Early credit card churning dropped score over 30 points

[EconDiva]

So I was curious if any of you that have started churning have experienced drops in your credit score?

This year I received a CSP.  Months later I applied for a Southwest Plus and Premier card.  I was approved for the Plus and declined for the Premier (they stated because I applied for both the same day).  My score went from ~750 to now ~715.

Now, I will say I am not sure how much of the drop is due to the inquiries, how much is due to lowering my length of credit history (for opening new accounts which shortened my average credit history time as I did not have an extremely long credit history to begin with) and how much is due to being declined for that Premier card.

I REALLY wanted one more card this year (to try again for the Premier) but now I'm bummed I went from a "very good" score to a "good" one when I had worked pretty hard to get to 750.  I am wondering now if I should just forget about the extra card and how long it will take for me to get back up to 750. 

[Askel]

I had the opposite experience- mine went up.

I've been bouncing between an 8 point spread forever. During a recent home improvement project, I decided to take advantage of a cash back credit card offer.  Over the course of the application process, charging about $2000 to it, and then immediately paying it off, my score went up 10 points over its previous high.  That was a couple months ago and now I'm back bouncing between that same 8 point spread. 

[Duke03]

I track my credit score weekly thanks to the free credit app with chase bank.  I started the year at 816 and it has gotten as high as 821 and currently it's sitting at 814.  So far this year I've bought one car refinanced another and gotten approved for 4 credit cards.  Two being business cards without me having a business so they are pulling my personal credit.  Needless to say my credit gets pulled very often for my credit card churning game and in over 3 years I've yet to see my score drop below 809.  Of course I pay all balances in full each month.  Same goes for my wife.  She's applied for even more cards since she wasn't restricted by the 5/24 rule and it hasn't affected her score.  Honestly I don't even care about credit score any more and I believe the scale is rigged.  The people with the worst credit are punished far more than the people with the best credit are rewarded.  I don't get treated any better with my 814 score vs someone with a 750 score. 

[Paul der Krake]

It doesn't matter and will go back up.

[Catbert]

So I was curious if any of you that have started churning have experienced drops in your credit score?

This year I received a CSP.  Months later I applied for a Southwest Plus and Premier card.  I was approved for the Plus and declined for the Premier (they stated because I applied for both the same day).  My score went from ~750 to now ~715.

Now, I will say I am not sure how much of the drop is due to the inquiries, how much is due to lowering my length of credit history (for opening new accounts which shortened my average credit history time as I did not have an extremely long credit history to begin with) and how much is due to being declined for that Premier card.

I REALLY wanted one more card this year (to try again for the Premier) but now I'm bummed I went from a "very good" score to a "good" one when I had worked pretty hard to get to 750.  I am wondering now if I should just forget about the extra card and how long it will take for me to get back up to 750.

I'm pretty sure it's your average length of credit.  In my experience, a credit inquiry would be more like a 6 point drop and then slowly creep back up over a few months.  The denial itself shouldn't have any impact other than as a credit inquiry.   

Personally I would take a break of a couple of months and see what happens to your score.

[soccerluvof4]

Mine went down close to 30 just because of the increase of spending the last couple months but It will go back up. Give it some time.

[Syonyk]

...but now I'm bummed I went from a "very good" score to a "good" one when I had worked pretty hard to get to 750.

You realize card churning is basically "cashing in" on your credit rating, yes?

M'kay.  Just checking...

It'll go back up.  700s are still fine.

[kpd905]

After six months those hard pulls should stop having any effect on your score, and getting denied for the Premier card doesn't have any larger effect than any other hard pull.

Is your utilization percentage low?  My score kept going up when I started churning because my total credit line increased and % of utilization dropped like a rock to ~1-2%.  The hard pulls would cause a small dip for maybe a month but then it would recover.

Do you have a mortgage or any student loans?  Having a variety of loan types also seems to help with the credit score.

[EconDiva]

I should have checked my credit score before posting this thread.

I hadn't checked in a few weeks and it's bounced back about half of the points I lost.

Thanks to those who chimed in so far that it would probably rebound.

I am thinking about trying again for the Southwest Premier card...anyone have a referral?  Seems the regular sign on bonus is low right now at only 40k points.

[boarder42]

credit score drops are over stated. unless you need it for a house or some large purchase that would lock you into a higher rate for a long time abuse the thing and cash in all the travel rewards you can.

[EconDiva]

credit score drops are over stated. unless you need it for a house or some large purchase that would lock you into a higher rate for a long time abuse the thing and cash in all the travel rewards you can.

I do want to buy a house but who knows when.  At this point not for another 2 or 5 years or whatever.

I tend to move often and am trying to figure out if that will calm down a bit.  Because of moving often I also did not want my score to drop too low when applying for apartment leases for instance.

[HawkeyeNFO]

2-5 years?  Don't worry about it.  Churn for another 1-4 years.  Enjoy the free vacations and rebates that your credit score has earned you!