Why So Many?

[hausfrau]

I see a lot of people here with a lot of cards. Is there a reason to have that many? (I'm not judging, just genuinely curious.)

We are in the 'fixed the credit screwup, learned our lesson, starting to utilize credit again after swearing it off' phase right now. I'm trying to take some cues from people who seem to be doing great, credit-wise.
Our finances are good, getting retirement and savings on track.

Just opened 2 TL of revolving, have 2 SL and 1 auto loan. Plan on gardening what we have, but am trying to get a good long term plan established.

Is having so many TL for utilization purposes only, or does having more lines in good standing boost your scores that much?

[Commandolam]

All the cool kids are doing it.  

Also, a lot of us like to maximize credit card rewards.

[E150GT]

I dont want too many, I didnt really think over most of my card apps until now. I am thinking of closing my slate...

[09Lexie]

It's the bonus/rewards for me. Not just because I can but if it gets me a trip, statement credit, upgrade rooms/ airline seats....why not?😉

[bs6054]

There are several different motivations.

1) As Commandolam says, all the cool kids are doing it, and you wouldn't want to be uncool would you?

2) Genuine need for lots of credit (I suspect that is rare)

3) Utilization:  Adding CLs reducing utilization for a given balance, increasing score.  Much cited here, but in most cases far in excess of what is needed for this purpose.

4) Sign up bonuses.   These can be worth quite a lot

5) Rewards maximization.  Lots of different cards allows you to get maximum rewards on each kind of purchase.  True, but diminishing returns as you add more and more cards, as the niche for the latest card becomes small.

6) Portfolio renewal.  At the beginning people get what cards they can.  As scores/credit history improves, better cards become available.   Many people still keep most of their old ones, which makes the number look large, whereas only a small set are actively used.

7) Because the voices told me to.

[LisaJ]

Speaking strictly for myself, partially it is utilization strategy. Partially it is the pride in being able to do it after years of having horrible credit. ANd I have taken advantage of the rewards, also.

To be honest, I had no expectation of getting Amex...I am wicked excited to have gotten back in their good graces.  I was preapproved for Discover so felt I had little to lose, and since Barclays pulls TU 90% of the time and I had no pulls on TU, I figured now was as good a time as any.

I've apped 5 for 5 this year, with 4 of those needing call ins (2 definitive recons). Prior to that, I had not apped in several years and likely won't again for a good long while.

[MazdaSpeed]

I originally had 2 cards last month and wanted to open more so later in life when my AAoA actually matters it would be stronger and wouldn't be affected by new accounts as much, I thought getting 3 more would be good, so I had 5 open cards (I already have 5 closed accounts 4 cards 1 student loan that will also help my AAoA for another 8 or 9 years)

But then I got on this website and realized how I could miles cards work, like the CSP and ended up realizing I could get a few good bonuses so I added 3 more cards to the mix, and now have 8 open cards, but I wouldn't recommend this, I know my scores are going to go down in the short term, until all of these accounts age

[bs6054]

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@bs6054 wrote:

There are several different motivations.

1) As Commandolam says, all the cool kids are doing it, and you wouldn't want to be uncool would you?

 

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I should just be clear that there is cool and cool.  Cool kids get lots of cool cards, maybe flash them a little, but that is all. Wannabe cools have conversations like: "So this card gets me 2% off anything at Sears, whereas this one is 4% at a drug store.  I used to use this one there for the miles but....."   This is not cool.  At all.  Thank you for your attention to this Public Service Announcement.

[webhopper]

3-4 cards are plenty.

I have 4 credit cards, and 1 business credit card.

[hausfrau]

I never really thought of the rewards thing until I lurked here for a while. Plan on using our shiny new nRewards quite frequently and paying it off monthly to start stacking up the rewards there.

Do you have to use the cards a certain amount just to keep them active?