 TITLE: What Is Credit Card Churning? CONTENT: The Drawbacks of Credit Card Churning\n-------------------------------------\nEven with the risk involved, some people still look for ways to maximize rewards by churning cards. Would-be churners may keep track of cards' intro offers—which can change over time—and wait until there's a good offer before applying. They may also plan out which cards they'll apply for over the next couple of years based on the offers and card issuers' rules.\nThe main goal of credit card churning is the same as it always was—earning rewards from credit card intro bonuses. However, card issuers' monitoring and restrictions has resulted in a growing list of cons. The big downsides include:\n*   A card issuer shutting down your accounts, which may include all your credit card and bank accounts.\n*   A card issuer taking back rewards if they feel you gamed the system.\n*   You could spend more money on annual fees, interest and additional purchases than you receive in rewards.\n*   Credit card churning could hurt your credit scores.\n*   The potential to build up debt you can't pay down.\nThese risks and the ethical gray area churning presents are enough reason for many to decide it isn't for them. Not only that, churning may be extra risky or impossible if:\n1.  You have bad credit. The credit cards with the best offers generally require a good to excellent credit score.\n2.  You're preparing to apply for a large loan. Applying for multiple credit cards, particularly in a short period, could hurt your credit scores. If you plan on applying for a mortgage or auto loan soon, you want to make sure your credit is in tip-top shape.\n3.  You can't afford the spending requirements. You'll need to meet credit cards' minimum spending requirements to earn the intro bonuses. But spending with a credit card in pursuit of rewards can easily cause you to carry a balance, which results in interest costs and other consequences. A high balance could cause you to spend more on interest than you receive from the rewards.\n4.  You don't want to invest the time. It can take a lot of time and energy to keep track of your applications, progress with minimum spending requirements, open credit card accounts and the card issuers' policies. It's easy to make mistakes that could hurt your credit or more than wipe out the value of the rewards you earn.\nCredit card rewards earned responsibly can be a great way to save on your credit card bill and earn rewards points for a trip, but churning is something that's outside a lot of cardholders' comfort zone. END