Signing up for immediate credit may or may not be savvy, depending on the state of your own finances. You don't want to just take a charge card without thinking about it, and you definitely do not care to be lured in by a minimal discount on an one-time purchase. Most department store credit cards have considerably steeper interest rates than the major credit cards, such as Discover Card. By and large, credit counselors encourage all consumers to closely decide whether or not to apply for new sources of debt. Rates of interest on department store credit cards can be greater than 20%. And what if there's no grace period on charges? You may have received a 10% price reduction, but you may be dishing out twenty five percent interest on the merchandise from the minute you walk out the door! Do you know? Did you take the time to investigate before accepting the credit card? Now that you have the card, will you make use of it? If you do, you could end up handing out a lot more in annual interest payments than if you had just said, "No, thanks" and used the Mastercard instead.
 

Multiple applications in a brief period of time can affect the score significantly. The credit bureaus regard it a bad thing to have borrowers applying for credit over and over again, and they indicate all financial queries on the credit report. Too much credit activity might be a problem if you are preparing to purchase a home or a car and you need the best obtainable interest rate. That department store card you signed up for might, in the right situation, impact the interest rate you get on a house loan. Every time you apply for a credit card, it puts a small "dent" in your FICO score. There are other considerations other than the rate of interest and the grace period. It is very effortless to fall into the trap of quickly accepting new accounts every time you have one offered to you.

When all is said and done, you will save a lot of cash by not using the high interest account that you didn't actually want in the first place. For the most part, you should steer clear of these checkout counter offers and stay with cautious, well thought out financial planning. Having your FICO score damaged is much more important than saving ten percent on your immediate purchase.