addicted to credit cards

[scottwagnon]

everywhere i read about credit card addictions, it is always about being addicted to spending and maxing out. but i am addicted to credit cards too. but in a different way; that i am addicted to the cards themselves and what they can do; not how much i can hope to wrecklessly overspend.

all i think about lately is my cards and how i can eventually acuire bigger and better cards, lower interest rates and better limits. it is like i have a taste for this. an insatiable craving.

but unlike anyone you typically hear about, its about collecting like a hobby. so the addiction is a hobby rather than a spending craving.

people usually have a taste for other things, such as collecting coins or antiques. no i have an addiction to acquiring the PERFECT credit card profile. someday i want to have a profile of 250k with an average of 6% apr, at least 200k in cash advance limits. and maximum rewards(of course the finest no af cards) then again i think that is silly. but my cravings go on.

but isn't that kind of the main objective of this credit card forum anyway?

[score_building]

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@scottwagnon wrote:

everywhere i read about credit card addictions, it is always about being addicted to spending and maxing out. but i am addicted to credit cards too. but in a different way; that i am addicted to the cards themselves and what they can do; not how much i can hope to wrecklessly overspend.

all i think about lately is my cards and how i can eventually acuire bigger and better cards, lower interest rates and better limits. it is like i have a taste for this. an insatiable craving.

but unlike anyone you typically hear about, its about collecting like a hobby. so the addiction is a hobby rather than a spending craving.

people usually have a taste for other things, such as collecting coins or antiques. no i have an addiction to acquiring the PERFECT credit card profile. someday i want to have a profile of 250k with an average of 6% apr, at least 200k in cash advance limits. and maximum rewards(of course the finest no af cards) then again i think that is silly. but my cravings go on.

but isn't that kind of the main objective of this credit card forum anyway?

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200k in cash advance limts sounds like a spending craving, unless it is just part of the collector/ hobby angle, or false sense of security it may engender. to each his own but high cash advance limits are not necessarily attributable to a fico high achiever credit profile.  there is no one size fits all perfect roster but cash advance limits are superfluous to FICO high achieving, which is most often characterized by very low risk credit behavior.

Using cash advances from prime bank lenders can sometimes earmark cardholder as high risk borrower/ lead to AA; counter-productive from a FICO standpoint, and if one plans to maintain purchase limits (avoid CLD or closure.)  in any case, using cash advances can impact behavior scores with lenders.

[BoSox617]

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scottwagnon wrote: 

someday i want to have a profile of 250k with an average of 6% apr, at least 200k in cash advance limits. and maximum rewards(of course the finest no af cards) then again i think that is silly. but my cravings go on.

but isn't that kind of the main objective of this credit card forum anyway?

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Hi Scottwagon,

I don’t think there is such a thing as the “perfect” credit card profile – maybe an “ultimate-for-you-at-a-certain-point-in-time” collection.  It depends on what you find important, and what your circumstances are.  If you always PIF, APRs are irrelevant.  But if you have some massive home improvement project you plan to pay over time, then APRs are critical.

I see the Credit Card forum as an invaluable place to get informed – get answers to questions by searching/asking, get tips for improved credit management, learn the pros and cons of available cards.  An additional benefit is the access to illustrations of what not to do, and examples of (what I find to be) poor approaches to credit (e.g. applying for a card because “it looks cool”, or because someone thinks “it’s prestigious”).  If a card will save me loads of cash, I wouldn’t care if it had a picture of horse pucky on it.  I also don’t give a flying rat’s patootie about subjective “prestige” – I have better things to do than worry about what Joe Schmoe thinks of the plastic in my wallet.  I only care about what nets me the most savings, and care about working with CCs who appreciate my business and reply in kind.  Observing multiple approaches, thinking about why I find certain approaches to be poor, has helped me to grow a more conservative and healthy approach to credit.

By the way, AFs are NOT always bad.  The highest yielding rewards cards for you will sometimes have an AF – it depends on your spending habits.  I recently obtained the AMEX BCP – it has a $75 AF (the only card I have with an AF).  The BCP will annually net me far more cash back than the Everyday version (even after wiping out the AF).  When I was considering application, I pulled spending reports from my CCs for the prior year, and calculated cash back at the Preferred versus Everyday rates for supermarkets and department stores (I use PenFed for gas, so I ignored that one).  BCP nets more cash back, so that’s what I got.

[Anonymous]

Plus, there are other important variables in your plans you may not be able to control--like being laid off from work through no fault of your own, getting divorced, having all sorts of expensive medical bills come due (which your insurance would pay if you weren't laid off unexpectedly.)

This is not (in my opinion) something to obsess over, since there is much more to life than material things (including credit cards.)  If you have wholesome goals, pursue an education, etc. a lot of other things (like getting a good credit score) will fall into place on their own.

[scottwagnon]

i don't look at credit cards as a means to cheat having to look for work or for putting off medical expenses. i am determined to never put myself in this situation. i suppose when i say cash advance, i mean the kind where you don't get charged fees for pulling cash. like the pen fed promise for example, or a large LOC. as far as cash advances are concerned, i have only used this before as overdraft protection. i love DISCOVERS cashover feature and use that instead. i once used cashover to balance transfer.  took me a couple of days though. i also plan on using cashover or cash advance if i am in a bind ONCE in awhile if i cant use plastic.

i don't ever plan on using credit cards to the extent that i can only make minimum payments. in fact i hope soon to never be in debt again. i want to find a way that i only use credit, when i have the equal amount of easily liquidable assets backing me up.

to me is the house of cards is a house of trust. its the trust of banks that i have a craving for. my hobby is collecting the trust of banks if you will.

[anybodii]

I'll agree to it being an addiction to some degree. I'm newly establishing credit, and its nice when you get approved when you never did before. Of course now I still have low limits, but when you PIF limits don't necessarily matter. ( unless you were making a large purchase or something ) I have all the credit I need right now, a small auto loan and a rewards credit card. I have a few others, but I have no need to use, even though one has a 0% apr for a year. But when the time comes with the next 2-5 years when I need a new auto loan or possibly mortgage, I'll hopefully have the desired score or history a lender would want. Its all just one very dangerous game that actually pays you when you pass GO. ( Low interest rates )

[Anonymous]

I totally understand Scott.  My point is that there are loftier goals in this life to aspire to than earning the trust of banks,  Remember what Hamlet said to Horatio: "There are more things in heaven and earth . . ."  And you say you are determined never to put yourself in the position of being unemployed or ill or injured, but who among us intentionally seeks to be disabled or jobless?

Nevertheless I do respect your noble intentions and wish you well.  If more consumers had your level-headedness there would be a lot less debt to go around.

[DI]

I'm not addicted, but Credit and Fitness is my passion.   Combining those two make me powerful!!

[scottwagnon]

i guess you could say im addicted to collecting credit like a serious collecting hobby.

[smc733]

I enjoyed building, but now its less interesting in maintenance mode.  I have my trusty Visa with my Amex in my wallet, and 3 backups in the sock drawer.  (Two of which I use once every 3 months to keep active, Discover can go to hell).