New Contributor
squirrely2005
Posts: 83
Registered: ‎02-01-2012
How many cards

‎08-30-2012 08:03 PM

How many cards should I have open? It's sort of a long story as to why I'm asking that I posted in the relationship section. My gf just doesn't like how many credit cards I have. I feel comfortable with them and don't plan on using them much. Anyway do y'all think I should close any? My information is as follows.

 

Open:

SSFCU 1k CL Opened 9/2009 APR 12%is

NFCU 5kCL Opened this month APR 15%ish

Capitalone Platinum(no rewards) 500CL Opened 06/2011 APR 19%ish

JCrew 930CL Opened 11/2011 APR 24.99%

CareCredit 500CL Opened 10/2011(Parvo sucks) 0 till june '13 on one purchase

 

Closed:

Citi Forward 500CL Opened 9/2009 and Closed about Oct 2010 by them.

 

Baddies on my credit:

60 days late and 90 days late from the citi. The 90 was actually from me making a payment but not realizing it wasn't the minimum.

 

All will be paid off tomorrow except for the NFCU. I know it will really only effect me util wise now.

I couldn't care less about carecredit. Only reason I'd need it is for an emergency and I've never heard of a 500 vet emergency.

I've gotten tired of Jcrew. Too expensive and i guess 25 back for every 500 spent is good but its per season. So I have 3 months to spend 500 for a measly 25 bucks and I don't get much for 500 there. Only thing I like about them is they did auto cli from 500 to 930 about 5 months ago. And the interest is so high so if something happens and I don't pif the 25 back is basically just paying for th interest and not anything extra.

 

I know it's different for everybody but what is the ideal number of cards to have open? And which one's do y'all think I should close.

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Established Contributor
improvingmycredit
Posts: 978
Registered: ‎07-12-2011
Re: How many cards
[ Edited ]

‎08-30-2012 08:38 PM - edited ‎08-30-2012 08:40 PM

I think you have a nice portfolio of cards there.  With the exception of the Cap One that won't grow, I'd keep them if there is no annual fee.  If you have a fee, then I'd keep it till the new AF is about to post.  Me personally- I'd look to getting possibly one more card that can grow.  Maybe an Amex or Chase after gardening 6 mo to a year.  Should be able to acquire a nice starting limit then.

Starting Score: 642
Current Score: EQ 781, EX 776 (Amex Pull), TU 783 (All FICO)
Goal Score: 800+
Cards: NFCU Flagship 25K, NFCU CR 25K, CSP 20.5K, Arrival 20K, BCP 18.3K, PRG NPSL, Total Avail- 193K+

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Valued Contributor
bichonmom
Posts: 3,131
Registered: ‎05-05-2011
Re: How many cards

‎08-31-2012 01:36 AM

It's a personal decision. I'd recommend asking for a CLI w/your SSFCU CC. It's been open 3 yrs and you're only at $1k.

You might want to look at adding an Amex. I'm not sure if you'd qualify for a BCE, but it has really good rewards. You might want to start w/Zync for only $25/yr AF. Then in a year, app for BCE. Also, this way all future Amex will be backdated to your first Amex. The benefit of that is that usually when you get a new CC, your AAoA takes a hit. With backdating, your AAoA actually gets a boost, which helps your FICO.

Beyond that, I'd think about what you're looking for in terms of rewards. Navy is actually pretty good, IMO. Some have higher % for certain categories, but I like Navy for my all-purpose card. It's a straight forward 1% cash back and you only need to accumulate $20 in rewards before you can redeem.

You might be able to qualify for Chase Freedom, which has different 5% categories each quarter.

I don't think you have too many cards at all. You might want to close your Cap One at some point if there's an AF, since your CL probably won't ever increase.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
EQ FICO 731 | TU FICO 751 (Walmart) | EX FAKO 748 | Goal: 800+

Edits, funky spacing and spelling due to my iPad not getting along with the forum editor!

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Established Contributor
gettnthere
Posts: 899
Registered: ‎06-14-2012
Re: How many cards

‎08-31-2012 03:26 AM

If it makes you feel any better, i have 10 cards. I don't think you have too many.


Starting Score: EQ 609, EX 633(Fako), TU 700
Current Score: EQ 699, EX 758, TU 733
Goal Score: 720 across the board
Garden Club Member-GC Challenge: App free since 10/31/12 :smileywink:
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Valued Member
kulamrazool82
Posts: 35
Registered: ‎08-07-2012
Re: How many cards

‎08-31-2012 01:25 PM

I would close Cap One & J Crew (based on ur usage?). As many suggest go for prime cards Amex Zync or BCE and a Chase card. It will make your portfolio to look more nice.

 

- Syed

Starting Score: 555 (EQ FICO 06/20/12)
Current Score: 639 (EQ FICO 09/07/12), 703 (Credit Sesame 09/12), 648 (EQ FAKO 09/06/12), 680 (CK 09/07/12)
Goal Score: 750+ across the board
DCU Visa - 5K | Genisys CU Visa - 2K | Discover More - 1K | Cap One Plat - 750 | Cap One CR - 500 | Amazon Store - 800 | Wally - 500 | Kohls - 300 | Macys - 200

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Frequent Contributor
Razeus
Posts: 351
Registered: ‎04-02-2012
Re: How many cards
[ Edited ]

‎08-31-2012 01:46 PM - edited ‎08-31-2012 01:47 PM

Get rid of the toy limits and department store cards.  You can manage with:

 

SSFCU 1k CL

NFCU 5kCL

 

Hopefully you have $0 balances so it doesn't mess up your utilization.  Get yourself a 3rd card, probably a Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or AMEX BCE/BCP and call it a day.

My Wallet:
Discover It $11,000 | Chase Freedom $5000 | AMEX BCE $3000 | Paypal Extras Platinum $3,000 | Wells Fargo $1,000 | AMEX Zync NPSL

I want:
AMEX BCP | Chase Sapphire Preferred | US Bank Cash+ | Citibank Dividend Preferred
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New Contributor
squirrely2005
Posts: 83
Registered: ‎02-01-2012
Re: How many cards
[ Edited ]

‎09-02-2012 06:52 PM - edited ‎09-02-2012 06:53 PM

Thanks for all the input guys. I feel a little better now. Haha. I will close the cap1 probably next year right before the AF comes up.

 

Razues I'd love to do that. The only thing stopping me is my lates. I do have a balance on NFCU, which really was a balance transfer from jcrew and ssfcu, that I'm paying over the next couple of months. All other cards will not have a balance. The lates would also be at their two year mark at about the time the card will be paid off.

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Frequent Contributor
Jlu
Posts: 460
Registered: ‎06-12-2012
Re: How many cards

‎09-02-2012 06:57 PM

Answer to your first sentence: as many as you need. There is no magic number or range like there is with utilization. In my line of work I have seen guys with 830 FICOs that have 3 cards and I have seen 830 FICOs with those who have 20 cards.
Wallet: JP Morgan Select Visa Signature $9000 | Chase Sapphire Preferred $5000 | Chase Freedom Visa $2000 | Barclaycard Visa $3000 | Discover More $1500 | Capital One Platinum Mastercard $750 | Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa $500 | Walmart Store $950 | Amazon Store $5000 | AMEX Zync (AU) NPSL | Chase Total Checking | RIP: First Premier Mastercard
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Frequent Contributor
JonStur
Posts: 355
Registered: ‎12-25-2010
Re: How many cards

‎09-02-2012 07:04 PM

You can 180 cards, doesn't matter if you're responsible. I would hold off with the AMEX everyone's recommending, your baddies are still too recent in my opinion.

Starting Score: TU 686 EX 641 EQ 690
Current Score: TU 796 EX 780 EQ 750
Goal Score: 800 Club

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Moderator
Revelate
Posts: 4,270
Registered: ‎12-30-2011
Re: How many cards
[ Edited ]

‎09-02-2012 07:07 PM - edited ‎09-02-2012 07:08 PM

JonStur wrote:

You can 180 cards, doesn't matter if you're responsible. I would hold off with the AMEX everyone's recommending, your baddies are still too recent in my opinion.

Not certain on this, we had a report a few months ago about someone with 20ish cards, who closed several, and got a non-trivial FICO boost.

 

While I can't say this isn't YMMV, I don't think the "have as many cards as you want" is a good plan: I think if you're more than something akin to one standard deviation outside the national averages, expect to have a more significant look taken at your credit report by any lender's underwriting.  No different than showing a bureaucrat what they're expecting to see in my opinion.

 

 

Starting Score: EQ 561, TU 567, EX 599* (12/30/11, EX lender pull 12/29/11)
Current Score: EQ 660, Wally TU 697, EX unknown (05/13/13)
Goal Score: 680 in all three (01/01/14)

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