Does a New Card Hurt Your Average Age of Accounts?
This guide explains what average age of accounts is, how a new card affects it, and why it should rarely stop you from opening a card that is worth having.
What average age of accounts is
Scoring models look at how long you have had credit, including the average age across all your accounts. It is a real factor but a modest one, generally less important than payment history and utilization. A longer average signals a settled, experienced borrower.
How a new card affects it
Adding a fresh account drops the average, since a brand-new card at zero months pulls the mean down. The hit is larger if you have only a few accounts or several young ones, and smaller if you have a long, deep history that dilutes the newcomer. Either way it is one of the lesser scoring inputs.
Why it is minor and temporary
The effect fades on its own. Every month the new account ages, the average climbs back, and closed accounts in good standing keep counting toward your history for about ten years, so responsibly built history sticks around. Unless you are about to apply for a mortgage, the age effect rarely justifies skipping a card worth opening. Our guide on how many cards to have puts it in context.
- Length of credit history is a modest factor, around fifteen percent.
- A new account lowers the average age of all your accounts.
- The effect is bigger if you have few or young accounts.
- It reverses over time as the new account ages.
- Closed accounts keep counting toward your history for about ten years.
Frequently asked questions
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