Sally Herigstad is a certified public accountant and the author of "Help! I Can't Pay My Bills: Surviving a Financial Crisis" (St. Martin's Press, 2006). She writes "To Her Credit," a weekly reader Q&A column about issues involving women, credit and debt, for CreditCards.com.
Dear To Her Credit,
When I see all these low interest rates out there, I wonder why I'm still paying 18 percent interest on my credit card. It seems like I could just get an introductory rate card, and then move to a different one when the rate goes up. Can I do that? Would it hurt my credit score? -- Connie
Dear Connie,
Yes, you can do that. In fact, some people do. It may ding your score in the short term, but moving from one low interest credit card to the next could actually help your long-term picture -- if you do it right.
First, the bad news: Opening even one new account will cause an immediate drop in your score. For example, when I got a new card in February, my score dropped seven points.
"New accounts account for about 10 percent of your score," says Barry Paperno, consumer operations manager of FICO score developer Fair Isaac Corp. He says scores are impacted by new accounts because the scoring formula considers that people opening new accounts may soon take on more debt, which increases lenders' risk.
The good news: Opening a new card usually causes only a minimal drop in your score, and the effect is short-lived. If you make payments on time and don't max out your available credit, your score soon climbs back up.
What would happen if you jumped to a new low rate card every six months? Paperno says, "You're hurting yourself in one area, but helping in a couple others." In fact, if the new account has a higher limit, it could improve your limit-to-balance ratio. In that case, the net effect on your score could be positive.
For example, let's say you get a new balance transfer credit card balance transfer credit card. Then you transfer a $10,000 balance from a card with a $10,000 limit to the new card with a low rate and a $20,000 limit. You might lose a handful of points for opening the new account. But since your utilization (limit-to-balance ratio) accounts for 30 percent of your score and opening new accounts only affects 10 percent of your score, you could be much better off. Paperno says, "If you keep doing that, that's not a bad thing."
Before you try to jump to a card with a low interest rate, consider the following:
Don't let the debt pile up. If you get new cards and then run up balances on both the old cards and the new ones, your long-term financial picture and your score will suffer.
Watch out for hefty transfer fees. You have to save a lot on interest payments, for example, to make it worth the typical 3 percent all-at-once transfer fee.
Don't apply for new cards when you want your score to look the best. A small temporary ding usually doesn't affect anything -- but you want to avoid it if you're qualifying for mortgage right away. It's not exact, but according to Paperno, you can typically recover in six months whatever points you lost.
What about having too many cards? There's no single measure of how many cards you should have. Your score is determined by your overall credit profile. The number of cards you have is not a heavily weighted factor. Paperno wouldn't worry about having too many cards. He emphasizes it's more important that you keep your balances low and never miss a payment. "If your No. 1 factor is that you have too many cards, you probably have a very high score," he says.
Remember, your goal should be to reach the point where you don't carry a dime over on your cards from month to month. Credit cards are purchasing tools; they are not good long-term loans. When you get your balances down to zero, you'll never worry about credit card interest rates again.
Sally Herigstad answers questions about credit every week for CreditCards.com. Herigstad is a certified public accountant, author and speaker. She also writes regularly for MSN Money, Interest.com, Bankrate.com and RedPlum.com, and has been a guest on Martha Stewart radio and other programs. You can read more about personal finance and download free budgeting worksheets at her website: www.sallyherigstad.com
To Her Credit answers a question about a debt or credit issue from a CreditCards.com reader each week.
Send your question to Sally.
Updated: May 14, 2009
Three most recent To Her Credit stories:
Should one spouse take on full debt load? – A married couple with joint card debt wants to transfer the balance to a lower rate card. Should the better credit score spouse take on the burden alone? ...
Can you use dad's credit card when he's ill? – An adult child is taking care of her dying father and wonders about the legality of using his plastic to pay for bills and medical expenses ...
Did you like this story? Then sign up for CreditCards.com’s weekly e-newsletter for the latest news, advice, articles and tips. It's FREE. Once a week you will receive the top credit card industry news in your inbox. Sign up now!
Balance transfer basics
