Takeoff: A Points and Miles Podcast · Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Opening new credit cards does cause temporary negative impacts on credit scores, such as inquiries and a lower average age of accounts. However, these effects are often offset by the increase in total available credit. Travis notes that this is why scores can sometimes increase when someone actively participates in the hobby, building a more robust credit profile.
“You know, and the truth is that opening an account when you do, it does put an inquiry on your report and it does lower your average age of accounts. These are two impacts that negatively impact your credit.”
“But they fade, they get offset over time by the total available credit that you're adding. Which is why the outcome that Bryce described where your score actually goes up sometimes, isn't just some fluke, it's actually something pretty ordinary that we see when people get pretty deep into this hobby.”
“But by having more accounts, it means those average ones that go into your credit score, uh, are more buffered.”