Do I Have Too Many Credit Cards? Do You?

[Retired To Win]

I have one and carry no balance. Credit score has been over 810 for years now so the lack of cards doesn't seem to be hurting me.

It's a good thing just having one credit card works for you.  Never would work for me; at least, I would feel too limited.  If that one card gets compromised or hacked, it's a much bigger hassle because there's no alternative card to go to.  If a store doesn't accept the card you are carrying, another hassle (and, yes, I have been in stores within the last year that either did not accept Amex, Mastercard, or Visa).  If there's a "computer glitch" with that one card that prevents you from completing an online transaction (been there too), more hassles.

Not to mention all the juicy promotional high-percentage cashback rewards I would be missing out on.

[andystkilda]

I only ever have 1 or 2 active at a time - I usually close most down pretty quickly after getting the sign-up/spend bonuses.

[surfhb]

Don't these cards have annual fees?    How do you folks get around paying those?

[Prepube]

i got nervous while reading this thread, and compulsively went to the Chase website and paid off the weekend's activities charged to Sapphire and my United miles card.  I have Chase Ink for work, and accumulate enough miles/points to send us on a nice vacation or two every year in Central America.  I also have debit cards associated with my HSA and my bank accounts... I have made the mistake of officially closing cards after i don't want them any more, and this has worked against the credit rating at times.  According to credit karma i have 19 accounts of which 13 are closed, I don't recognize one, and 5 are current.  I only use one for home, one for the business, amd the others are for emergencies.  I have no cash emergency funds other than the cc's, which total about 100000 in (unused) credit.  I will be faced with an interesting budget dilemma in a couple years: my cards will all be idle because we'll be in an all cash culture (Nicaragua/Costa Rica), so i will no longer accumulate points and therefore wont be able to travel much where i use and accumulate points.  How will i accumulate points for my travel plans?!  When i am done with the work thing, i am done with the cards and keys.  I will have one key for ALLLL my stuff, the phone will live in a drawer in the kitchen. and will only have, one card to spend with, and the rest in cash.

re: fees, none of mine have fees at the moment because i called Chase and asked the to waive the annual fee for me for a second year because it had not been places that use credit cards and they needed to give me a chance...Calling ALWAYS help.  its also fun to ask them for their social security number, mother's maiden name, and fathers nickname, before you talk to them.. 

[johnny847]

Don't these cards have annual fees?    How do you folks get around paying those?

Many cards with juicy signup bonuses have the annual fee waived for the first year. So, many credit card churners just cancel before the first year is up. Also, sometimes you can get a retention bonus by calling in and getting the fee waived again.

Some of the "most premium" cards have an unavoidable annual fee (like Amex Platinum and Citi Prestige). In this case, a good number of people just get it for the signup bonus and cancel before they get hit with the annual fee again.

[Otsog]

A Visa and Amex, rotate each to a different card of the same company every ~6 months. Not a ton you can do in Canada from what I gather, but where I live 15,000 Aeroplan points saves $3,000.00. Can't pass up that $/point.

[kpd905]

I have one and carry no balance. Credit score has been over 810 for years now so the lack of cards doesn't seem to be hurting me.

I'd say there is not really a point to having a high credit score if you aren't going to use it for anything.  You could easily be getting $5000 a year with a score like that, maybe closer to $8000 for the first year.

[WYOGO]

I am currently running eight cards. Every card I have plugs a hole in my spending portfolio. I am meticulously detailed and could easily handle twice as many. I generally want to keep the number around that which comfortably fits in my wallet. Balances and interest? Never!

I think one must know themselves before jumping into multiple cards. If you have an addictive personality or are prone to temptation be careful to never take your eyes off the cobra during the dance.

Interestingly, I had three cards only for years and was kindly advised that it would be in my best interest to acquire more because I carry zero other mortgaged accounts of any kind. No mortgage, no auto loans, no personal loans ect and more than likely never will. As a result I appear somewhat riskier as relates my FICO rating.

I have since added several vipers to the show including a couple of my current favorites,
-Chase Sapphire Preferred
-Barclaycard Sallie Mae
-Barclaycard Arrival+

More options with lower utilization, sounds like a win win to me.

[xenon5]

I currently have 6.  Most recently I churned the Marriott rewards card + tons of marriott points from business trips to book round trip air to japan for 2 weeks for $45.  Not bad at all!

[Mutton Chop]

If you have the discipline not to carry a balance or pay a dime of interest, then more power to you and I back you up.

Most people can't swing that and will get into trouble, so for the majority of people, carrying 20 credit cards is about as bad of an idea imaginable.

For me personally, I've been in credit card debt, and am just about out of it, so the idea of having a credit card is not appealing.

[johnny847]

If you have the discipline not to carry a balance or pay a dime of interest, then more power to you and I back you up.

Most people can't swing that and will get into trouble, so for the majority of people, carrying 20 credit cards is about as bad of an idea imaginable.

For me personally, I've been in credit card debt, and am just about out of it, so the idea of having a credit card is not appealing.

I doubt Mustachians have the problem of not having the discipline to avoid paying a cent in credit card interest. Or rather, they may be doing so currently because that balance was accrued before finding MMM, but they are working their way out of it, as you are doing, and have no plans to pay another cent in interest in the future.

[Retired To Win]

... For me personally, I've been in credit card debt, and am just about out of it, so the idea of having a credit card is not appealing.

Well, way back when, I was in credit card debt too.  Until I made a decision to change my relationship to money.  It would not control me; I would control it.

So I paid off my 4 or 5 credit card balances in sequential order by throwing all my surplus money at the smallest balance until it was gone and then tackling the next one.  Nothing earthshaking there, I know.  BUT I KEPT THE CREDIT CARDS.  Because having them in my wallet no longer posed any kind of measurable temptation to me.  What they did give me was financial options, financial flexibility, and freedom from having to carry a wad of cash around.

Like I keep saying: credit cards are not the enemy; misusing credit cards is the enemy.  And that is something a grown-up should be able to keep under control.

[lifejoy]

I'm surprised by how many credit cards people have! I have two. One pre-marriage, not joint, so I can buy secret gifts for DH. One joint, viewable by both myself and DH.

He has one.

Is this weird??

PS - no credit card debt.

[johnny847]

I'm surprised by how many credit cards people have! I have two. One pre-marriage, not joint, so I can buy secret gifts for DH. One joint, viewable by both myself and DH.

He has one.

Is this weird??

PS - no credit card debt.

It's below average - the average is 4-5 cards per American adult,if I remember correctly. And I believe that includes people who have no cards at all.

But is it weird? I don't think so

[Retired To Win]

I'm surprised by how many credit cards people have! I have two. One pre-marriage, not joint, so I can buy secret gifts for DH. One joint, viewable by both myself and DH.

He has one.

Is this weird??

PS - no credit card debt.

The number of credit cards one has is not necessarily an indicator of whether one has credit card debt or not.

[dunhamjr]

The number of credit cards one has is not necessarily an indicator of whether one has credit card debt or not.

this.
i have a crap load of cards/accounts.

i have no CC debt. $0

i pay all cards off every month.  this is spending i would already be doing in cash or out of my checking account.  i am just taking advantage of the rewards i can for spending i already had to do... cell phone bill, garbage bill, electric bill, groceries... etc.

plus using credit cards is typically safer (fraud protection, loss protection, increased return/warranty benefits) than using checks and debit cards.