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I did some (more) holiday shopping this weekend and as I stood in the checkout lines, I was repeatedly bombarded by cashiers to open a "free store credit card".

"Would you like to save 10% on your purchase today?"

"No, thanks," I said over and over, but not because I don't want to save the money.  10 percent off can be a good thing.

I turned down the offers because I don't want to hurt my credit score while I am in the middle of a remortgage.

It's a bad idea to open a new credit card account while a mortgage application is in process.  To do anything that can change your borrowing profile can be the difference between a mortgage approval and a mortgage denial.

I put this advice on par with:

• Never quit your job between now and closing
• Never buy a new car between now and closing
• Never match wits with a Sicilian when death is on the line

Opening a new credit card account can be a bad idea because, as each new credit card account is created, your overall credit profile takes a short-term hit.  This drops your credit score at a time when you need it the most.

Think from a lender's perspective: if a person is accumulating new credit accounts, they're very likely accumulating new debts, too.  This is risky credit behavior.

According to myFICO.com, "New Credit" makes up 10 percent of your credit score and includes:

1. The number of new credit accounts created
2. The ratio of new credit accounts to all credit account
3. The category of credit to which the new credit accounts belong
4. The time since the new credit accounts were established

So, a Holiday Shopping-charged credit spree (pardon the pun) can do a lot of peripheral damage to a credit score.

Because lower credit scores represent more lending risk, mortgage applicants with lower credit scores tend to have higher mortgage rates.

And now, they may have higher fees, too.

It's definitely okay to sign up for new credit cards and take advantage of the terrific discounts at the register.  Just be aware of the new credit card account may impact your overall credit score.

If you are not applying for a new home loan in the next six months, there isn't so much to worry about.  Six months is a fair amount of time for the credit bureaus to see that you were not on a credit binge, or that you were not abusing your available credit.

"New" is not so "new" after six months, after all.

But, if you will need a new home loan sometime soon, consider whether saving 10 percent on a $100 purchase is worth paying an extra 0.125% on your new mortgage month after month.  On a $300,000 mortgage, that equates to about $25 per month.

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Dan Green is an active loan officer. Email or call 513-443-2020. Dan is on Twitter at @mortgagereports.