topic Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many? in Credit Cards

Addicted to credit cards. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Mon, 18 May 2020 03:28:27 GMT

I am 62 years old. I have been getting a few credit cards every year, ususally 5 to 6 a year. Needless to say I currently have 42 credit cards. I do not pay any annual fees on any of them.

I rotate them all and pay them off mostly online before the statement cuts off so I never have more then $3,000 showing as owed on my credit reports.

I swore I was done getting new cards but applied for three more yesterday online and was approved for all three. I do have a high income and my FICO scores are only 740's to 750's due to so many inquries they never seem to go higher. I spend somewhere around $20,000 a month on them mostly for insurance premiums HOA dues and real estate taxes on some of my rental properties.

My credit reports show car loans, two open but paid ahead a few years on each.

I figured I would run out of banks to apply to but I seem to keep finding more.

Should I close some of these? I have closed in the past any card with a line under $5000 so the open ones are all over that amount.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 May 2020 17:38:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
... Should I close some of these?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Mohr is truly merrier.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 May 2020 17:46:29 GMT

Very much an individual thing, but signs that you are getting close to having too many:

1) You start getting declined for credit products, or get terms less favorable than you expect. This is because you have too many inqs or new accounts, or just too much credit for a new issuer to feel happy.

2) The task of managing the cards is becoming a pain, more than the joy of getting a new card!

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

dlister70 — Sat, 16 May 2020 17:50:36 GMT

As a general rule, I don't think that you can have too many cards as long as the following are true:

1. You pay in full every month to avoid interest.

2. You don't pay annual fees unless you get rewards that are more valueable to you than the fee.

3. Your credit score doesn't suffer too badly.

It seems like you are meeting those criteria at the moment. Even at 740-750, you'll qualify for the best loan rates at virtually any bank. As long as keeping track of 40+ cards is fun for you (I think it would be a hassle for me!), then keep on doing what you enjoy doing.

The drawbacks that I can think of could be:

1. Difficult to monitor fraud activity on 40+ cards.

2. If you need to apply for a loan, the loan officer may take issue with having that much available credit (or potential debt in their eyes).

3. Your wallet may rip at the seams.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 May 2020 17:49:33 GMT

Keep it up, you're only a few away from being able to use one for every State!

And here i thought 15-20 was more than enough to keep track of...

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 May 2020 18:44:57 GMT

Personally, I say keep them and add and remove as best suits your needs. Factors I considered:

--No annual fees on any of them.

--Never have more then $3,000 showing as owed on my credit reports.

--Car loans, (2) open but paid ahead a few years on each.

--You don't seem to have any difficulty keeping track of accounts or overspending.

--You are getting approved for trade lines you are seeking.

You seem to be making your credit work for you and not you working for your credit. If that's the case, why change? The creditors don't seem to be having any issues with you. People obtain and use credit for different reasons, and those reasons differ. As long as you aren't doing anything immoral, unethical, or illegal, your personal affinity for having many credit cards is just as acceptable as anyone else's.

There are many "what if" scenarios, but that's true in life generally. Seems like all is good!

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Kforce — Sat, 16 May 2020 19:10:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Very much an individual thing, but signs that you are getting close to having too many:

1) You start getting declined for credit products, or get terms less favorable than you expect. This is because you have too many inqs or new accounts, or just too much credit for a new issuer to feel happy.
2) The task of managing the cards is becoming a pain, more than the joy of getting a new card!

+100

#2 hit me at 7 cards, last month.

Just got the 3% USAlliance, did not pursue the AOD 3% the following month

For some there is no such thing as "too many"

For me as a cashback only card person, I found diminishing rewards after 5-7 cards.

If you like getting, having that many, no harm.

I would not want to manage, rotate spend, split rewards, etc on 40+ cards.

I have 7 and am thinking about closing 2 of them.

For me 5 would be just right.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Shooting-For-800 — Sat, 16 May 2020 19:44:47 GMT

How about picking a number you want (20? 25? 30?)

Why not rank them?

Close all the lowest ranked over the max number of cards.

When you find a better card, close the lowest ranked one that is still open.

I closed 3 cards this week.

There is point where it because work to figure them all out.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

kdm31091 — Sat, 16 May 2020 20:26:44 GMT

As long as you are managing everything and not getting overwhelmed with tracking them all, there is no real limit on the number of cards you can have. It sounds like you are not using the many accounts to spend more than you earn, or anything, so in that regard, it sounds like you're fine.

But, just like anything else that can be addictive, it's good to be aware of what you're doing and why. Applying for cards whimsically just for fun is a bad idea. Racking up inquiries and seeking credit constantly makes you appear to be in financial distress and/or a serious card churner, neither of which lenders want to deal with. It opens you up for adverse action, limits cut, cards closed etc. Especially in the COVID world, I think excessive credit seeking is not a great idea.

If you are applying for cards out of boredom and they are not products that will serve you any good purpose, I suggest putting a freeze or lock on your reports and trying to focus your attention elsewhere. Credit reward maximization can be a hobby, but constant credit seeking is not a good hobby to have and could be detrimental to your financial life. Beyond that, there's only so many cards you really can use to effectively maximize rewards, and only so many different products out there (many banks have fairly similar cards). So it may not always make sense to have say, 40 cards.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sat, 16 May 2020 20:59:48 GMT

@Kforce wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Very much an individual thing, but signs that you are getting close to having too many:

1) You start getting declined for credit products, or get terms less favorable than you expect. This is because you have too many inqs or new accounts, or just too much credit for a new issuer to feel happy.
2) The task of managing the cards is becoming a pain, more than the joy of getting a new card!
+100
#2 hit me at 7 cards, last month.
Just got the 3% USAlliance, did not pursue the AOD 3% the following month
For some there is no such thing as "too many"
For me as a cashback only card person, I found diminishing rewards after 5-7 cards.
If you like getting, having that many, no harm.
I would not want to manage, rotate spend, split rewards, etc on 40+ cards.
I have 7 and am thinking about closing 2 of them.
For me 5 would be just right.

And hate to say it, I'm almost OPs age, self-managing my IRA (I have retired). And everywhere you see warnings about "cognitive decline" which certainly can be scary as you are probably not aware of it. I imagine "later on" buying a lot of one speculative stock, forgetting I have done so and go through the same reasoning, "Oh I should buy some of that" etc.

Fortunately, credit cards are a little less risky, with autopay etc.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

digitek — Sat, 16 May 2020 21:00:06 GMT

What good is it to you to have so many accounts?

Seems like a huge pain in the ass and doesn't sound like you need it. It does have negative impact on your credit report, but not that bad, just makes it so can never get too high and looks a little strange to lenders.

If you like the feeling of new apps then no big deal lots of people do and there are way worse things to enjoy as a hobby.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

wasCB14 — Sat, 16 May 2020 21:26:36 GMT

One benefit to having fewer cards is that it might be easier to track your rental expenses.

I'm not sure what you pay in processing fees to pay property tax by CC (varies by locality), but you can make estimated income tax payments by CC, too.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Aim_High — Sat, 16 May 2020 22:37:34 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I am 62 years old. I have been getting a few credit cards every year, ususally 5 to 6 a year... I currently have 42 credit cards.

By some measures, you're just getting started! Lol

"The largest collection of valid credit cards consists of 1,562 cards and was achieved by Zheng Xiangchen (China) in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, as verified on 28 August 2019. Inspired by the previous record holder, Walter Cavanagh*, Zheng started his collection six years ago."

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/68577-largest-collection-of-valid-credit-cards

============

Jan. 14, 2005 -- -- Walter Cavanagh has 1,497 valid credit cards -- all of which amount to a $1.7 million line of credit.

Currently, he holds the record for the most credit cards and for the world's longest wallet, which stretches 250 feet, weighs about 38 pounds and can hold 800 cards. But he keeps most of them in bank safe-deposit boxes.

The "Guinness Book of World Records" gave him the title "Mr. Plastic Fantastic," and he has been in the book every year since 1971.

"I got started in the late 1960s" Cavanagh said. "Me and a buddy in Santa Clara, Calif., made a silly bet: the guy who could collect the most credit cards by the end of the year would win dinner. I was fresh from the Peace Corps and I got 143 cards by the end of the year. My friend gathered 138. He's still a pharmacist -- like I was back then -- if only he had worked a little harder maybe he could have been the one here today."

With $1.7 million available to him at any moment, Cavanagh says his credit score is great. "It's nearly perfect. I have a nearly perfect credit score. I only use one card and I pay it off at the end of the month. But you should see the length of my credit report -- wow!"

He has credit cards from gas stations, airlines, bars and even a Texas ice cream store. They all have different limits. The card with the lowest credit limit would allow Cavanagh to charge a maximum of $50.

There are antique ones, too, that track the evolution of the credit card from paper to aluminum and all the way to the common plastic credit cards that we see today.

Awhile back, Cavanagh inherited a sterling silver credit card from the Mapes Hotel, Reno's first hotel-casino, which closed in December 1982. The hotel was a victim of declining gaming revenues and increased competition. The card is a collector's item, according to Cavanagh, which allowed, "unlimited credit privileges."

Only one company -- J.J. Newberry Co. -- has ever denied Cavanagh a card, and that was back in the early 1970s. Cavanagh had collected about 100 credit cards by that time. "They said I had too much credit," he says, "And to this day I don't have a Newberry's card in my collection."

If he is sent a rejection notice, Cavanagh will send the company a letter explaining his goal of continuing to hold the world record. He receives few such notices. If the cards aren't valid anymore, Cavanagh doesn't count them in his total collection. He assumes they are valid until he's told otherwise.

When his credit cards started to pile up, a friend told him that he should send news of his feat to Guinness. Eventually, the British publisher accepted him, but by then, Cavanagh had realized that to keep his title, he would have to keep collecting. Copying whole pages from a directory of U.S. businesses, he mounted an application blitz and never looked back.

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=411883&page=1

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

M_Smart007 — Sat, 16 May 2020 23:01:14 GMT

It get's a little tough to keep track and to put spend on them all.

Everyone has a different tolerance level from @pinkandgrey to @Gmood1

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Aim_High — Sun, 17 May 2020 01:19:09 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
... just like anything else that can be addictive, it's good to be aware of what you're doing and why. Applying for cards whimsically just for fun is a bad idea. Racking up inquiries and seeking credit constantly makes you appear to be in financial distress and/or a serious card churner, neither of which lenders want to deal with. It opens you up for adverse action, limits cut, cards closed etc. ... Credit reward maximization can be a hobby, but constant credit seeking is not a good hobby to have and could be detrimental to your financial life.

@Anonymous wrote:
... (when) the task of managing the cards is becoming a pain, more than the joy of getting a new card!

@Kforce wrote:
For me as a cashback only card person, I found diminishing rewards after 5-7 cards.

@Shooting-For-800 wrote:
Why not rank them?
Close all the lowest ranked over the max number of cards.
When you find a better card, close the lowest ranked one that is still open.

On a more serious note, some great advice given upthread. Especially +1 to above. It is a very personal choice, but there are good guidelines about when you may have crossed a line for your situation. Most of us have our limits to what is reasonable.

I have had credit about as long as you have and I have closed (or my lenders have closed) many of my accounts over the years, so you can see I have far fewer accounts. I have been through periods where I simplified and closed cards to consolidate. IMO, having too many accounts just makes life unnecessarily complicated. I know there are people who actually need or can use huge amounts of credit (especially if they have a lot of business expenses or huge spend-and-pay) but they are mostly the exception.

I keep cards for different reasons also. I have some I keep for the age to help anchor my credit age (four over 20 years.) I keep some because they have healthy credit limits and help my credit utilization. I keep some due to low permanent APRs or regular BT offers which give me options if I need to extend payments. I keep some because they give me good rewards in a useful category. Some cards may fill more than one purpose; actually, having multiple purposes for each card is really ideal! Also, I consider whether a card may be a "backup" for one of these purposes in case my primary card gets changed or cancelled. I try to have a mix of different major lenders and I am diversified between travel points (Chase URs) and cash-back. I purposefully choose not to spread my rewards points among too many different systems which weakens their benefit. I choose cards that I will organically use many times a year without having to think about it, so I stay away from store and retail cards, especially those that aren't with the major payment networks.

In a nutshell, that is my strategy. What is your strategy? What cards don't fit your strategy? I agree with @Shooting-For-800 that it's a good idea to list them and rank them. In my case, I have previously listed my cards by each of those attributes (age, CL, rewards, lender) which helps me to see the "low hanging fruit" in each category (or multiple categories) to target for closure. In turn, I also see my more valuable cards that I need to focus on for increasing credit limits, lowering APRs, maximizing rewards, and maintaining frequent usage to make sure the lender doesn't lower my limits or close the card.

It sounds like you are starting to question whether you've gone too far, and that's a good thing. Trust your instinct. Simplifying our lives is good.

In particular, make sure you aren't engaging in credit-seeking for the "thrill" of the hunt and the "reward" of approvals. It can be tricky and akin to addictive type behavior if we aren't careful. Just like addictive behavior, when taken to an extreme too much credit seeking starts to become a burden to our lives instead of an enhancement in joy and utility.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sun, 17 May 2020 01:11:43 GMT

You gave great advice as many others did as well

I can not reallly close the ones that I dont like since they are around 30 years old and they are my oldest open trade lines. The newer cards have much better rewards. Most of the old cards have no rewards at all.

I am a doctor MD. This shows on my credit report and I know special consideration is given to working physicians.

I do request CLI on most of the cards once a year and I have never yet been turned down. Again, I believe my profession has something to do with that.

I do stand corrected though. I do pay an annual fee on one card. The Luxury card from Barclays. This is the only card I do pay an annual fee on.

Thanks again

Mark

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sun, 17 May 2020 01:14:59 GMT

WOW I never had the intention of having so many cards. I had no idea people have so many. However, 1.7 million available credit on 1500 cards seems really low. I have more available credit then that on my 42 cards.

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

AverageJoesCredit — Sun, 17 May 2020 01:21:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You gave great advice as many others did as well

I can not reallly close the ones that I dont like since they are around 30 years old and they are my oldest open trade lines. The newer cards have much better rewards. Most of the old cards have no rewards at all.

I am a doctor MD. This shows on my credit report and I know special consideration is given to working physicians.

I do request CLI on most of the cards once a year and I have never yet been turned down. Again, I believe my profession has something to do with that.

Your profession has nothing to do with getting cli . Your overall credit profile does and seems with your long history, creditors are comfortable giving you constant increases.

I do stand corrected though. I do pay an annual fee on one card. The Luxury card from Barclays. This is the only card I do pay an annual fee on.

Thanks again
Mark

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sun, 17 May 2020 01:30:23 GMT

I was actually surprised when my credit score wouldn't rise above 680 despite having a perfect payment history. Then I' learned exactly how much utilization and inquiries can impact a score.

I'd drop the applications from LOL/24 to 5/24 or less. Be mindful of who pulls what, and which lenders pull multiple bureaus (Chase).

You should have over 800 easy as these accounts age and INQ drop off.

What's your AAoA?

Exactly how many INQ do you have?

Re: Addicted to credit cars. How many is too many?

Anonymous — Sun, 17 May 2020 01:30:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You gave great advice as many others did as well

I can not reallly close the ones that I dont like since they are around 30 years old and they are my oldest open trade lines. The newer cards have much better rewards. Most of the old cards have no rewards at all.

Why can't you close them? By tradition agreed to by the credit bureaus, a closed revolving credit account remains on your credit report for up to 10 years; and sometimes they can remain much longer. So closing a card really has no effect on your credit history especially if you've really been adding 5-6 cards per year as you claim. The newer cards will have aged 10 years by the time to old cards start falling off so your average age of accounts will be smoothed and hardly affected.

I am a doctor MD. This shows on my credit report and I know special consideration is given to working physicians.
Absolute nonsense.

I do request CLI on most of the cards once a year and I have never yet been turned down. Again, I believe my profession has something to do with that.

I do stand corrected though. I do pay an annual fee on one card. The Luxury card from Barclays. This is the only card I do pay an annual fee on.

Thanks again
Mark