Well, first of all, it's so much fun! Second, it's such a rush to app! Whooooo!
Also, different cards serve different purposes. So when better cards come out or cards that benefit specific spending habits, we jump in!
My Citi DC is my favorite card, but my Chase Freedom gives me 5% back on gas and groceries in specific quarters. I shop on Amazon a lot, so my Chase Amazon Visa gives me 5% on purchases from Amazon itself or third parties fulfilled by Amazon. My BOA gives me 3% on gas and my new Amex BCE gives me 3% on groceries for most of the year when I'm not using Chase. Discover gives me 5% gas and 5% on Amazon in specific quarters. Citi can't provide those benefits over 2%.
It's all about maximizing rewards. If companies want to pay us to use their cards, who am I to complain!!!!!
Different strokes for different folks
Some to cover rewards, others to get from the places they shop, some rebuild and get caught up in the high of approvals. The reasons are as diverse as the cards themselves. For scoring purposes you really only need 3 cards but for some 3 isnt enough while for others its perfect enough. Alot depends on your own needs and wants and goals as well.
Some to cover rewards, others to get from the places they shop, some rebuild and get caught up in the high of approvals. The reasons are as diverse as the cards themselves. For scoring purposes you really only need 3 cards but for some 3 isnt enough while for others its perfect enough. Alot depends on your own needs and wants and goals as well.
Example: My QS used to be my go to non-category card for all my bills. Citi DC came out and now it's my go to card.
On $100, the different is $0.50, but as spending gets higher, the rewards get wider. On a $1,000, the difference is $5, on $10,000, the difference becomes $50 and so on.
Citi DC>QS
Of course, the QS makes rewards available as soon as purchases post and Citi's become available at $25 when the statement cuts, but additional .5 makes it worth waiting.
@brbmake wrote:I am really new here, and I am enjoying reading many of these threads and learning about credit scores, but I have noticed something. Many people have their cards with limits in their signiture lines. As I have been reading them, I am amazed at how many cards people have and the total credit lines they have. Perhaps I have old information, but I was always told that having so much credit available was a bad thing (or a risk) because someone could go out and do a lot of damage quite quickly. I have 3 credit cards. Total I have about $17,200 in credit on my credit cards. Whihc, to many people here, is not much. Can someone explain the reasoning to me behind having so many cards? Thanks!
There's not necessarily any reasoning behind it; some people enjoy having a lot of cards, some don't.
Diversity, utilization, AAOA, bragging rights, reward lovers, rebuilding, challenging, Never pay full price for anything (always get 2% or better back on everything), ability to close cards that we don't want anymore anytime we want, groom our credit so we can eventually have 3 to 5 cards with 20k or higher credit line each card, credit score, also use it or lose it.
What else did I miss?
I went 15+ years with no credit or credit cards, paid cash for everything. Try to buy a house or car with no credit.
With that said 3 to 5 cards is where some of us want to be eventually.
My collection is a mixed bag. Some are older cards that I plan to close in the future but haven't yet due to account ages and utilization reasons. Some are bonus-seeking and will be combined into another card from the same lender. Some I have simply for balance transfer reasons (I have a LOT of revolving debt from a decade ago that I am slowly but surely paying off). My credit union cards are great for international travel since they have zero or minimal fees on cash advances, and they have no foreign transaction fees. The ones that I actually use daily are for rewards - whether it's Starwood points (or something that converts to Starwood either directly or via Marriott) for effective 3-6% back or for straight cash back/discount/statement credit (5% on Discover, Amazon, Lowe's, and Target. More for Kohl's and Best Buy). I make my credit work for me.
As for the high credit lines, it's all relative to income and spending. Imagine that I had no revolving debt (hope to make that a reality in 4 or 5 years!) - if I only had $17k in credit lines, my credit scores would be in the gutter since my average monthly spend is at least half of that, and if I needed to book a vacation for my family I'd either max out all of my credit cards to do so or I'd have to use a debit card and get zero rewards. For others, a few modest credit lines are sufficient and there's nothing wrong with that.
People look and do different things because...they can 
Having a bunch of cards is not my thing, for me its unsettling and I frankly hate to app. I have 4 cards and that for me is just right. My CL's are what they are because I worked to get them that way. Hell its a blessing I can because it was a long hard battle and a learning experience. And I handle it well because I'm paranoid...lol I don't like to expose myself too much, but my salary also helps
someone else may have 20 cards 200,000 + in available credit, does great with them, never had a late and they're sitting pretty above 800 on all three bureaus. If they're fine, they're fine. SOme people collect cards. Again, I don't have a problem with that, some churn for points and so on. Everyone has their own set of reasons and they have to handle it if they do something that makes thema target. (do read on you'll understand why there's some banks I won't touch with a 10 foot pole!)
A lot of people come here because they were like me; ran into some trouble and needed a cold hard push to get things going in the right direction. A lot can be learned here even if you don't have issues, trust me. Yes there are people who are app crazy. Its a high of sorts for some. Then there's people who plod along slow and steady. It takes all types I suppose, as long as you keep it all in check.
If you're not the type to run your cards to the hilt, the additional credit isn't going to be a big deal, its a nice to have, and some cards don't want to be the first to tip their hat in that direction. If you run right to the wire on credit, then, then its time to reevaluate why you have the cards you do (general you) FWIW my available credit across my cards is slightly less than 100k.