How often should one wait between churning cards?
Assuming you have no other debt and income comfortably above the minimum, would it be 1-2months between cards?
How Often Do You Wait between Churning Cards?
Powls on 26/01/2019 - 15:44
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cool story bro. tell it again.
3 a year hasn't been a problem, but with the new credit reporting system that may change as they can see when you closed a card.
Yeah. I close one in December and opened on in the same month. Only $6k limit (ANZ Travel card), but I have some bills coming up (around $4k) and was wanting to churn a card with it.
Just a tad worried it’s a little soon.
3-4 months, depending on offers available.
It's still pretty early days for the new positive reporting regime. The deadline for the big four to finished setting up their feeds is not until mid-2019.
Even then, if you make sure that you have your account closure letters handy, then there's no reason you should have to wait too long between churns.
I did like a new card every other month in 2018. Haven't done any in 2019 yet, still waiting on other peoples experience.
I think the problem will be when people with homeloan would like to get a refinance or if you are on an interest only, asking for an extension.
The former will definitely get you scrutinized big time requiring you to give up your credit cards limits (which would have been beneficial for BT) or not getting the home loan you're looking for.
The latter however, may be in a gray area as asking for an interest only is quite acceptable for investors especially if they have been able to service the debt.
To answer the question, I was told by ANZ 6 months.
I churn a new card every month and have done so for last 24-months. Under the new positive reporting my credit rating has steadily improved over this period. I also took out a new mortgage a few months ago and had no problems. I've never been late in payments and I cancel each card as soon as the points arrive. I never hold more than 2 cards at a time and always elect the lowest minimum credit.
How many enquires are on your report? I have 3 at the moment. All within the last year and a half. Not sure that is too much!
I don't check but probably most, if not all of them. I click an email from getcredit in the first week of the month which tells me whether my rating is going up or down. Under the old system it was slowly deteriorating but under the new system it's propelled like a rocket. It seems to get better after cancelling a card too. Go figure.
Wouldn't having recently closed another credit card account have improved your credit standing (instead of making it worse)? I think banks are more concerned about when was the last time you've applied for a credit card rather than when you last closed one.
I have a credit score of about 800+ with around 36 enquiries on my file and about 2 active cards at the moment. The churning probably reduced my overall score by 1-200 points, but its still in the good category and the upside is the 500k Qantas points which I wouldn't have otherwise so I consider that an ok trade. I don't have any problems getting home loans approved either so that's no issue.
Ohh. That’s good to know. I was worried that 3 enquires was a lot.
Makes my 3 sound like nothing.
I'm not sure why you're worried about 3 inquiries. This topic comes up like funghi in the rainy season and every time it does, folk like me and countless others recount their stories of how dozens of inquiries has no impact on their credit rating.
To be fair, its not zero impact, but it is limited. Those with very few credit enquiries tend to get to the 900s in their credit score, those with more frequent enquiries will be around 7-800 which is still decent. That's like dozens or more enquiries on your file. But overall these have very slight impact, unlike say a default or persistent late payments.
Tagging on a question - when do you close your card before churning?
Ie. Do you wait for that statement period to end so you get your regular points or cancel as soon as the bonus points hit?
Or do they still credit any points you've earned during a statement period when you close the card??
I have a Qantas FF card and my bonus points have hit. ANZ seems to credit points on the 16th of each month, so should I prolong closing off my card so that I get my other points credited?
Some banks will forfeit points owed and some will still credit. I can’t recall which I’ve had success with and I’ve only done it a few times when I’m owed a few points and I wanted the card closed quickly to apply for another.
Safest is to wait until points arrive before closing.
[Deactivated] on 26/01/2019 - 15:55 Comment score below threshold.