It is important to remember that when you apply for a credit card, you aren’t just signing on for a brief financial fling. You’re making a long-term commitment to a relationship with your new credit card company. Yes, it’s possible to go into that agreement expecting to drop the credit card company with a balance transfer after your introductory offer expires, but that might not be a great idea. To explore why, let’s look at credit cards from the perspective of more personal relationships.

Nobody Likes a Player

Sign up. Transfer your balance. Enjoy a low balance transfer rate. When that allure is gone after a few months to a year, pack your bags and move on to the next card offering something a little bit sweeter. It sounds appealing and relatively simple, right? Wrong.

While you might get away unscathed as you play the field in the beginning, eventually new suitors are going to catch on to your game and find you much less desirable as a partner. Every time you apply for yet another credit card, an enquiry goes on your credit file for all other future card issuers to see. Your record won’t be clear again for several years. It’s not in a new credit card company’s best interest to accept you when they know you’ll take-take-take without giving anything back, because you’ll run as soon as a better offer comes along.

Relationships Take Work

If you don’t stay with a credit card company for long, you never have the chance to build a real relationship with them. There are benefits to building solid relationships with your financial partners such as your credit card companies. By working towards a mutually-beneficial relationship, you prove your value. You become more desirable to existing partners when they realise it’s much easier to keep you than find someone to replace you.

That means you have power. When your credit card company likes having you as a customer, they might be more willing to negotiate with you in order to keep you. That means your existing company might be able to offer you things a new partner couldn’t.

Why Commitment Matters

It’s important to remember that most credit cards will lead to long-term relationships with the issuing bank before you apply. When you know that going in, you can decide if you’re really ready.

Are you in a position to make timely payments? Are you willing to be associated with that company for several years on your credit file whether or not you stay with them? Are you prepared to work within the regular terms of that card for an extended period (and not just being lured in by the introductory offer)?

If you answered “yes” to those questions, you might be ready for the long-term commitment that applying for a new credit card can lead to. If not, you might want to put off your pursuit until you are.