topic Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep? in Credit Cards

Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 12:19:48 GMT

Hi MyFico crew,

I am seeking opinions on which 3 CCs you'd keep if you were icing 🧊 all but 3.

Here is my list (I'd like to activity use three, but I want the most beneficial)

Not looking to add anymore so this list is it.

Not closing any, and department CC's are of course not even a factor, they are socked until eternity 😅

THANKS!!

[ ] NCSECU $13.5K
[ ] BRAGG MUTUAL CU $10K
[ ] DISCOVER IT CASH BACK 11.5K
[ ] VENMO VISA $7.5K
[ ] PENFED POWER CB VISA $3.5K
[ ] AMEX HILTON HONORS $2K
[ ] LOWES $11K
[ ] Ft Bragg CU 8K
[ ] Apple Pay CC $3K
[ ] Best Buy Visa $2.5K
[ ] BED BATH BEYOND $2K
[ ] CAP1 SAVOR $1K
[ ] AMAZON CREDIT $800
[ ] CITI CUSTOM CASH $500
[ ] KOHLS $1K
[ ] Truist $4.5k

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

Taurus22 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 12:53:24 GMT

@HindSight_20_20 wrote:
Hi MyFico crew,
I am seeking opinions on which 3 CCs you'd keep if you were icing 🧊 all but 3.

Here is my list (I'd like to activity use three, but I want the most beneficial)

Not looking to add anymore so this list is it.
Not closing any, and department CC's are of course not even a factor, they are socked until eternity 😅

THANKS!!

[ ] NCSECU $13.5K
[ ] BRAGG MUTUAL CU $10K
[ X ] DISCOVER IT CASH BACK 11.5K
[ ] VENMO VISA $7.5K
[ X ] PENFED POWER CB VISA $3.5K
[ ] AMEX HILTON HONORS $2K
[ ] LOWES $11K
[ ] Ft Bragg CU 8K
[ ] Apple Pay CC $3K
[ ] Best Buy Visa $2.5K
[ ] BED BATH BEYOND $2K
[ ] CAP1 SAVOR $1K
[ ] AMAZON CREDIT $800
[ X ] CITI CUSTOM CASH $500
[ ] KOHLS $1K
[ ] Truist $4.5k

This is a really difficult for complete strangers to answer. Only you know your spending patterns and primary needs for your cards. But without that background, the ones that stick out to me that will have long-term value, I've marked.

Discover is an all-around good catch card for the 5% cats, and it's one of your higher limit cards.

PenFed is your 2% general spend driver, no one needs to be without one of these.

Citi Custom Cash is your smallest limit, however, it has great growth potential and covers a lot of cats, very versatile.

Runner Up: NCSECU simply due to largest limit (....& I don't know anything about Ft. Bragg cards)

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

Chazzay12 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 13:26:38 GMT

I agree with @Taurus22 those are what I would keep too.

However, it's up to you what you find most useful for where you spend the most money. But as a generalized answer, those 3 are good.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 13:51:43 GMT

Thank you, I appreciate the answers and drivers behind them. Great points! 😊

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

binaryhermit — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:21:42 GMT

If your Savor is no AF, I'd seriously consider keeping that.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

keekers — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:27:30 GMT

Another vote for what @Taurus22 listed. One other consideration is the Venmo Visa since it gives you 3% back on your top spend category.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

cws-21 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:57:12 GMT

If only considering cash back, and without knowing your specific spending and lifestyle, I would choose the Citi Custom Cash, Capital One Savor/SavorOne (not sure which one you have), and the PenFed Power Cash Rewards. This 3-card setup would earn 5% cash back on gas, 3/4% on dining, 3% on grocery stores, 3/4% on entertainment, 3/4% on streaming services, and 2% for everything else. I don't love cards with rotating categories, which is why I didn't go with the Discover It, but it would be my fourth choice.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

Kforce — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 16:29:53 GMT

@HindSight_20_20 wrote:

[ X ] PENFED POWER CB VISA $3.5K
[ X ] CAP1 SAVOR $1K
[ X ] CITI CUSTOM CASH $500

Agree with @cws-21 , not a fan of rotators, or non VISA/MC for an extremely small card set.

Also not a fan of cards tied to membership like Costco, Amazon, etc.

Hard to beat the Penfed & City for first two cards.

3rd depends on where and how much you spend in categories.

My oldest daughter would pick the Amazon.

My other daughter eats out every day and the Savor.

My wife would get the most from the Lowes.

Everyone spends at different places.

Should look at 6-12 months of your spend and use real numbers

Good Luck

By the way I am down to using only 2 cards and I love the

simplicity and rewards every month from both cards

Don't miss rotating, switching spend, etc

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

Beefy1212 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 16:50:05 GMT

I would keep 4 yes I know that wasn't the question but still true for me.

Disocver and CCC for various 5% flexibility.

either Venmo or AppleCard for a 2% earning floor, and the savor for the grocery dinning drug store.

What I would definitely drop is those store cards if I was seriously looking to downsize my card portfolio the last thing I want is a single category card and especially not a store specific card.

The real question you should be asking yourself is not what to keep but what to get rid of. I would also point out Apple Pay is pretty ubiquitous if the point is downsizing the wallet you can park those cards in your apple wallet and enjoy the benefit of a slimmer wallet and a suite of single purpose cards.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 17:01:15 GMT

😅🎯 Agreed! "The real question you should be asking yourself is not what to keep but what to get rid of."...

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 17:03:23 GMT

@Kforce

It certainly makes sense, the different spending habits. I'd use mine for reoccurring bills, eating out, and gasoline.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 17:05:57 GMT

@cws-21

Yep, cashback is the draw for me. The Savor is no AF and has a nice CB for just a 1K limit.

The Disco did well (not as well as the Savor)

I haven't taken advantage of the CB cats as I should, so these points are excellent! TY

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 17:08:31 GMT

@binaryhermit

Savor has no AF. 😊 And is a major CB card. At a 1k limit it's almost given half that in $$ in less than 8 months.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

Taurus22 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 18:01:38 GMT

Another point to make with those speaking about the Venmo card......in the current environment, I wouldn't trust a penny in microcurrency right now. Although I'm not fully versed on the card or how it pays out, that one would stand-out as a red flag for me.

As others have mentioned the Savor.....although it is No AF for you, the limit is currently only $1k and CapOne is relatively stingy with CLI's. Something to keep in mind, if you plan to grow the chosen few that you decide to primarily use. Could certainly fall into that Runner-Up category as well, as you "did" pay 3 HP's for this one.....and it's not limited to only dining.

So with that in mind, my original 3 (+ runner-up) and the possiblility of Savor..... that's a total of 5 that could be keepers if you're simply wanting to thin the herd. But again, it all depends on your spend, your needs, and the reasoning behind the sudden interest to thin them out, as you really haven't defined that reasoning for us yet.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 18:39:14 GMT

@Taurus22 wrote:
Another point to make with those speaking about the Venmo card......in the current environment, I wouldn't trust a penny in microcurrency right now. Although I'm not fully versed on the card or how it pays out, that one would stand-out as a red flag for me.

As others have mentioned the Savor.....although it is No AF for you, the limit is currently only $1k and CapOne is relatively stingy with CLI's. Something to keep in mind, if you plan to grow the chosen few that you decide to primarily use. Could certainly fall into that Runner-Up category as well, as you "did" pay 3 HP's for this one.....and it's not limited to only dining.

So with that in mind, my original 3 (+ runner-up) and the possiblility of Savor..... that's a total of 5 that could be keepers if you're simply wanting to thin the herd. But again, it all depends on your spend, your needs, and the reasoning behind the sudden interest to thin them out, as you really haven't defined that reasoning for us yet.

💯🎯✔️yes some really good points!!! And the overall goal is to thin the group. Thanks !

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:20:36 GMT

@cws-21 wrote:
If only considering cash back, and without knowing your specific spending and lifestyle, I would choose the Citi Custom Cash, Capital One Savor/SavorOne (not sure which one you have), and the PenFed Power Cash Rewards. This 3-card setup would earn 5% cash back on gas, 3/4% on dining, 3% on grocery stores, 3/4% on entertainment, 3/4% on streaming services, and 2% for everything else. I don't love cards with rotating categories, which is why I didn't go with the Discover It, but it would be my fourth choice.

This! I might be bias because that's 3 out of 5 of my cards.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

keekers — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 16:34:16 GMT

@Taurus22 wrote:
Another point to make with those speaking about the Venmo card......in the current environment, I wouldn't trust a penny in microcurrency right now. Although I'm not fully versed on the card or how it pays out, that one would stand-out as a red flag for me.

I'm not sure what you are referring to. the cashback from Venmo goes right into my account and I can transfer it to my bank account if I desire.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

butterpecan — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 13:10:43 GMT

I am new to credit, learning a lot here...can I ask why get rid of all the others? Do you close them out or do you just put them in the sock drawer? And if let's say you do just put them in there, do the companies close the cards for not using them?

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

HindSight_20_20 — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 13:42:07 GMT

@butterpecan wrote:
I am new to credit, learning a lot here...can I ask why get rid of all the others? Do you close them out or do you just put them in the sock drawer? And if let's say you do just put them in there, do the companies close the cards for not using them?

@butterpecan

I wouldn't close them at all bit I would sock drawer them. I'd make sure to use them every right months or so (small things, Netflix sub, etc. ) and then sock them again. Because to your point, no use would result in the account being closed by the issuer.

I originally picked them all up after two years of gardening with one secured cc with a $300.00 limit.

The goal here was to keep three in circulation for cashback and points, even growth. So I requested advice from the forum.

Re: Keeping 3 CC's, Which 3 Would you Keep?

butterpecan — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 14:04:43 GMT

@HindSight_20_20 Awesome explanation thank you. That makes sense. Thank you. I have 1 secured card, just get going. Judging by the knowledge here including yours it looks like you will figure out which 3 to use. Great job on your rebuild.