How many credit cards is too many?

[enayes]

Make that 10 active cards, so a total of 18 now. I just got approved for the AMEX blue cash preferred card. Gonna start getting 6% back on groceries :)

[BGriffin's Dad]

18 accounts? thats gonna look great on your credit report

[shlver]

Parents have 8-10 with a total credit line of $400k. A couple with 0% apr with one with no transaction fees. If you can manage them while not giving the credit card companies a dime then they are obviously advantageous to have. There were a few rough spots where the parents needed to buy new equipment and utilized balance transfers to fund unexpected business expenses.

[nightprowler10]

My family had a shitload. Over the last months I took over the finances and got everything in my name and connected to the family accounts down to zero with the exception of any interest free stuff that I can pay off within months without getting charged any interest.

Honestly, I think we were up to almost 50k in CC debt. fmd.

[enayes]

18 accounts? thats gonna look great on your credit report

The number of accounts you have has very little effect on your credit score/report. It's all about how they are managed, card utilization, on time payments, etc.

My credit score has only gone up since I started my credit card churning.

[The Real JW]

Never knew about churning until now.

How bad is it for your credit score when you close accounts? to avoid paying the annual fees.

[enayes]

UPDATE:

Wanted to let everyone know that I was able to stay fully in control of my credit card churning. Even got my wife involved so we were able to double up on the best signup bonus offers

I've opened 30 cards since 2013 (not counting my wife's)
20 of those have been closed (only opened to get the initial signup bonus)

ZERO interest paid. Current credit score- 775

Bought our first home in 2017.

THOUSANDS of dollars earned. MULTIPLE FREE flights and hotel stays.

[sammichoffate]

UPDATE:

Wanted to let everyone know that I was able to stay fully in control of my credit card churning. Even got my wife involved so we were able to double up on the best signup bonus offers

I've opened 30 cards since 2013 (not counting my wife's)
20 of those have been closed (only opened to get the initial signup bonus)

ZERO interest paid. Current credit score- 775

Bought our first home in 2017.

THOUSANDS of dollars earned. MULTIPLE FREE flights and hotel stays.

Hell yeah. Any tips on how to get started? I've read that if you're trying to buy a home within 8-12 months to not do it because it'll dip your score every time you open a new card. I only have 3 cards atm for cashback(Discover, Amex, Chase) that i've had for 5 or 6 years.

[MaxFly]

UPDATE:

Wanted to let everyone know that I was able to stay fully in control of my credit card churning. Even got my wife involved so we were able to double up on the best signup bonus offers

I've opened 30 cards since 2013 (not counting my wife's)
20 of those have been closed (only opened to get the initial signup bonus)

ZERO interest paid. Current credit score- 775

Bought our first home in 2017.

THOUSANDS of dollars earned. MULTIPLE FREE flights and hotel stays.

Congrats. What's the average age of our credit history?

[enayes]

Congrats. What's the average age of our credit history?

2 years and 10 months, supposedly has a medium impact on score. Safe to say this is what is keeping my score below 800.

[enayes]

Hell yeah. Any tips on how to get started? I've read that if you're trying to buy a home within 8-12 months to not do it because it'll dip your score every time you open a new card. I only have 3 cards atm for cashback(Discover, Amex, Chase) that i've had for 5 or 6 years.

Just look for some good signup offers and get started. Last I checked the capital one Savor was still offering a $500 bonus. Of course you don

[MaxFly]

2 years and 10 months, supposedly has a medium impact on score. Safe to say this is what is keeping my score below 800.

Yeah, credit history length contributes to 15% of your FICO score. Churning is still more advantageous than the few points by which your score would be boosted with an older credit history, but make sure to not cancel your oldest accounts.

[sammichoffate]

[QUOTE=enayes]Just look for some good signup offers and get started. Last I checked the capital one Savor was still offering a $500 bonus. Of course you don

[enayes]

+1 for good advice, I'll look into it. Any advice on the timing like how often to sign up/close? I've read a year is a good time to close so you don't get hit w/ annual fees.

I closed cards when I was done with them. Sometimes it was right before an annual fee was coming, other times it was less than a month later. I canceled one card before it even got delivered in the mail 😂

How often to sign up is kind of a a guessing game. I had a hard time getting approved for my 1st card back in 2013. Once I had that one opened for 6 months it seemed like I could get any card I wanted.

Some companies do

[sammichoffate]

[QUOTE=enayes]I closed cards when I was done with them. Sometimes it was right before an annual fee was coming, other times it was less than a month later. I canceled one card before it even got delivered in the mail 😂

How often to sign up is kind of a a guessing game. I had a hard time getting approved for my 1st card back in 2013. Once I had that one opened for 6 months it seemed like I could get any card I wanted.

Some companies do