 TITLE: What Is Credit Card Churning? CONTENT: How Can Credit Card Churning Affect Your Credit?\n------------------------------------------------\nCredit card churning involves frequently and repeatedly opening new credit card accounts. Even if you're not trying to churn cards, opening multiple credit cards can impact your credit scores in both negative and positive ways. Here's a closer look at why this can happen.\n*   **New hard inquiries**: Each credit card application can lead to a new hard inquiry on one or more of your credit reports, and hard inquiries may hurt your credit scores. Applying for multiple credit cards within a short period may lead to a large score drop. And, hard inquiries can occur even if the card issuer rejects your application.\n*   **Lower your average age of accounts**: Credit card churning can also hurt your credit scores because each new account will lower the average age of the accounts in your credit reports. In general, a higher average age of accounts is better for your scores. Closing an older account won't impact this factor immediately, as FICO® Scores☉ consider closed and open accounts in your credit reports when determining the average age of your accounts. Card accounts closed in good standing stay on your credit report for up to 10 years.\n*   **Affect your utilization rate**: Opening many new credit cards can cause your available credit to increase and lower your credit utilization rate. However, making the purchases required to earn points, rewards and intro bonuses could easily cause your credit utilization to spike and drag your scores down in the process.\nBecause credit card churning involves managing a lot of credit card accounts, it may also increase the likelihood that you accidentally miss a credit card payment. A missed payment could lead to penalties and interest. And, falling 30 days behind could lead to a late payment in your credit reports, which could hurt your scores. END