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Too many cards?

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amz1121
Valued Member

Too many cards?

I was wondering if there is such a thing as too many credit cards? I have struggled the past couple years with obtaining any kind of credit card, I recieved my first secureced card in 2011 and have been building my credit ever since.  Now I have 5 credit cards and 2 store cards and I am wondering if this is too much? 

 

My current cards are as follows:

Capital One Secured with a $500 limit

Capital One Jouney with a $500 limit

Gesa CU Card with a $500 limit

Barclays card with $1350 limit

BECU card with a $1500 limit

 

Fingerhut/Web Bank with a $500 limit

Amazon Store Card with a $400 limit

 

Now I know these limits are very small and I'd like to increase them but I want to get a higher limit on my BECU card as it is the lowest APR and only carry a balance on that but will having this many cards hurt my chances of obtainin a higher limit? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance!

Message 1 of 17
16 REPLIES 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Too many cards?


@amz1121 wrote:

I was wondering if there is such a thing as too many credit cards? I have struggled the past couple years with obtaining any kind of credit card, I recieved my first secureced card in 2011 and have been building my credit ever since.  Now I have 5 credit cards and 2 store cards and I am wondering if this is too much? 

 

My current cards are as follows:

Capital One Secured with a $500 limit

Capital One Jouney with a $500 limit

Gesa CU Card with a $500 limit

Barclays card with $1350 limit

BECU card with a $1500 limit

 

Fingerhut/Web Bank with a $500 limit

Amazon Store Card with a $400 limit

 

Now I know these limits are very small and I'd like to increase them but I want to get a higher limit on my BECU card as it is the lowest APR and only carry a balance on that but will having this many cards hurt my chances of obtainin a higher limit? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance!


I'd close the Fingercut, Otherwise you're doing just fine.

Message 2 of 17
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Too many cards?

The "how many is too many" question is one of the most asked questions on the forum (another being "I want to give longtimelurker $500, where should I send it?")

 

The answer is always that you can have any number of cards providing you are happy manageing them.  For some that will be 3-5, for others 100+    Less than three isn't ideal for scoring purposes or diversity, but if people don't want more than 1 or 2, that will work.

Message 3 of 17
killer_queen229
Established Contributor

Re: Too many cards?

Why not up your limits? Your history is 4 years old.  And no, you don't have that many. I find it hard myself just to have 2 cards. 

Message 4 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Too many cards?

"Too Many" is only relative. Some people don't like to keep up with them so 1-3 works for them. Others have 25+ or even as much as 100. That might actually be too much for anyone but honestly if you are able to manage them effectively and get the loans/rates/mortgages/etc. that you need to live your life comfortable and debt free then it really doesn't matter how many you have.

Message 5 of 17
kdm31091
Super Contributor

Re: Too many cards?

This is discussed almost every week and the answer is always pretty much the same. It depends on your wants, needs, goals, and spend. For "good score" purposes most people suggest you shouldn't have less than 3 cards, but if you are not into the whole "reward chasing" and such, having 3 and no more is totally fine in the scoring respect.

 

I could never have above 6 and even that is pushing the limit for me. My spend isn't high enough to justify it. If you have lowish to moderate spend, you'll find yourself with $10 in rewards across several cards for quite awhile. The more your income and spending is, the more you will reap the benefits of an increased number of cards.

Message 6 of 17
jamesdwi
Valued Contributor

Re: Too many cards?


@amz1121 wrote:

I was wondering if there is such a thing as too many credit cards? I have struggled the past couple years with obtaining any kind of credit card, I recieved my first secureced card in 2011 and have been building my credit ever since.  Now I have 5 credit cards and 2 store cards and I am wondering if this is too much? 

 

My current cards are as follows:

Capital One Secured with a $500 limit

Capital One Jouney with a $500 limit

Gesa CU Card with a $500 limit

Barclays card with $1350 limit

BECU card with a $1500 limit

 

Fingerhut/Web Bank with a $500 limit

Amazon Store Card with a $400 limit

 

Now I know these limits are very small and I'd like to increase them but I want to get a higher limit on my BECU card as it is the lowest APR and only carry a balance on that but will having this many cards hurt my chances of obtainin a higher limit? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance!


Request a credit limit increase on your Capitalone cards, both are SP, with a little luck you may get one. 

Also request a Credit limit increase on your Amazon store card also a SP, if denied call the backdoor number and talk to an underwriter, ask for 5k they should counter. 

 

you can also request a credit limit increase from BECU, not sure if its HP or not, you can ask them, they should tell you.  

 

You may also want to apply for a Chase Freedom card. 

Bigger limits, get you bigger limits in the future

 

Cards: Chase Southwest 20k & CSR 17k & CSP 10k & FNBO 30k Oregon Duck 5k, & AMEX BCP 32.5k & Amex Magnet 15k&amg; Hilton Surpass 7.5k & Delta Gold 12k & Zync NPSL, Fidelity AMEX 17k Commerce5.9k & Cash Forward 7.5k & Sams Club MC 20k, Paypal Extras MC 10k, Paypal Credit 7.25k CapOne Venture 15k, QS 2.5k, QS 750, Amazon 10k, Walmart 10k, Citi Simplicity 18k, Discover IT 23k and a nice stack of store cards.
Landmarkcu Personal Loan 10k
Message 7 of 17
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Too many cards?


@jamesdwi wrote:

@amz1121 wrote:

I was wondering if there is such a thing as too many credit cards? I have struggled the past couple years with obtaining any kind of credit card, I recieved my first secureced card in 2011 and have been building my credit ever since.  Now I have 5 credit cards and 2 store cards and I am wondering if this is too much? 

 

My current cards are as follows:

Capital One Secured with a $500 limit

Capital One Jouney with a $500 limit

Gesa CU Card with a $500 limit

Barclays card with $1350 limit

BECU card with a $1500 limit

 

Fingerhut/Web Bank with a $500 limit

Amazon Store Card with a $400 limit

 

Now I know these limits are very small and I'd like to increase them but I want to get a higher limit on my BECU card as it is the lowest APR and only carry a balance on that but will having this many cards hurt my chances of obtainin a higher limit? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance!


Request a credit limit increase on your Capitalone cards, both are SP, with a little luck you may get one. 

Also request a Credit limit increase on your Amazon store card also a SP, if denied call the backdoor number and talk to an underwriter, ask for 5k they should counter. 

 

you can also request a credit limit increase from BECU, not sure if its HP or not, you can ask them, they should tell you.  

 

You may also want to apply for a Chase Freedom card. 

Bigger limits, get you bigger limits in the future

 


Sound advice here..^^^^^^

Message 8 of 17
amz1121
Valued Member

Re: Too many cards?

Thanks for the advice! The BECU card was just approved this week so I think it might be a little soon to ask for a CLI, dont you think? They approved my refinance on my car and gave me a line of credit as well this week...

Message 9 of 17
jamesdwi
Valued Contributor

Re: Too many cards?


@amz1121 wrote:

Thanks for the advice! The BECU card was just approved this week so I think it might be a little soon to ask for a CLI, dont you think? They approved my refinance on my car and gave me a line of credit as well this week...


you can ask, they might say yes, I wouldn't submit to a HP at this point. Just use the  card hard, pay the bill before starement cuts, then have them reconsider in 90 days. 


Cards: Chase Southwest 20k & CSR 17k & CSP 10k & FNBO 30k Oregon Duck 5k, & AMEX BCP 32.5k & Amex Magnet 15k&amg; Hilton Surpass 7.5k & Delta Gold 12k & Zync NPSL, Fidelity AMEX 17k Commerce5.9k & Cash Forward 7.5k & Sams Club MC 20k, Paypal Extras MC 10k, Paypal Credit 7.25k CapOne Venture 15k, QS 2.5k, QS 750, Amazon 10k, Walmart 10k, Citi Simplicity 18k, Discover IT 23k and a nice stack of store cards.
Landmarkcu Personal Loan 10k
Message 10 of 17
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