For many of us including myself that are guilty of coming out of the garden early or wanting that new card for whatever reason can spark some interesting debates. Why? Well there are many of us that a few to many cards and do not utilize many of them which is fine, however, it begs the question what is driving us to go for that next card? What do you tell yourself in why you need that nice new card and will you use it?
What is your justification?
Some Examples: Travel rewards?
Higher credit limits?
total amount of credit? if so why? how much is enough?
Gas rewards?
Cash advances?
It was there....I didn't have it....!
@Anonymous wrote:My list of needed cards is getting smaller. I can't justify having 10 or more cards, but instead having 3-4 cards that I use regularly and give me decent rewards in the process. 1 5% cash back card (already covered with Chase Freedom) one Gas and Groceries card (Amex BCP?), one Travel Card (CSP) would probably be enough.
I definitely agree with you on this. I prefer to only use 2-3 cards for the rewards and everyday use than many. Although this isn't the sentiment of everyone else makes sense for me as your credit ages and diversifies having the enormous CL doesn't help as much. Will get rid of a few while still maintaining 800+ score.
First, I'm trying to set up a team of 3-4 cards that will allow me to get a high rate of rewards in the areas where I spend the most (gas, groceries, travel, dining, amazon). After that probably try to have a few cards that help with utilization (lowes, high limit CU, etc.). A third group would be cards where the annual rewards pay for themselves, like certain hotel cards or airline cards where the annual bonus exceeds the annual fee. Once those are all in place, it would just be churning cards for points.
I hope to reach the final step in my plan in the next 12-24 months. Will take some planning and some gardening.
