topic People with multiple Cards in Credit Cards

People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:44:19 GMT

Hey guys,

Looking for some guidance from people that have had success rotating the different cards they use every month. Is 3 to many different cards to swap out every month? ( i.e one that handles monthly reoccuring charges, one that is strictly gas and groceries, and one for other monthly expenses) Or should I not use this many cards? Any guidance to your strategy would be greatly appreciated!

PS i will PIF all 3 every month.

Re: People with multiple Cards

daybreakgonesXe — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 16:57:24 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hey guys,

Looking for some guidance from people that have had success rotating the different cards they use every month. Is 3 to many different cards to swap out every month? ( i.e one that handles monthly reoccuring charges, one that is strictly gas and groceries, and one for other monthly expenses) Or should I not use this many cards? Any guidance to your strategy would be greatly appreciated!

PS i will PIF all 3 every month.

That's actually a great plan!

Honestly, do whatever works for you. Also, do whatever is best for you to gain the most rewards/cash back for your cards. I often use each one of my cards at least once every month, ensuring any bonus categories that I'm spending on are put on the appropriate card. However, it is also a good plan to rotate cards to gain the max rewards/help keep track of your expenses. Paying 6 cards every month isn't always fun! 3 would be a lot more to manage

Re: People with multiple Cards

jsickz32 — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:00:46 GMT

I do that. As you can see i have plenty of cards to rotate. I always make sure i only spend on each whatever amount i know i will be able to PIF at the end of the month.

Re: People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:07:22 GMT

Yeah as long as you PIF it doesn't matter. Pick your favorite, for me it was my BCE until I got the PRG. Ok use that for everything except bonus categories! So right now Discover is gas. Ill use Discover for gas, BCE everything else! When freedom had restaurants I used that when I ate out an then the BCE for gas groceries, etc. whatever maximizes your rewards. Right now I'm going to use PRG for everything literally to meet the spending for bonus points! After then I can start switching up cards again based on categories. Otherwise ill buy lunch with a different card from time to time just to keep em active.

Re: People with multiple Cards

09Lexie — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:11:07 GMT

I use cc's based on the bonus being offered ie rotating categories. For monthly bills, I use a basic 1% cc. PRG gets everything else

Re: People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:21:33 GMT

Awesome. So as far as which cards are in my wallet at any given, im taking them according to whats gonna give most back. Now that im PIF I wont have reports of multiple cards with balances, right? Thats only if I allow it to roll over to the next month?

Re: People with multiple Cards

Peteyglad — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:22:57 GMT

3 is what I use on a daily basis. I have my Amex BCP for my 6% groceries, Sallie Mae for my 5% gas and 5% Amazon and my Fidelity Amex for 2% on everything else.

Re: People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:23:44 GMT

Yeah, as long as you PIF before the statement cuts! That's not to be confused with the actual due date!

Re: People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:25:10 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Awesome. So as far as which cards are in my wallet at any given, im taking them according to whats gonna give most back. Now that im PIF I wont have reports of multiple cards with balances, right? Thats only if I allow it to roll over to the next month?

You need to PIF BEFORE the statement cuts to avoid balance reporting. If you pay after, you will show multiple cards with balances. So long as you pay by the due date, there is no interest, but it has some impact on your credit score compared to paying before the statement cuts.

Really only matters if you plan to app, as there are also costs involved in paying early.

Re: People with multiple Cards

sccredit — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:28:24 GMT

I have tried to balance spending to max bonus categories among different cards. In the last 12 months I have over $3k in rewards. The downside of that is I have had to use a spreadsheet to keep track of the number of cards. At this point I have decided to trim it down to a couple of cards (mainly Freedom and CSP) for spending and put the others away.

Re: People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:37:52 GMT

Ive already found 7 cards to be tricky. Im about to just sock drawer my oldest card with BofA. Ive had it for 5 years but it gives me nothing and I dont want a HP for a PC. So then ill be to 6. Ultimate goal is to somehow get my Slate to a CSP. Long shot but im going to try once it ages.

Re: People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:40:59 GMT

When the time comes within a few months of apping for a new car loan or something of that nature will it be better to have zero balances or one card carrying a balance of 1-9% for a couple months leading to that app?

Re: People with multiple Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 18:07:11 GMT

Yeah, I'd say have only one card report between 1% and 9%.

Re: People with multiple Cards

oscar_actuary — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 18:25:48 GMT

defaults

PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa: Gas and Groceries

Sams Club Discover: Sam's club

Fidelity Amex College Rewards: Other

sub in Discover More and Freedom for 5% categories. Rotate Paypal in for Dining occasional

Have something small each month automatically hitting 8 of the other accounts. Thus without really trying, I get activity on 10 cards. I'm not recommending that but it works for me so far

Re: People with multiple Cards

takeshi74 — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 18:35:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Is 3 to many different cards to swap out every month?

Completely subjective matter. Too much is whatever you can't reasonably handle. I have 7 though 3 of them are basically sock drawers cards that are only occaisionally used. The ones that are used are used based on their best rewards categories. Some people have fewer cards. Some have more. You have to determine what works for you and go with it.

Re: People with multiple Cards

revvystoke — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 21:38:41 GMT

I usually only use two-three at a time, I have a "Spense" app on my iphone. It was free and I set a spending limit, or budget and I enter in the amount of the transaction. Keeps me from spending more then I budget for each month, or week. Quick to use, just open the app, enter the amount and press save.

Re: People with multiple Cards

jenn_bar — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:05:03 GMT

I think it's just up to the individual. I only plan to have the amount of cards that I need and will use. If I were to "sock drawer" a card in the future, it would have to be one without an annual fee and farily purposeless except for my helping my AAOA.

My Freedom is used for the 5% catoregory (kohls.com right now for coffee for our Keurig). My Hyatt is used for only Hyatt stays and I used it for rent this month to get the sign-up bonus. My BCP is used for groceries. My CSP is used for everything else--rent, B1G1 movies on Fridays, casual spending.

I am also an AU on a Costco AMEX which is where I put gas because I am not getting the bill!

Re: People with multiple Cards

OptimalCS — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:46:35 GMT

I love playing the card game.

I use:

Discover for gas
BCE for groceries
Citi TYP for everything else.

I don't use cash often. I rack up as many points as possible.

I make multiple payments every month to each card and only let one report a small bal. ,