Written by Jason Foley
Updated on Mon, 02 Feb 2026

The short answer is no. In fact, opening cards and collecting points will most likely help your credit score, provided you do it the right way.

Credit is based on six factors. If you follow our strategy, you should end up with an overall credit score that is higher than it was before you started.

Credit Usage

As you open more cards, you’ll have a higher total credit limit across all of them. This lowers your percentage of credit used, which is one of the most important factors in your credit score. Reducing that percentage will generally help your score.

Payment History

For this hobby to work, you must pay off the balance on every card each month. If you are not in a position to do that, you are not ready to collect points and miles.

• Set all cards to autopay to avoid missed payments
• Review statements before payment if that is important to you
• Stay organized when managing multiple cards across multiple banks

Staying organized is critical, and we can help with that.

Derogatory Marks

This hobby, if executed properly, will make you more aware of avoiding issues such as bankruptcy, tax liens, and judgments. If you’ve had recent problems in any of these areas, you are probably not ready for this hobby yet.

Credit Age

If you understand the importance of credit age ahead of time, you can plan in a way that minimizes any negative impact. Avoid canceling older cards that could significantly affect your credit age. Instead, downgrade them to retain your age marker.

You will cancel cards from time to time, but as long as they are not your oldest accounts, the impact on your credit score should be negligible.

Total Number of Accounts

This may seem counterintuitive, but more is actually better here. Having more cards demonstrates that you have successfully managed multiple credit accounts over time.

Hard Inquiries

You receive a hard inquiry on your credit report each time you apply for a new card. This usually results in a small, temporary dip in your score. In most cases, the negative effect of hard inquiries is outweighed by the improvement you see from better credit usage. Opening more cards will typically help your credit score more than hard inquiries will hurt it.

Some credit experts recommend avoiding new inquiries if you plan to apply for a mortgage or other large loan in the next 9–12 months. That caution is worth noting, but most data points show that if you are following the rest of our advice, you should have no issue qualifying for a mortgage.

Tracking and Responsibility

You want to avoid hard inquiries for cards you are likely to be declined for. Credit card companies have many rules that determine approvals, and it can be difficult to keep track of them all.

• Use the Points Navigator and we'll alert you of any cards that you may be declined for based on your card history
• This will help you avoid unnecessary applications that could trigger hard inquiries
• We will help track your cards, bonuses, and annual fee due dates all in one place

We also recommend that all users set up a free Credit Karma account to understand where they stand across different credit score factors. Simply being aware of these factors and monitoring them regularly can have a positive effect on your score.

In virtually every one of our writers’ cases, credit scores have increased as they have become more involved in the hobby. As long as you follow this approach, your credit score should improve over time.