All of these credit card and bank jobs look great but when does it come back to bite me in the a$$? How many of these can I really do before a red flag goes up somewhere? How many can I do before I start getting rejected? How does this work?
Thanks

You’re asking different questions here. Are you asking about what happens to your credit whenever a hard check is hit on your credit?


As for redflags, you can be redflagged for opening and closing too many bank accounts. I haven’t been hit yet, but for example, I open/close a chase checking account for an easy $350 or so every 18 months. Haven’t been redflagged yet for churning these bank incentives (not MS related). To your question on how many until a redflag is placed under your name? That depends on the bank and I haven’t found clear quanitities.

As for credit cards, you can sign up or attempt to sign up for as many as you’d like without any redflags. Some creditors have limitations for the amount of their credit cards you can open to mitigate credit card churners. E.g. Chase has a 5/24 (any 5 credit cards opens opened within the last 24 months) limitations, while AMEX has a “one credit card bonus per card type only” limitation.

As for shops, there are some shops that would typically require your SSN for a hard check, but sometimes they’ll have their client block the applications from going through prior to the shop or have you utilize a fake SSN they designate. Otherwise, they make it clear before you accept the shop that you may take a hard check on your credit. If you’d like to know how hard checks can temporarily impact your credit, I can expand on that. The worry on how hard inquiries can impact your credit is overrated and misunderstood by the masses.

Oh yeah, and soft checks have no impact on your credit.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2018 03:13PM by Tarantado.

Thank you. That explains a lot.
What is the difference between a hard and soft check?

Oh, and another question.

If I were to open a card at a major department store today, aren't I less likely to be accepted for a regular major credit card tomorrow?

I think that is what I meant by "how many"? Do I just keep cancelling the cards immediately and that clears my credit for the next? Does applying and cancelling ruin my score at all?

I know little because I really try not to mess with credit after falling into a major hole in my younger years. I just pay my house and car note and keep one credit card.

@ShopperSavvy wrote:

Thank you. That explains a lot.
What is the difference between a hard and soft check?

A hard check is when a lending decision is being made, such as when a creditor is needing to make a decision to provide a loan or credit card to you. This will take a slight, but temporary hit to your credit. Ultimately, your length and positive credit history matters much more.

A soft check is more like a 'quick' check on your background for pre-approvals or if they need a check before proceeding ahead with services.... Cable, telephone and banks use this. These will show up on your credit report, but they do not affect your credit in a negative manner.

In my opinion, the credit hits are usually much better spent on regular bank/credit card bonus than Mystery shop payments. It's easy to find $150 or more in bonuses from the banks themselves. Of course if you can put a MS on top of that, it's even better, but there is no way I'd take a hard inquiry for $60 or even $100 with a MS when I can do better without all the reporting.

I opened a savings account (I wanted one anyway), and there was no credit check. Credit cards may be different. I don't do a lot of banks due to this, and no credit cards. Many bank jobs from Informa your credit score has to be excellent or your not allowed to get them, which means they check.

Bank inquiry and opening a deposit account do not affect your credit. Deposit accounts are not credit accounts.

@ShopperSavvy wrote:

Oh, and another question.

If I were to open a card at a major department store today, aren't I less likely to be accepted for a regular major credit card tomorrow?

I think that is what I meant by "how many"? Do I just keep cancelling the cards immediately and that clears my credit for the next? Does applying and cancelling ruin my score at all?

I know little because I really try not to mess with credit after falling into a major hole in my younger years. I just pay my house and car note and keep one credit card.

Good questions!

See below in my responses in bold

If I were to open a card at a major department store today, aren't I less likely to be accepted for a regular major credit card tomorrow?
I want to say probably, but not likely depending on your situation. There are lots of variables to consider. Your credit is composed of mainly your payment history, utilization and length of credit history. Yes, the quantity of credit lines will affect your length of credit history, which is why opening new lines will affect your line. But note that this is a temporary hit, as is hard inquiries (or known as hard checks).

I think that is what I meant by "how many"? Do I just keep cancelling the cards immediately and that clears my credit for the next? Does applying and cancelling ruin my score at all?
Personally, I keep no annual fee credit cards or call and downgrade to a no annual fee card if possible for any annual fee cards I don't want to keep. As stated above, the length of credit history is a major factor, so by keeping your lines positive and opened, more lines can actually HELP your credit.

And of course, I'm not an expert in credit, but I know a bit from all I've learned over the years and can back up my words 25+ active credit cards later and a consistent 800+ credit score the majority of the time.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2018 03:59PM by Tarantado.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Bank inquiry and opening a deposit account do not affect your credit. Deposit accounts are not credit accounts.

That is absolutely not true. You've stated this several times and every time I give you links to factual data that disputes this and yet you keep on regurgitating the same poor information.

Opening a deposit account at most banks does not affect your credit. There are banks however that do a hard pull on your credit in order to open accounts. The list of these can easily be found via a Google search.

I just opened a savings only account and my credit was not effected. I get updates on all activity and nothing was reported.

Well, now I feel like I should transfer my balance from my card to something better.
Secret shopping is turning me into a real grown up! (I should have been grown up 20 years ago.)

Not to worry, I'm still learning, one never knows it all...

I routinely make $2000 and sometimes up to $4000 a year on credit card and bank bonuses. If you are willing to do these for a shop, it's much more lucrative to look for bonuses from the banks themselves. Many banks, like Chase, let you get the bonus each year. Open account, get bonus, close account, and repeat the next year. Credit cards have similar bonuses, but obviously you take a hard inquiry hit. But when I get $700+ in bonus value, it's worth a hit.

@quovatis wrote:

I routinely make $2000 and sometimes up to $4000 a year on credit card and bank bonuses. If you are willing to do these for a shop, it's much more lucrative to look for bonuses from the banks themselves. Many banks, like Chase, let you get the bonus each year. Open account, get bonus, close account, and repeat the next year. Credit cards have similar bonuses, but obviously you take a hard inquiry hit. But when I get $700+ in bonus value, it's worth a hit.

That introduces people to the world of churning, but also requires some education to make the efforts worth it. If people aren't naturally spending enough to meet bonus requirements, it may not be worth it for them, unless they want to pursue and learn how to manufacture spend and/or hoard mountains of gift cards.

Ultimately, it's lucrative to do both (aim for bonuses yourself and also through mystery shops), in my opinion.

@ShopperSavvy wrote:

Well, now I feel like I should transfer my balance from my card to something better.
Secret shopping is turning me into a real grown up! (I should have been grown up 20 years ago.)

I hope you're not talking about a credit card balance you're carrying over from month to month. Unless that balance is under some sort of 0% interest promotion, I'd focus on paying that off vs. transferring it to another card. The only exception I'd make towards this is if you financially can't get rid of that balance quick and require a card like Chase Slate (0% interest for 15 month AND $0 balance transfer fee) to mitigate the amount of interest you're paying.

I was told Chase requires a saving account to maintain $10,000 in order to get their 300.00 bonus.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

I was told Chase requires a saving account to maintain $10,000 in order to get their 300.00 bonus.

Typically, they require 90 days to hold the funds without penalty for the bonus. For a 3% return over just 3 months isn't half bad.

If you think opening too many accounts won't affect you take a look at my post:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]