Do business cards impact my personal credit score?

[AllyStreelman]

I have 9 credit cards (8 personal, 1 business) accumulated over the last 8 years and am interested in adding one or two more to my wallet in the near future (1 business, 1 personal) to capitalize on the bonus welcome offer. My question is this: at what point will additional cards hurt my overall score? Is it true that business cards don't impact my personal credit score?

[kork13]

If the business card is for your personal small business (or provided to you by a small business), then most likely it is tied to your personal credit profile. It's only when you get to large companies (think S&P 500 size) that they might issue you a credit card tied not to your personal credit, but to the credit of the company itself. ...and even then, many companies will still get them issued under your personal credit profile.

Another way to look it... if you receive the bill, it's probably on your personal credit. If it's a centrally-billed card & the bill goes to the company's finance division, it's probably not on you.

The caveat to all of this is that no one outside of the credit rating companies truly know exactly how any event will impact your credit score. But in general terms, a business credit card is treated the same as a personal credit card. If you pay it, it looks good on you. If you don't, it looks bad on you. High balances on the business card might/might not be weighted as heavily into the calculations, but all of the normal factors are still going to have AN impact.

[myrdale]

My question is this: at what point will additional cards hurt my overall score? Is it true that business cards don't impact my personal credit score?

Your score is impacted by several different things:

1) Payment history.
2) Amount of credit available / utilization.
3) Oldest credit line.
4) Types of credit lines.
5) Credit checks.

I believe opening the additional accounts will have a positive effect on your score as it will increase your available credit, unless you max them out.

Now lets think about what is practical. I think keeping up with 11 cards is a bit over the top. Every account you have offers a chance for you to miss a payment, or have something fraudulent happen. Personally I would consider cutting these down to two or three personal cards and one or two business cards, depending on your exact situation.

I have (2) personal cards, each are with local big box stores. Both have a limit around $20,000. I hardly ever exceed $200 at either of these locations. Right now my credit scores are 807 & 804 on Credit Karma. If you're only concerned with a score, save yourself a lot of headache and start cutting some plastic.

If it's your company, then yes I think. I have a company card but I am just an employee. That card is not reflected on my credit score.

[Fishindude77]

This would be way down the list of things I would even care about.
Can't imagine why anyone would want more than a couple cards?

[AllyStreelman]

If the business card is for your personal small business (or provided to you by a small business), then most likely it is tied to your personal credit profile. It's only when you get to large companies (think S&P 500 size) that they might issue you a credit card tied not to your personal credit, but to the credit of the company itself. ...and even then, many companies will still get them issued under your personal credit profile.

Another way to look it... if you receive the bill, it's probably on your personal credit. If it's a centrally-billed card & the bill goes to the company's finance division, it's probably not on you.

The caveat to all of this is that no one outside of the credit rating companies truly know exactly how any event will impact your credit score. But in general terms, a business credit card is treated the same as a personal credit card. If you pay it, it looks good on you. If you don't, it looks bad on you. High balances on the business card might/might not be weighted as heavily into the calculations, but all of the normal factors are still going to have AN impact.

Thankyou! Also, the utilization be counted on my credit profile as well I'm guessing?

[AllyStreelman]

This would be way down the list of things I would even care about.
Can't imagine why anyone would want more than a couple cards?

Everyone has different needs. I mainly use cards as a way to get access to different types of benefits and no so much as to borrow mindlessly

[myrdale]

I mainly use cards as a way to get access to different types of benefits....

I would be curious what sort of benefits you are getting / after. Keep in mind there is no such thing as a free lunch. It is my understanding that cash back is derived from the pass through charges. Air line miles OK if you fly (i don't) but have to be used in specific conditions. Some might get you a discount. The value of all of these evaporate the first time you are hit with a late charge or from interest if you don't pay in full.