topic Re: multiple CC accounts in Credit Cards

multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:12:26 GMT

I'm a "old" guy (59) so I've seen a lot of stuff over the years. But I still have a question for the collective. How do y'all with 10 or more CCs keep on top of things? I have 3 and wife has 2. I live off my debit card, not that I fear CCs, I just figured no need to charge it if I had the money. Fast forward 2 months ago when I go through the DNA exam to secure a mortgage, and the lender advises I have no recent activity on my revolving credit, and hurt my score (low 700s for each of us). So I came here to see why that was, and now I know.

I can't imagine juggling the statements of 12 cards. So ya get something in the mail almost everday of the month? I couldn't keep up with whose been paid and who's on deck, and Zeus knows what happens if ya forget one, or confuse the date, and they punish ya. I've had my Amex card since 1982, the few months I have a balance on it, I pay it off 1-3 months and then it may sit 9 months. ( what y'all the sock drawer LOL). But despite not missing a payment since 1982, if I miss next months they're gonna waylay me for about 60 pts on my fico, and with a score of 710, I'm suddenly in the crosshairs on a potential mortgage debacle. I'm approved for my loan, and they broke ground last week. They said they'll take another look at the credit thing in Jan. I went out and put a new grill on my visa to show em I ain't afraid to spend LOL. I thought it odd to charge it when I had enough in my checking account 7 or 8. Now I Iive in fear that bill slips by and its all over but the crying.

What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by? A guy has 11 cards, 2 car notes, mortgage, and maybe a loan on a fancy lawn mower, motorcycle, boat, (toys). Add in power, cell, private school tuition or kids daycare, charities. Money sent to savings and then ya check the numbers on your 401k, and you're lookin at full day of finiancial upkeep.

So do y'all gather up everything and sit down for a day or 2, or take care of it as it comes in? Better for statements come in on snail mail or Email? How do ya do it?

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:18:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm a "old" guy (59) so I've seen a lot of stuff over the years. But I still have a question for the collective. How do y'all with 10 or more CCs keep on top of things? I have 3 and wife has 2. I live off my debit card, not that I fear CCs, I just figured no need to charge it if I had the money. Fast forward 2 months ago when I go through the DNA exam to secure a mortgage, and the lender advises I have no recent activity on my revolving credit, and hurt my score (low 700s for each of us). So I came here to see why that was, and now I know.

I can't imagine juggling the statements of 12 cards. So ya get something in the mail almost everday of the month? I couldn't keep up with whose been paid and who's on deck, and Zeus knows what happens if ya forget one, or confuse the date, and they punish ya. I've had my Amex card since 1982, the few months I have a balance on it, I pay it off 1-3 months and then it may sit 9 months. ( what y'all the sock drawer LOL). But despite not missing a payment since 1982, if I miss next months they're gonna waylay me for about 60 pts on my fico, and with a score of 710, I'm suddenly in the crosshairs on a potential mortgage debacle. I'm approved for my loan, and they broke ground last week. They said they'll take another look at the credit thing in Jan. I went out and put a new grill on my visa to show em I ain't afraid to spend LOL. I thought it odd to charge it when I had enough in my checking account 7 or 8. Now I Iive in fear that bill slips by and its all over but the crying.

What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by? A guy has 11 cards, 2 car notes, mortgage, and maybe a loan on a fancy lawn mower, motorcycle, boat, (toys). Add in power, cell, private school tuition or kids daycare, charities. Money sent to savings and then ya check the numbers on your 401k, and you're lookin at full day of finiancial upkeep.

So do y'all gather up everything and sit down for a day or 2, or take care of it as it comes in? Better for statements come in on snail mail or Email? How do ya do it?

You are not old.. I use a spreadsheet. I also use outlook to remind me of my closing date/due dates on each card. I also use the weekends with a cup of coffee in handto look over every statement. It can be done. Since you have the funds, get some prime cards and then set up auto pay so that the money comes out directly out of your account. That way you have peace of mind.

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:21:43 GMT

I forgot to add, you can also use www.mint.com to help track your things.

Re: multiple CC accounts

eddie84 — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 02:34:25 GMT

I use a spreadsheet (Excel) to keep track of all my 20+ accounts. There's also a template floating around somewhere on these forums.

Re: multiple CC accounts

msbia — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:36:31 GMT

I also use an Excel spreadsheet and update it weekly. Then I use the app "Check" by Intuit on my iPad and iPhone and it notifies me of when my credit cards and bills are due. Very helpful! By the way, OP, I loved your post...very entertaining!

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:44:03 GMT

If your fianances are such that you know you can easily PIF for everything, there is no need for a spreadseet, just, as others suggested, set all you cards to pay statement balance in full on due date. And then things take care of themselves.

Re: multiple CC accounts

p- — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 00:51:42 GMT

BamaGuy wrote: What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by?

I have a budget spreadsheet that I use to keep track of when my bills and loan payments are due, and I pay my credit cards in full each month most of the time. I only have 8 to keep track of, counting my wife's cards, but every two weeks on payday I check the balance on each one, when I sit down to pay the bills. I also keep track of the payoff balance on the loans, and when quarterly or annual expenses will come up. I normally use just one credit card at a time, but this time of year we have a lot of holiday shopping that we don't want eachother to see so it's spread around a bit.

I use USAA for my banking, and one of the services they offer is account linking for credit cards. So, my main screen on USAA shows the balances of all cards. The billpay portion remonds me if a payment is due for any ebill I've signed up for, or bills that I set a reminder for.

I think the risks involved with having dozens of cards outweigh the benefits, and prefer to keep it simple.

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 02:26:32 GMT

@p- wrote:
BamaGuy wrote: What kind of system would a guy use to keep something from slipping by?
I have a budget spreadsheet that I use to keep track of when my bills and loan payments are due, and I pay my credit cards in full each month most of the time. I only have 8 to keep track of, counting my wife's cards, but every two weeks on payday I check the balance on each one, when I sit down to pay the bills. I also keep track of the payoff balance on the loans, and when quarterly or annual expenses will come up. I normally use just one credit card at a time, but this time of year we have a lot of holiday shopping that we don't want eachother to see so it's spread around a bit.

I use USAA for my banking, and one of the services they offer is account linking for credit cards. So, my main screen on USAA shows the balances of all cards. The billpay portion remonds me if a payment is due for any ebill I've signed up for, or bills that I set a reminder for.

I think the risks involved with having dozens of cards outweigh the benefits, and prefer to keep it simple.

Try Mint.com

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 14:24:14 GMT

Most people with a lot of cards don't use them all the time. For example i use my us bank cash+ for dining only. Because i know that will never spend 7k on eating out a month i just set it to autopay, use it whenever i dine to get the points and never look at it.
You should have all your cards set to autopay the full statement balance. Then you can make extra payments to your workhorse card if you want to report lower utilization etc

Re: multiple CC accounts

NRB525 — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 14:33:30 GMT

If you aren't comfortable charging a lot on cards, then just shift to paying for gas and groceries on the cards you do have. The number of cards you have is sufficient. What you are looking for is activity on those existing cards.

You can log in to your CCC account and they all have Autopayment that you can set up. You set up your checking account(s) as a source for them to draw on, tell the card account whether you want to pull only the minimum payment, the full amount on the statement balance, or some amount in between (except Chase for some unknown reason) and they will time the request for payment from your checking account bank so you should never miss a CC payment. You still need to monitor the charges, but that takes out the worry of missing a payment.

I use Microsoft Money, no longer available, Quicken would be the replacement on a PC, but that requires a commitment of time to setup and manage that it sounds like you may not want to incur. You'd rather spend time with your grill, and that's a good idea.

So I can't suggest you get any more credit cards. It is a personal choice about what you want to spend your time on and where your priorities are. Since your priorities are just to not miss the payment, check out the autopay and enjoy!

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 15:16:18 GMT

I'm gonna sift back through the cc threads and select one more card to do stuff with. I like the idea using just one card for eating out. I'l nickname it the "Applebee's" card. We are long time empty nesters, so we tend to eat out a lot. The lady at the design studio thing asked what kind of stove we wanted in our new house I told her, "can I swap it for a flat screen, cause I can't tell ya when the last time we used a stove." I thought that was pretty funny but wife didn't agree.

My new grill looks good, but can't work it yet. It has all kinds of dials, knobs and gauges, and the instructions are inpenetrable. They were written by a alien. Fine print said it was made in Roswell.

Ok so I got a "Applebee's" card for eating out, what about gas? Are ya better using a Visa, or Exxon card? Do gas companies report in like a bank card?

I assumed there was financial software to help guys keep stuff going, my banks online window can do that. I prefer the electronic transfer, but the bank that has my motorcycle loan doesn't talk to my checking account bank, so they have to actually print a check.

Thanks for y'alls help on this here and in the mortgage forum. I can talk to my lender and know whats going on now.

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 20:22:56 GMT

Financial stuff:

I use Personal Capital. Its kind of like mint on steroids. I use it to look at my stock portfolio as well. However, for the purposes of this forum. it lets me see the overall balances of the cards on the left. Once or twice a week, I also look at the individual transactions, to make sure nothing fishy is going on. I pay the cards in full and only use certain cards for certain purposes.

As to your food and gas questions:

The answer depends on how much you spend on each per month. I think the best cash back card is Sallie Mae, which gives 5% back on up to $250 spent on each of gas and groceries, plus 5% back on up to $750 spent on bookstores, including Amazon. If you and your wife each get one, that covers $6k per year in groceries. However, if you're eating out a lot, you probably spend less than $60 a week on groceries, and so only need one.

If you prefer one card, AMEX Blue Cash Preferred gives 6% on groceries on spend of up to $6k per year and 3% on gas. After the annual fee is taken out, you have a realized cash back of 4.8%, assuming you spend close to $6k on groceries. However, you can use this at Costco and it gives you an in with Amex if you don't already have one.

For dining out, I use Chase AARP, which gives 3% back at all restaurants and fast food places. You do NOT need to be a member of AARP to join. It might also be worth taking a look at uPromise by Sallie Mae. You can get up to 8% back at qualified restaurants. There is a list of which restaurants qualify, so you can figure out if it is good for you.

Re: multiple CC accounts

CreditDunce — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 21:47:51 GMT

Does your Amex have an annual fee? If so I would replace it with the Everyday card. It is a cheap way to keep any MR points you have and will be backed dated to 1982 to help your credit score. But don't make any credit card changes until you close on your house.

If you are just looking for one dining card, I will second the Chase AARP credit card. 3x for Dining and gas is tough to beat. There are travel cards that may beat the AARP dining rewards, but you have to transfer points to airlines/hotels for the better redemption values. SM is a great card, but it doesn't sound like you need a grocery/amazon card. It does have 5% for gas up to $250 per month, but that might not be worth an extra card for you.

Another option would be to get a Lowes credit card for 5% off (assuming you will be shopping at Lowes with a new house).

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 22:39:10 GMT

What longtimelurker said.

I set all my cards to automatically be paid in full every month. Most cards will have this option. That's all the effort I ever put in. All I have to do is make sure I spend below my means.

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 22:39:33 GMT

Petrovious came in and said-

"I use Personal Capital. Its kind of like mint on steroids."

Does the software import stuff like transactions, dates, and balances or user input?

Re: multiple CC accounts

thom02099 — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 00:16:44 GMT

At 59, yer jest a pup! Got a few years on ya! Nearing retirement here and starting to re-think my credit journey.

As you can see from my siggy, I have...a few cards I used to use a debit card for everything, before I had a few cards. Now, I use my cards mainly like I would a debit card. Each card has/had a purpose. Some are going to get consolidated with other cards from the same issuer in the near future.

I use my AMEX charge cards like a debit card, simply run the expense thru the card, then log on a few days later and pay it. I also use my AMEX chargers for concert tickets, since I get advance notices on music acts I'd like to see via AMEX (they have tie in's with a lot of artists), and my AMEX card becomes my e-ticket in at the venue. Don't have to wait in line in many instances, since e-tickets frequently have their own queue. AND I usually get good seats to boot!

I don't use all of my revolvers, and some of them are going to go away soon. They've simply outlived their usefulness. Others will continue to reside in the sock drawer. I'll keep a couple of low interest cards (IberiaBank/1st Command) for their low interest on balance transfers if the need arises.

Some of my revolvers now have a single purpose. Others have multiple purposes. But like the charge cards, I usually just go on line within a few days of the charge and pay it off.

I have reminders set up on my Droid calendar for 24 hrs prior to a payment being due. And I have email reminders sent to me by all of my cards at their websites, 10 days before a bill is due. I also do everything on line; no paper statements here. I have reminders emailed to me, get them on my Droid and my email account.

AND I log in to all of my accounts at least once a week, usually more for the cards that are more active in my wallet rather than the sock drawer.

Seems to work fine for me. Retirement will mean less spending, and less need for so much credit. But it's been one heck of a ride !

Re: multiple CC accounts

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:59:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Petrovious came in and said-

"I use Personal Capital. Its kind of like mint on steroids."

Does the software import stuff like transactions, dates, and balances or user input?

It's a web-based app that is also available for your cellphone. You enter your accounts, including username and pass, and it pulls the data when you log in. You can see any transaction that has been reported or is pending, and it does it's best to categorize them for you. Transactions also includes dividends that show up and bills that are paid, so you can see the time lag of things getting paid off and when the money is returned to you.

I'm not sure if it backdates for you or not. The transactions are searchable, and can be filtered for credit, mortgage, investment, loan, or cash. Its completely free to use, although you do have to put up with them periodically calling you and telling you that they can review your portfolio, with an eye to managing it for you for 0.5% per year. I just decline the calls.

Re: multiple CC accounts

elim — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 04:10:40 GMT

i would'nt app for any cards until you investigate bonuses and rewards for your spending needs.

Re: multiple CC accounts

toi34 — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 07:56:44 GMT

I pay EVERYTHING on the 1st ...regardless of when in the month it's due, that way I don't have to think about it until the next 1st of the month!

Re: multiple CC accounts

ways2go — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 16:24:45 GMT

I take a few minutes a day, log into my cc accounts online. I check for any charges and keep up to date on the due date and closing. I usually pay the min payment when it appears, in case i forget to pay it, and it goes late. Then I pay extra on it through out the month for any charges I put on them.