Does signing up for multiple credit cards, and checking your credit rating, lower your credit rating?

I'm interested in several credit cards for various reasons, but I've heard that having lots of credit cards, even if you don't abuse them and pay all your bills on time, lowers your credit rating. Also, I've heard that every time you check your credit rating it goes down. Is that true?

Public Comments

1. yes
2. Checking your own credit report won't hurt your score. Inquiries by creditors are hard pulls and do ding your score, especially if you have a lot in a short time frame. There is a point where too many credit cards will adversely affect your score. But that's probably over 20 or so. Most important thing is to not run up balances. Pay them offin full every month and your credit will be good.
3. the more u check ur credit rating, it will go down. :( and if u have multiple credit cards, the companies that u apply for will check ur records and be "suspicious" of u have so many credit cards.. i personally suggest having 2 only, and only using 1 for most stuff... save the other one for emergencys or big bills...
4. The number of crads doesnt matter as long as you make your payments on time. The best strategy is to have only like three cards with low interest rates and pay them off each month. You can compare the lowest rates at http://www.ineedrates.com
5. When you open new accounts, your credit rating goes down because you have more credit available. Once the account is open for a year and you haven't gotten into trouble with it it will have no affect on your credit. Your credit rating doesn't go down when you check your credit. It goes down when you apply for new credit and the creditors check your credit. Its the same principle. If you are applying for a lot of new credit you could be be in trouble or could get into trouble with the new credit, so your rating goes down, temporarily.