I've been thinking lately about credit cards. Not in the "why" of having them but in HOW MANY should a person have?
I currently have two cards. I will be cancelling one (it has an annual fee) and opening a new one (a cashback card with my credit union). So I will have two cards.
One main card (rewards card) and the other card which will hopefully have a 6% APR by the time I get back to the states. It currently has a $2k credit limit on it. I'm keeping this one because I feel safer having it if I need to in case of emergency even though I have an emergency fund. That's just how I am. It's basically my "stays at home" card.
The cashback card I will use daily but pay off the balances as well (it also doesn't have an annual fee and also has low APR).
But really, how many cards should a person have? I think two should be the limit. Now have much should the limit be on the cards? That's up to the individuals ability to handle. If you can only handle $500 limit then only get that. If you can handle more then get that instead. I've actually figured out that I can handle more so I may get a higher limit just to help out my credit score.
But again, how many credit cards do YOU think a person should have?
How Many Credit Cards?
December 29th, 2012 at 03:51 am
December 29th, 2012 at 02:35 pm 1356791712
December 29th, 2012 at 03:50 pm 1356796211
We have always historically had 2 credit cards (one for every day use, and a back-up for the inevitable "decline" or problem). Right now we are on a 4-card system to maximize rewards. We've never carried a balance on our credit cards, and we have closed every single one that we no longer use. So, just because I have 4 now doesn't mean I won't eventually close two of them and scale back down. We use credit cards for rewards and convenience and for security reasons; I would not use a credit card to borrow money.
December 29th, 2012 at 03:59 pm 1356796797
We have one with a high limit. (Our creditor kept raising the limit until I finally called them several years ago and told them to stop.) We use it for convenience and pay off every month. One has worked great for us. . . except recently. We've had to close and reopen the account three times in the past two years due to fraudulent charges. A second card would have come in handy in those situations.
December 29th, 2012 at 04:35 pm 1356798950
Neither card carries an annual fee, and I honestly have no idea what the interest rate is currently on either since we pay them off monthly.
I read somewhere that people like us that pay their credit card bills off monthly are considered moochers by the credit card industry. The first time in my life I consider being called a moocher a compliment!
December 29th, 2012 at 08:15 pm 1356812110
2 Citi - 1 for free Netflix (will close when Netflix deal ends), the other I need to close sometime soon.
1 PF - 5% back on gas
1 CH - Use for most non-gas/grocery purchases
1 MP - Use for groceries, approx. 1.5% cash back
1 Dis - Have been getting 2% on internet/cell but deal ends in Dec, also has periodic 1 day deals where you get 5% back on any purchases - used that to buy my car
All cards are paid in full every month. The PF card I just recently opened. The CH and MP cards are my two oldest I have open. When the Netflix deal is over, I'll close both of the Citi cards, but keep the other 4 open. None of the cards have annual fees (I don't charge enough on them combined to ever make an annual fee worth it.)
December 30th, 2012 at 12:20 am 1356826838
I also have 2 clothing store cards ($500 limits) but both have left the area so I really need to cancel those.
December 31st, 2012 at 06:57 pm 1356980255
Jerry