February 17 Category: Playbook
Too many credit inquiries can injure your credit score, this I what Credit Coach calls an “inquiry injury”. Your credit score will suffer if you have numerous inquires. By now, you should know what your credit score is, and in the future you will continue to monitor it. One reason for this is so you will know if you qualify for something without having them pull your credit. Basically, before you apply for credit, ask what the minimum credit score is, what the minimum income requirement is, what the interest rate and payment schedule is.
By doing your research you will know whether you meet basic requirements and if you can afford the payment schedule. If you don’t meet the score requirement or find out the payment will be higher than you anticipated than you know not to even bother applying – in other words you have just prevented the injury inquiry.
Too many times people apply for credit without knowing the minimum requirements and specifics of the account they are applying for. Do your research, you should know what you are applying for before you grant a company permission to view your credit. Avoiding the inquiry injury is a Credit Coach strategy to keep your credit score from needlessly dropping.
If additional credit is what you are looking for, you can call your existing credit card company and ask for a credit line increase based on your payment history with them. You want to make it clear that you do not want your credit pulled.
Defensive Tip: The best offense is a good defense. Implement the strategies that you are learning from Credit Coach, and you will be a winner!