How many credit cards is too many?

[enayes]

It feels great to get the $100-$200 bonuses that credit card companies are offering.

So I guess I need to decide whether to keep the 4 that I have and keep them in good standing or cancel 1-2 of them. Not sure which is the better option.

[Godzuki]

my fico's over 800 and i only have 2 credit cards.

its probably because you've paid off a car/house....you can also have a high credit rating but not enough purchases to secure higher loans.

most people should get at least 2-3 credit cards at the youngest age they can to build up their credit rating. it'll help you when you get older and want to buy much bigger shit. in fact most financial people who give loans will offer up that advice.

that is assuming you're responsible and not a idiot like most people are with credit cards. i agree they can sneak up on you where your balance ends up a lot higher than you realize but its about being responsible. if you're not then just get one with a low max.

the credit card game is the promo's are always for new credit card people so they give you incentive to jump to other cards or transfer your balances to them. some give amazing deals, and you can actually make out really well doing that, but they also generally are based on spendign a certain amount within a certain time too. Frequent flyer mile cards are real popular with that, but a ton also give cash back type of stuff...thing is the interest rates are still about 18%~ with those so it will hurt u if u don't have a low balance or pay them offf after purchases.

[Jailblazers7]

Two cards. One for every day use and one for business expenses.

[DCL]

its probably because you've paid off a car/house....you can also have a high credit rating but not enough purchases to secure higher loans.

most people should get at least 2-3 credit cards at the youngest age they can to build up their credit rating. it'll help you when you get older and want to buy much bigger shit. in fact most financial people who give loans will offer up that advice.

that is assuming you're responsible and not a idiot like most people are with credit cards. i agree they can sneak up on you where your balance ends up a lot higher than you realize but its about being responsible. if you're not then just get one with a low max.

the credit card game is the promo's are always for new credit card people so they give you incentive to jump to other cards or transfer your balances to them. some give amazing deals, and you can actually make out really well doing that, but they also generally are based on spendign a certain amount within a certain time too. Frequent flyer mile cards are real popular with that, but a ton also give cash back type of stuff...thing is the interest rates are still about 18%~ with those so it will hurt u if u don't have a low balance or pay them offf after purchases.

i wish that was true. the mortgages ain't disappearing anytime soon.

but i think i know a thing or two in how to boost credit scores a little.

well, first tip is quite obvious -- make all your payments on time. don't ever be late. try to own a clean record or the blemish will stay on your report for 7 years or something like that. actually, in reality, you can probably be late up to 60 or 90 days before they report you to the credit bureaus, but don't risk it. just have every card you have on autopay so you won't ever miss anything by accident.

if you do this over time, i think you should get 700-750 by default.

but if you want to go over some more, here are some other tips that i think have helped me.

keep a very low balance-to-credit ratio. don't pay everything off though. if you pay everything off every month, it's almost like having no credit history because they calculate that as zero. i keep mine at around 5-10% of the total credit line.

another tip is time, which is not really something anyone can take care of; you can only get there by letting time pass. but i don't think too many people know this -- the longer you have the same credit card, the better your score will be. so don't change your credit cards every couple years. i own 2 cards, and these are the same cards that i've owned since like forever. if i cancel these two cards and get 2 brand new cards, my score will go down noticeably even though i didn't miss any payments. i think it's a dumb algorithm, but that's how they calculate the little things. your score also goes down every time a credit company pulls down your report.

but anyway, there isn't really any big advantage in having a score higher than 750 since all the best terms and rates are already offered at that mark. getting a higher score only serves as a buffer, but you won't be awarded a lower interest or better terms or whatever. and credit score is not the only thing that loan officers look at, so whether your score is high, average, or low, it doesn't always reveal everything. they probably care more about income, liquid assets, and liabilities.

[Godzuki]

i wish that was true. the mortgages ain't disappearing anytime soon.

but i think i know a thing or two in how to boost credit scores a little.

well, first tip is quite obvious -- make all your payments on time. don't ever be late. try to own a clean record or the blemish will stay on your report for 7 years or something like that. actually, in reality, you can probably be late up to 60 or 90 days before they report you to the credit bureaus, but don't risk it. just have every card you have on autopay so you won't ever miss anything by accident.

if you do this, i think you should get 700-750 by default.

but if you want to go over some more, here are some other tips that i think have helped me.

keep a very low balance-to-credit ratio. don't pay everything off though. if you pay everything off every month, it's almost like having no credit history because they calculate that as zero. i keep mine at around 5-10% of the total credit line.

another tip is time, which is not really something anyone can take care of; you can only get there by letting time pass. but i don't think too many people know this -- the longer you have the same credit card, the better your score will be. so don't change your credit cards every couple years. i own 2 cards, and these are the same cards that i've owned since like forever. if i cancel these two cards and get 2 brand new cards, my score will go down noticeably even though i didn't miss any payments. i think it's a dumb algorithm, but that's how they calculate the little things. your score also goes down every time a credit company pulls down your report.

but anyway, there isn't really any big advantage in having a score higher than 750 since all the best terms and rates are already offered at that mark. getting a higher score only serves as a buffer, but you won't be awarded a lower interest or better terms or whatever. and credit score is not the only thing that loan officers look at, so whether your score is high, average, or low, it doesn't always reveal everything. they probably care more about income, liquid assets, and liabilities.

yeah i think its usually missing 2 payments where they will report it to your credit. but i'd assume if there is a consistency in late payments then it would also affect it.

the other tip i have is if you're on time a lot and been with them for awhile you can sometimes call in and negotiate a lower interest rate, and if u ever hate a late fee they'll waive it so long as you don't have a history of it. theres a lot u can get away with if you're a responsible card holder for a CC company.

i didn't know that about your credit score going down if u change cards. thats rather ridiculous considering the industry gives you incentive to change cards.

and you're right about the loan stuff, how much u have to secure the loan is bigger than credit rating i'm sure. its just for young people when they grow into adulthood they generally don't have that much but those are the lines i was thinking along side...

[DCL]

yeah i think its usually missing 2 payments where they will report it to your credit. but i'd assume if there is a consistency in late payments then it would also affect it.

the other tip i have is if you're on time a lot and been with them for awhile you can sometimes call in and negotiate a lower interest rate, and if u ever hate a late fee they'll waive it so long as you don't have a history of it. theres a lot u can get away with if you're a responsible card holder for a CC company.

i didn't know that about your credit score going down if u change cards. thats rather ridiculous considering the industry gives you incentive to change cards.

and you're right about the loan stuff, how much u have to secure the loan is bigger than credit rating i'm sure. its just for young people when they grow into adulthood they generally don't have that much but those are the lines i was thinking along side...

yup, if i walk into a bank and request a loan for a yacht, they will tell me to piss off because i simply can't afford it.

but if derrick rose's credit score is only 500 and requests the same yacht loan, he'll get it in about a minute.

[thefatmiral]

I want the quicksilver card. the freedom wouldn't let me do a transfer of balance. 4 doesnt seem like too many.

[enayes]

i wish that was true. the mortgages ain't disappearing anytime soon.

but i think i know a thing or two in how to boost credit scores a little.

well, first tip is quite obvious -- make all your payments on time. don't ever be late. try to own a clean record or the blemish will stay on your report for 7 years or something like that. actually, in reality, you can probably be late up to 60 or 90 days before they report you to the credit bureaus, but don't risk it. just have every card you have on autopay so you won't ever miss anything by accident.

if you do this over time, i think you should get 700-750 by default.

but if you want to go over some more, here are some other tips that i think have helped me.

keep a very low balance-to-credit ratio. don't pay everything off though. if you pay everything off every month, it's almost like having no credit history because they calculate that as zero. i keep mine at around 5-10% of the total credit line.

another tip is time, which is not really something anyone can take care of; you can only get there by letting time pass. but i don't think too many people know this -- the longer you have the same credit card, the better your score will be. so don't change your credit cards every couple years. i own 2 cards, and these are the same cards that i've owned since like forever. if i cancel these two cards and get 2 brand new cards, my score will go down noticeably even though i didn't miss any payments. i think it's a dumb algorithm, but that's how they calculate the little things. your score also goes down every time a credit company pulls down your report.

but anyway, there isn't really any big advantage in having a score higher than 750 since all the best terms and rates are already offered at that mark. getting a higher score only serves as a buffer, but you won't be awarded a lower interest or better terms or whatever. and credit score is not the only thing that loan officers look at, so whether your score is high, average, or low, it doesn't always reveal everything. they probably care more about income, liquid assets, and liabilities.

are you saying you allow the company to then charge you interest on this amount?

or are you just paying off your current cycle and keeping some on the card that can roll over without penalty?

[outbreak]

I have 3 but I don't really buy things "on credit", I pay mine off at the end of each month and have more money in my savings account than what my cards add up to even if I did max them (which I never do anything). The only reason I use mine much is because I get points with 2 of them that I can redeem for vouchers, the other one is a small one that I use for online purchases.

[sixerfan82]

1 is plenty.

How much shit do you really need that you need an available $10k at all times?

[enayes]

1 is plenty.

How much shit do you really need that you need an available $10k at all times?

I didn't get 4 cards so I have 15K to spend. I got 4 cards because I got a free $100-200 for signing up on each card.

[Stempel, HERB]

I currently have 4 credit cards:

Bank of America Cash Rewards
Chase Freedom
Capital One Quicksilver
Barclay Arrival (travel rewards)

I am 24 years old and got my first credit card in 2013. The only reason I have so many cards was to take advantage of signup bonuses. For example I got $200 cash back for my Chase Freedom card.

I have never missed a payment and have never paid any interest on any of my cards. For the most part I just pay them off as I go. I have heard conflicting stories regarding the number of credit cards one should own.

My father tells me that a car dealership may see that I have 4 cards all with a $5000 limit and turn me down for a loan because they see that as me being in 20,000 worth of debt.

I've also read that having multiple accounts in good standing does nothing but help your credit score and that's it's a good idea to keep your accounts open, as opposed to canceling a credit card when you get a new one.

What's the deal ISHers?

you are 24 years old. 24! Yet you still think $100 or even $200 is a life changing amount of money. You're a loser and don't even know it.

[enayes]

you are 24 years old. 24! Yet you still think $100 or even $200 is a life changing amount of money. You're a loser and don't even know it.

when did I say life changing?

just worth filling out the application for me and then I have options on which card to use on what products thereby increasing my cash back

its called ballin'

[bigkingsfan]

I currently have :
Bank of America Visa Signature
Amex Blue Cash
Discover IT
Sony Visa
Amazon Visa
Southwest Visa
Sam's Club Mastercard
Target CC

My Credit Score is 780

[enayes]

Just got my American Express Blue Cash card in the mail, which makes 5 cards for me.

This is another one that has a $100 signup bonus offer.

Free $$$ is good.