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Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

Hello! I've been reading a few posts on this forum, in the Credit Cards section and also the Rebuilding Credit section, and I saw a couple of places where people said that the ideal number of bank cards is three.

 

Right now, I have access to five cards, three are store cards and two are bank cards (Cap 1 and Amex). The newest card is Amex Everyday with a lovely interest rate of 13% and a decent credit line. I'm settling down to buy a house, probably a multi family home, in the next six months to a year and know that I shouldn't have any inquires or large purchases between then and now.

 

However, that means that if there's anything I need to do with my credit lines, like get another bank card to look 'more ideal', then I should do that now. Discover keeps sending me  offers for their Discover IT card, but the interest rate doesn't look really good to me and I don't really need more credit.

 

With all that in mind...

 

Is 3 really the magic number of bank cards? What makes it magic?

Should I really get another card if I have lots of cards I'm specifically not using?

 

Should I close any store cards I'm not using?

 

If I should get another bank card, what would you all recommend?  Do certain cards really look 'better' on your credit report than others?

 

Thanks for reading and answering! Sorry if some of these questions should be common knowledge, I'm just starting my credit journey! : )

 

Message 1 of 34
33 REPLIES 33
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

There isn't a magic number in the sense "this is the best number to have" but people suspect that to get the best FICO score you need at least three revolving accounts.  I don't know if there is any evidence that these need to be bank cards, but it's certainly possible.

 

Now you can get a perfectly good score with 1 or 2, this is just talking about maximizing, which may not be important.   And you can have many more without impacting the score.

Message 2 of 34
creditconcept
Regular Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

Anecdotal Evidence, but my Fico score history is:

1Installment loan - 656

I.S + 1 Cc - 675

I.S + 2 Cc - 695

I.S + 3 Cc - 719

I.S + 4 Cc - 701 (Current Score as of last statement)


So 3 was the magic number. (when Util stays the same ie. 40/4000 = 65/6500 with the 4th card)


Message 3 of 34
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?


@creditconcept wrote:
Anecdotal Evidence, but my Fico score history is:

1Installment loan - 656

I.S + 1 Cc - 675

I.S + 2 Cc - 695

I.S + 3 Cc - 719

I.S + 4 Cc - 701 (Current Score as of last statement)


So 3 was the magic number. (when Util stays the same ie. 40/4000 = 65/6500 with the 4th card)


But you are getting inquiires as well, right?   Question is what would happen say a year from now when the inquiries no longer impact score, i.e. is three really optimal for the long term?  More cards also impact AAoA, but that becomes less important too.   Equally anecdotally, I have many more cards and my scores are fine...

Message 4 of 34
core
Valued Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?


@Anonymous wrote:
Is 3 really the magic number of bank cards? What makes it magic?

When you have only 2 cards (and I'm including store cards here) you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.  If you show a balance on one, you now have balances on 50% of your open accounts and get tagged.  Or if you don't show a balance on that one account you get hit for no balances.  You get the shaft either way.

Message 5 of 34
GlocksAndCredit
Regular Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

If 3 is the the max number of bank cards to "maximize" your score....... I (as well as many others) are royally screwed...Smiley Very Happy

CSP $9500, CapitalOne VentureOne Sig Visa $8000 Chase Freedom Sig Visa $5000, Citi ThankYou Preferred Sig Visa $5000, Amazon Store Card $5000, Discover IT $4800, CapitalOne Quick Silver MasterCard $4000, Fidelity AMEX $4000, Sallie Mae Mastercard $3300, Hilton Honors Sig Visa $3300, Citi Double Cash $2700, SunTrust Cash Rewards $2500, Citi Simplicity Visa $2300, AMEX BCE $2000, AMEX Everyday $2000, AMEX Delta SkyMiles $2000, Amazon Reward Visa $1800, BP VIsa $1800, Barclays Apple Visa $1700, Suncoast FCU $1000, Target REDCard $900

Current Scores: EQ 727 (Fico), EX 735 (Fico) **In the Garden unti....forever.
Message 6 of 34
tcbofade
Super Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

The magic number, of course, is "one more".

 

Oh, I'm only kidding.

 

As mentioned above, having AT LEAST three let's you maximize the FICO score utilization ratio both per card and over a number of accounts.  More than three is not necessary, but will not hurt you either.

 

 

02/01/24 Fico 8: EX 757, EQ 803, TU 783.
Fico 9: EX 760 12/16/23, EQ 790 02/04/24, TU No idea.

Zero percent financing is where the devil lives...
Message 7 of 34
fused
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

I'm not sure about the FICO 08 formula, but with the earlier scoring formulas it seemed 4-6 cards from big banks was ideal.

Message 8 of 34
JKXX
New Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

There are people here with more than three cards that have an 850 FICO score so any evidence that points to score loss due to having more cards is negligible at best and most likely due to other factors. What we do know is that the optimal minimum amount of open revolving accounts is at least 3.

Age: 23
Last Inq: 10/24/14. EQ: 770 (10-02-13), TU08: 797 (10-27-14), EX: ??
Chase Ink $18,500 | REI Visa $17,000 | Chase Freedom $10,000 | Discover IT $10,000 | Sallie Mae $10,000 | Amex BCE $9,000 | BOA 123 $7,500 | US Bank Cash+ $7,000 | Wells Fargo Rewards $4,900 | Walmart Discover $6,500 | Chase Amazon $1,000
Message 9 of 34
Fico2Go
Established Contributor

Re: Is there really an 'ideal number' of bank cards?

My wild APP guess is that UTIL is the king of all variables.   

 

Your AAoA + # cards will determine how inquiry sensitive your scores will be.  For example, say your AAoA is 1 year and you have only 1 TL.  It's likely that you will trigger a "excessive # of inquiries with just 1 HP.   OTH, if your AAoA is 5 and you have 1TL.. your might be able to absorb 2 HPs.  

 

That's why we hear of some people here having 50 inquiries and are still getting approval.  It's likely that they have 10+ TLs... or 5 TLs with high AAoA. 

 

We'll just have to size things up as we learn. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discover IT $19,000 == 12/2013
AMEX 12/2013 ---BCP $12,000 === BC $23,000 ----- 04/2014
CHASE SLATE $5,700 === 12/2013
BoA 123 $6000 === 12/2013
Barclay Rewards $1500 == 12/2013
Message 10 of 34
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