Will Applying For A Credit Card Hurt My Credit Score

A new credit card can even help if your credit utilization ratio is too high. Let's say you have one credit card with a balance of $5,000 and a credit limit of $10,000 -- your credit utilization would be 50%, on the high side. If you open another card with a $10,000 credit limit, it would cut your credit utilization in half, and almost certainly raise your credit score.

Credit cards for building credit

As of Dec. 06, 2021


Discover it® Secured Credit Card	Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card	Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars. 5.00 stars We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.	Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars. 4.00 stars We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.	Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars. 4.50 stars We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
Apply Now On Discover's Secure Website.	Apply Now On Petal's Secure Website.	Apply Now On Capital One's Secure Website.
Read Full Review	Read Full Review	Read Full Review
Rates & Fees	Rates & Fees
Credit Rating Requirement: New/Rebuilding Under(579)	Credit Rating Requirement: Fair/New to Credit Under(669)	Credit Rating Requirement: Fair/New to Credit Under(669)

Welcome Bonus: Cashback Match	Welcome Bonus: N/A	Welcome Bonus: N/A

Rewards Program: 1% - 2% Cashback	Rewards Program: 1% - 1.5% cash back	Rewards Program: N/A

Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: 10.99% Intro APR, 6 months	Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A	Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A

Regular APR: 22.99% Variable APR	Regular APR: 12.99% - 26.99% Variable	Regular APR: 26.99% Variable

Annual Fee: $0	Annual Fee: $0	Annual Fee: $0

Highlights: No Annual Fee, earn cash back, and build your credit with responsible use. Using your secured credit card helps build a credit history with the three major credit bureaus. Generally, prepaid and debit cards can't do that. Establish your credit line with your tax return by providing a refundable security deposit of at least $200. Bank information must be provided when submitting your deposit. Automatic reviews starting at 7 months to see if we can transition you to an unsecured line of credit and return your deposit.* Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically. Discover is accepted nationwide by 99% of the places that take credit cards. Get 100% U.S. based customer service & get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score. INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match. Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free. Click "APPLY NOW" to see rewards, FICO® Credit Score terms, Cashback Match™ details & other information.	Highlights: No fees whatsoever. No late fee, foreign transaction fee, annual fee, or any-other-kind-of-fee, fee. Up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments. 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away 2% - 10% cash back at select merchants $300 - $10,000 credit limits Variable APRs range from 12.99% - 26.99% No credit score? No problem. If eligible, we'll create your Cash Score instead. See if you're pre-approved within minutes without impacting your credit score. Build credit alongside hundreds of thousands of Petal Card members. Petal reports to all 3 major credit bureaus. No deposits required Card issued by WebBank, Member FDIC	Highlights: No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds Building your credit? Using the Capital One Platinum Secured card responsibly could help Put down a refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get a $200 initial credit line You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges Monitor your credit with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone and checking your credit does not hurt your credit score
Apply Now On Discover's Secure Website.	Apply Now On Petal's Secure Website.	Apply Now On Capital One's Secure Website.
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Why does applying for a credit card affect your credit score?

When you apply for a credit card, the card issuer reviews your credit history. This puts what's called a "hard credit inquiry" on your credit file, and affects the new credit category that's used to calculate your credit score.

New credit matters because there's a correlation between your number of credit applications and your risk of defaulting on debts. FICO has found that consumers with at least six hard inquiries on their credit reports are up to eight times as likely to declare bankruptcy as consumers with zero inquiries.

A credit inquiry is a request for information on a consumer's credit file. There are two types: hard inquiries and soft inquiries.

Hard inquiries

A hard credit inquiry is triggered by a credit application. Examples include credit card or loan applications, requests for a credit limit increase, and in some cases, applying to rent an apartment. You must give your permission for any party to perform a hard inquiry.

This type of inquiry, as we've seen, affects your credit score. It's not a large impact -- for most consumers, five points or fewer. However, multiple inquiries can bring your credit score down more.

Hard inquiries stay on your credit file for two years, but only affect your FICO® Score for one year.

Soft inquiries

A soft credit inquiry doesn't affect your credit score. This type of inquiry doesn't provide as much information as a hard inquiry, and creditors don't need your permission to perform a soft inquiry.

While there are many potential reasons for a soft inquiry, here are some examples:

You use a prequalification tool to see what kind of credit cards or loan rates you qualify for.
You pull up your credit score with a free credit score service.
A potential employer checks your credit.
A credit card company checks your credit in order to send you a preapproved credit card offer.