Hw many credit cards to own?

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fungus_amungus
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by fungus_amungus »

I'm big on the credit card rewards game. I currently have and use the following:

Amex BCP - for grocery stores until the $6000 annual limit for 6%
Amex Hilton Hhonors Surpass - for groceries after BCP
Barclay Sallie Mae - for gas an Amazon, 5%
Chase Sapphire Preferred - for restaurants and travel, also has chip and PIN - 2%
Chase Freedom - for rotating categories, particularly the 5% restaurant period
Fidelity Amex - everything else card - 2%
Capital One Quicksilver - everything else card when Amex not accepted - 1.5%
BoA Better Balance Rewards - one small charge a month to get the $25 quarterly bonus
Chase IHG Mastercard - for annual free night at any IHG property

I also have, but dont use:

Chase Amazon Visa - my oldest card, so I don't want to cancel, Barclay's Sallie Mae does better at Amazon
Lowes CC - got it for discount when we purchased flooring and installation
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Boglenaut
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Re: "Our life is frittered away with detail."

Post by Boglenaut »

Taylor Larimore wrote:
I have one credit card.
I would rethink that one if I were you, Taylor.

We used to have just one card. Then when hackers stole the number from a data center 3 times in 5 months, we got a second card. If you have one card, are you prepared to live on no card at all at a moment's notice?

At least that spurred us to finally get the CostCo rewards card from AMEX. Not every place takes AMEX, but the reward check sure is nice. We still use the original card occasionally for places that do not take AMEX.
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Ketawa
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Ketawa »

hudson wrote:Eligible for free FICO at PENFED....3 ways....couldn't find how using VISA:

"PenFed partnered with FICO to develop and integrate the FICO® Score into its online banking service. Successfully launching the feature on July 12, 2014, the benefit is now available to PenFed members who have active checking accounts, installment loans, and revolving lines of credit with the credit union."

http://blog.penfed.org/new-feature-on-p ... e-members/
This PenFed score is a FICO NextGen Score calculated by Experian. The score range is 150 to 950, and in May I had a score in the 720s.

Meanwhile, I had a score in the 760s at the exact time as reported though my Barclaycard Arrival Plus card. This one has a range of 300 to 850 and is a FICO 8 Score through TransUnion.

That is a pretty huge difference and it seems completely ridiculous to me. Now, I had applied for 6 credit cards in the prior 6 months for signup bonuses, but I don't know how that would translate to either score.
takeshi
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by takeshi »

Steelersfan wrote:Credit Karma says that having only three cards gives me a major ding to my credit score. I'm OK with that since I have no need for a super high credit score.
CK is commonly misinterpreted that way. All CK states is that there is a correlation between those with more accounts (not just credit cards but all credit accounts and not just open credit accounts but total reporting both open and closed) and higher credit scores. The general recommendation for credit scoring purposes is to have 2-3 cards.
berntson wrote:Credit cards count towards the average age of your accounts even after you close them. They are removed from your report after seven years. So in the short-run, closing accounts does not hurt your credit. It might lower your score a bit in seven years, but the difference is not worth $95 a year.
AAoA isn't immediately impacted, however utilization is immediately affected. One can do the before and after math to determine the change to utilization before and after to aid in decision making when it comes to closing cards.
Ketawa wrote:That is a pretty huge difference and it seems completely ridiculous to me.
It is pointless to compare scores based on different models -- not to mention difference scales. Differences in the models will lead to differences in scores. Differences in report data will also lead to differences in scores. Report data can differ not only due to using different CRA's but also from pulling data at different points in time as well. As with any comparison, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Don't just assume that all credit scores should be the same for you. In your case it should be no surprise that an Experian NextGen score would vary quite a bit from a TU 08 score as both the models and data sources differ.
Ketawa wrote:Now, I had applied for 6 credit cards in the prior 6 months for signup bonuses, but I don't know how that would translate to either score.
Depends on your credit and how the various factors used in determining scores would impact your scores. It's not simply a matter of "1 new card = X points". Your credit scores are based on your payment history, utilization, average age of accounts, inquiries, number of accounts, diversity of types of credit, etc. Everyone's credit isn't identical. 6 new cards could have much more impact on someone with a thinner credit profile than they would on someone with a much thicker, more established profile.
Ketawa wrote:This PenFed score is a FICO NextGen Score calculated by Experian.
FICO is the only company that generates FICO scores. All scores -- FICO and otherwise -- are based on data obtained from the CRA's (i.e. for any given score you'd have 3 different scores from each of the CRA's). This particular score is based on your Experian report but Experian does not generate the score. Experian can only provide its own scoring models.
crg11
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by crg11 »

Currently 3, although only 2 are in active use:

AMEX Premier Rewards Gold - Most purchases
Chase Marriott Rewards - Purchases that don't accept AMEX, restaurants, travel. Gets me automatic silver status at Marriott and potentially a lot higher (currently I'm Gold level) thanks to stays and reward nights.
AMEX Everyday - Only use for a balance with 0% interest that is getting paid off

I also have an AMEX Corporate Card for work purposes.

Once the EveryDay card is paid off, I'll probably close that card. Then early next year I will make a decision on whether to keep the AMEX Premier Rewards Gold card or move to something like EveryDay Preferred or Blue Cash Preferred.
crowd79
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by crowd79 »

16 cards as I currently churn cards for huge sign-up bonuses (rewards, miles, etc) and then close them the following year to avoid the annual fee.
ASUGrad
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by ASUGrad »

3.

2 cashback cards, and a store card which I only got because it was a several thousand dollar purchase so the perks for signing up for the card were financially 'worth' having an inquiry on my credit score.

I only have two cash back cards because I had a regular card, then got a cash back card, and then my previous credit card company enticed me to start using my previous card again by upgrading it to a cash back card(with better rewards :D ).
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grabiner
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Re: How many credit cards to own?

Post by grabiner »

hudson wrote:
Sheepdog wrote:
sscritic wrote:
flyingaway wrote: PenFed now gives you a free FICO score with their Visa card, but you get it online, not on paper.
Eligible for free FICO at PENFED....3 ways....couldn't find how using VISA:

"PenFed partnered with FICO to develop and integrate the FICO® Score into its online banking service. Successfully launching the feature on July 12, 2014, the benefit is now available to PenFed members who have active checking accounts, installment loans, and revolving lines of credit with the credit union."

http://blog.penfed.org/new-feature-on-p ... e-members/
I just tried it. The score is free, but it is based on PenFed's last check of your report, which was on 5/27/14 for me (today is 8/19/14). It does come with reason codes, so I can tell that my current score should be much higher; the top negative factor is "Amount owed on revolving accounts is too high", and I owed a huge amount on a credit card in May which I paid off in June and currently owe much less.
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vveat
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by vveat »

I try to balance between rewards and simplicity. Could do better on simplicity though. I have 6 cards, use 3 actively:
- Chase Amazon is set as default on Amazon purchases, @3% cash back, not used anywhere else
- Amex Blue Preferred for Costco, gas @3% and supermarkets @6%
- Barclays Priceline for everything else, grandfathered @2%

I haven't gotten around to closing the other 3 yet:
- Chase Freedom, category rotation is too annoying and mostly places we don't use except Amazon in some quarters
- Capital One, used for occasional personal trips abroad. I have noticed though that a lot of places in Europe now give you the option to take the charge in $, which makes a no exchange fee card pretty meaningless
- AT&T Universal, never used nowadays (I think I lost the actual card), kept because it's the oldest one with 13 years of history, but since I now have other accounts over 10 years, probably not critical to keep open.
Johno
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Johno »

takeshi wrote:
Steelersfan wrote:Credit Karma says that having only three cards gives me a major ding to my credit score. I'm OK with that since I have no need for a super high credit score.
CK is commonly misinterpreted that way. All CK states is that there is a correlation between those with more accounts (not just credit cards but all credit accounts and not just open credit accounts but total reporting both open and closed) and higher credit scores. The general recommendation for credit scoring purposes is to have 2-3 cards.
It's not a misinterpretation. As I stated earlier, CK's score simulator specifically said that if I added a credit card to the 3 I already have, my score would increase by 50 points. I got the card but it hasn't showed up on CK yet, while the TransUnion score has increased by 35, perhaps for some other reason but it's not apparent what it would be. I'll keep monitoring it, but this is not a misinterpretation of what CK says. It might or might not be mistaken programming in CK's credit simulator.
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grabiner
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by grabiner »

Johno wrote:
takeshi wrote:
Steelersfan wrote:Credit Karma says that having only three cards gives me a major ding to my credit score. I'm OK with that since I have no need for a super high credit score.
CK is commonly misinterpreted that way. All CK states is that there is a correlation between those with more accounts (not just credit cards but all credit accounts and not just open credit accounts but total reporting both open and closed) and higher credit scores. The general recommendation for credit scoring purposes is to have 2-3 cards.
It's not a misinterpretation. As I stated earlier, CK's score simulator specifically said that if I added a credit card to the 3 I already have, my score would increase by 50 points.
CK's score simulator is broken. Under "Have an on-time credit history", it always says that my credit score will be the same whether I have an on-time history for 3 or 24 months. Often, it says that my score will go down, and then three months later, with nothing having changed in my history, the score goes up. And there are even times that I know it will go up, as inquiries will go away and new accounts will no longer be new. And now, CK says that my score will go up if I close my oldest credit card, which is twelve years old, even though this would drop me to one mortgage plus two credit cards and my oldest open account would be less than four years old.

The simulator does pick up on some of the quirks in the algorithms, and one of them may have hit you. In one month, I had three open credit cards with balances, and three closed accounts with zero balances. The next month, my oldest closed account aged off the report, so that I had balances on three of five accounts rather than three of six (with a total balance owed of $300); my score dropped 35 points. The following month, I had balances on only two of five accounts (with a total balance owed of $3200), and my score went back up. Apparently, there was a penalty for having balances on more than half my accounts. The simulator confirmed that; during the month with the low scores, my score would go back up if I paid off my balances, and go up almost all the way I opened a new credit cards (so that I had six total accounts and only three with balances.)

In addition, if the Trans Union scoring algorithm quirk does affect you, that isn't likely to be relevant; few lenders use this score. Most lenders use some variation of FICO or VantageScore, and each of those algorithms has its own quirks, so taking advantage of Trans Union score quirks won't help. (As an example of a VantageScore quirk, when I opened my mortgage, my Trans Union score dropped a few points for the new account, while my VantageScore jumped by 50 before I had even made a single payment on the mortgage.)
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

The529guy wrote:
Doom&Gloom wrote: From what I've read SM does get 5% at Amazon except for purchases of downloaded media, which is quite odd since the 5% is supposed to apply to bookstores. I just got a SM and can confirm that Kindle downloads are 1%. I haven't made other purchases with it at Amazon yet, but will report back when I do.
Thanks in advance for your report!
A purchase from Amazon just posted on my Sallie Mae card, and it did receive 5%. It was a purchase from Amazon rather than from someone else and fulfilled by Amazon. I expect those purchases to receive 5% as well, but can not confirm.

In addition, I received 5% at my local Target as well as at my local Walmart. YMMV.
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The529guy
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by The529guy »

Doom&Gloom wrote:
The529guy wrote:
Doom&Gloom wrote: From what I've read SM does get 5% at Amazon except for purchases of downloaded media, which is quite odd since the 5% is supposed to apply to bookstores. I just got a SM and can confirm that Kindle downloads are 1%. I haven't made other purchases with it at Amazon yet, but will report back when I do.
Thanks in advance for your report!
A purchase from Amazon just posted on my Sallie Mae card, and it did receive 5%. It was a purchase from Amazon rather than from someone else and fulfilled by Amazon. I expect those purchases to receive 5% as well, but can not confirm.

In addition, I received 5% at my local Target as well as at my local Walmart. YMMV.
Thank you for confirming Amazon.

Your Target and Walmart must be coded as grocery stores: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit- ... -p/2684195

Edit: Here's the Visa merchant lookup tool that's mentioned in the link above. If you enter your zip code and Merchant Category Code (MCC) 5411 for "GROCERY STORES/SUPERMARKETS," you can discover whether your local Target, Walmart, etc., is coded as one: https://www.visa.com/supplierlocator/index.jsp
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

The529guy wrote:
Doom&Gloom wrote:
The529guy wrote:
Doom&Gloom wrote: From what I've read SM does get 5% at Amazon except for purchases of downloaded media, which is quite odd since the 5% is supposed to apply to bookstores. I just got a SM and can confirm that Kindle downloads are 1%. I haven't made other purchases with it at Amazon yet, but will report back when I do.
Thanks in advance for your report!
A purchase from Amazon just posted on my Sallie Mae card, and it did receive 5%. It was a purchase from Amazon rather than from someone else and fulfilled by Amazon. I expect those purchases to receive 5% as well, but can not confirm.

In addition, I received 5% at my local Target as well as at my local Walmart. YMMV.
Thank you for confirming Amazon.

Your Target and Walmart must be coded as grocery stores: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit- ... -p/2684195

Edit: Here's the Visa merchant lookup tool that's mentioned in the link above. If you enter your zip code and Merchant Category Code (MCC) 5411 for "GROCERY STORES/SUPERMARKETS," you can discover whether your local Target, Walmart, etc., is coded as one: https://www.visa.com/supplierlocator/index.jsp
No problem. The SM is a MasterCard. My local Walmart and Target do not code as grocery stores for Visa, which is one reason that the SM was attractive to me. I did run across a similar lookup tool for MC, but don't have the link available and as I recall it didn't seem that helpful to me at the time.
Gleevec
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Gleevec »

Currently use the Chase triple-- Sapphire Preferred, Ink, Freedom for restaurants, office/gas/cable/TV, cycling categories
Sallie Mae Rewards- groceries, amazon
Fidelity AmEx-everything else

Anyone like the BarclayCard Arrival? Been thinking about it but don't like having more than 1 fee card at a time
Pizzasteve510
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Pizzasteve510 »

"Own..."

While mentioned earlier, a bit subtlety, it doesn't hurt to read your card member agreements and recognize that you do not own your card. You have a license to use the card, which your bank owns. The license is one that is revokable and you must surrender the card if demanded. You can't sell your card, for example, because you do not own it. So my guess is that no one in this thread actually owns any credit cards, active ones at least (cancelled ones might be considered abandoned property, perhaps collectibles, though I think your agreement requires destroying and discarding them).
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gardemanger
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by gardemanger »

strafe wrote:I view three as the absolute minimum.

When my wife and I purchased our home, we ran into trouble with the mortgage lender because she "only" had two credit card accounts in her name. Lenders now require each borrower to have three independent "trade lines" in order to qualify for a mortgage. Being an authorized user on your spouse's card doesn't count. These three lines don't necessarily need to be credit cards, but if you don't (yet) have a mortgage, you pay cash for your vehicles, and you don't have student loans, what else would they be?

Long story short, the lender would not allow my wife on the loan. Fortunately we qualified without considering her income. (Ironically, our downpayment savings were held in an account that was titled in my wife's name alone, and I was barred from touching it for the downpayment because it would be considered a "gift.") Wife now has three credit cards.
I am very late in responding to this post, but YIKES, I find this horrifying. I'm single with three credit cards (paid off every month) but no other "trade lines" and my last car loan was paid off more than ten years ago. Have never had a mortgage or student loans. I've NEVER had late pays or defaults, ever. I'm not really concerned with my exact FICO number and have no immediate plans to apply for a mortgage or other loan, but it's somehow upsetting to know that my perfect payment record on anything I've ever borrowed matters less than the fact that I haven't borrowed anything *lately.*

I have credit cards only for convenience - I don't really spend enough to make rebate cards pay off handsomely but I do use the rebates when they come along - and I wouldn't even bother having more than one, except for having back-ups to smooth out the temporary inconvenience of possible card loss or fraud, or having one card decide not to work when you're trying to buy something.

Discover card - open since 1999
Amex Optima - 1999
Amazon Visa - 2006

I checked my FICO back in Jan 2013 and I think it was about 810. That was a paid-for score, just because I was curious. Discover's version of FICO now gives me 792. Less, but not by an alarming amount. Between then and now is when my car loan payoff got more than 10 years old. Nothing else has really changed. I can't imagine having 20 cards!
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The529guy
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by The529guy »

Gleevec wrote:Anyone like the BarclayCard Arrival? Been thinking about it but don't like having more than 1 fee card at a time
I have the no annual fee version of this card. Slightly fewer benefits, but I'm happy with it so far.
dave8274
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by dave8274 »

I have a bunch of cards, though I only use a few actively. I'm a bit of a rewards chaser :)

In order of use:
1. Barcalycard Arrival+ WEMC = 2.2% if redeemed for travel expenses for everyday use
2. Capital One Quicksilver = 1.5% on everything. We use this one as my wife's business credit card.
3. Chase Freedom/Discover IT (5% rotating categories) = Rotating Categories Only, but I like to expand the categories when possible. For example, I do most of my non grocery shopping on Amazon, so right now, while the categories on both cards are gas stations, I buy Amazon gift cards at gas stations when I'm passing by.
4. Sam's Club Mastercard = 5% gas, 3% restaurants
5. PenFed Platinum Rewards = 3% groceries

There are also a couple of store cards I use: Kohl's for the 30% off sales for cardholders only, and Lowe's for 5% off all purchases there.

Other than that, I have bunch of cards issued by various credit unions that I don't carry and only use once in a while for a small purchase to keep them active. I like them because besides helping to build a thicker credit profile, they have high limits so they keep my utilization under 10% even if I have a lot of expenses one month on a primary card or 2, and they have low interest rates so they serve as a last ditch backup-backup-backup emergency fund in case of total disaster.

There really is no such thing as too many cards, at least as far as credit score is concerned. It may be hard to track a ton of cards and remember to use them, but mint.com helps me with that.
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

Gleevec wrote:Anyone like the BarclayCard Arrival? Been thinking about it but don't like having more than 1 fee card at a time
I do not have it, but from what I read, the new Citi 2% cash-back card trumps this one in practically every aspect. And there is no annual fee. There is a thread on the Citi card on this page.
travellight
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by travellight »

I have too many most likely but many are long term cards with no annual fees that I rarely use. I use about 3 cards regularly.
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Alchemist
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by Alchemist »

I have three, but only really use two.

USAA Rewards MasterCard (don't really use it due to weak rewards program, keep it at home in case my wallet is lost/stolen and I need something to buy things with)

American Express Platinum (Primary)

CapitalOne Quicksilver Visa (whever AMEX isn't accepted I use this one).

I like simplicity. I also live in Japan and travel a lot for work so having cards with no Foreign transaction fees is a must.
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Sunny Sarkar
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Re: "Our life is frittered away with detail."

Post by Sunny Sarkar »

berntson wrote:
Taylor Larimore wrote:Brak:

I have one credit card.

"Our life is frittered away with detail. Simplify. Simplify." -- Henry David Thoreau

Best wishes.
Taylor
Taylor, I would have expected you to have a three card wallet. :D
He does. The other two are drivers license and health insurance :D
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beyou
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Re: Hw many credit cards to own?

Post by beyou »

I have 3, an Amex (best cash back and service), a Visa and a MC.
Amex is my main card (free + cash back, no annual fees)
but when Amex not accepted, wanted to have a Visa or MC.
Sometimes there are "deals" if you pay with Visa or MC (one or other only)
so I like to have one of each. They all give cash back and no annual fees,
and use all 3 to keep them active. Don't want to pay more than 3 bills each month.

Have had others in past, closed them over time, had too many and did not use them all.
Don't care about credit rating impact, I pay my bills on time and I am a good risk.
Nothing to hide and no plans to borrow, I buy what I can afford, CC is only a convenience.
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