recovered by the end of the year from a drop of about 70 points.

For credit limit increases - the answer is it depends on the company. It will always be disclosed to you before you finalize the request, so just back out if necessary.