topic Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict) in General Credit Topics

Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

dtjones052209 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:12:26 GMT

Question:

What is the recipe to your madness? How are you able to manage so many cards? In my thought process of having many cards that i don't use frequently, is that the issuer will eventually close the account because of no use. Is that true or is there a method to the madness?

What is the longest that you go without even using a card before receiving a notice or letter?

Just out of curiosity, what is the benefit of having more than 15 cards if you can't really utilize the benefits of rewards without heavily using them?

I am struggling with the 10 that i have showing enough love to each one before the other gets jealous.

Any insight is graciously accepted.

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

baller4life — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:20:59 GMT

I think Ron has Creditaddict beat. He has over 100 cards. I don't see how they manage all those cards either!

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:25:23 GMT

@baller4life wrote:
I think Ron has Creditaddict beat. He has over 100 cards. I don't see how they manage all those cards either!

100?????

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:26:26 GMT

Yea, Ron has me beat by 60 cards. Some are used strictly to keep them open, Netflix, magazine subscriptions while most are used to maximize reward/bonus categories. My DH is fine with his 20+ cc and he actually uses 5-7 heavily. The others are in 3mon rotations.

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

red259 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:27:21 GMT

@dtjones052209 wrote:
Question:

What is the recipe to your madness? How are you able to manage so many cards? In my thought process of having many cards that i don't use frequently, is that the issuer will eventually close the account because of no use. Is that true or is there a method to the madness?

What is the longest that you go without even using a card before receiving a notice or letter?

Just out of curiosity, what is the benefit of having more than 15 cards if you can't really utilize the benefits of rewards without heavily using them?

I am struggling with the 10 that i have showing enough love to each one before the other gets jealous.

Any insight is graciously accepted.

There are different groups of people. There are the people who have a lot of credit cards, because they flat out refuse to close any accounts and over the years the number of accounts has grown out of control. Then there are people who may have a lot of cards, but there is a method to the madness.

People have different viewpoints, but I am of the position that you should not keep cards open just for the sake of keeping them open. (with exception of maybe the oldest tradelines for AAoAs). Its best to put at least a minor charge on a card every 2 to 3 months to make sure it stays active. AF cards are less likely to be closed, since your paying an AF. How long can a card be inactive? That varies by lender and by card, but very minor activity every 2-3 months should help minimize the chances of closure.

Some people are very well organized and can manage lots of cards. Some people use various computer programs, which will track all this information for you and make life much simpler!

Why would someone who is really into credit want a lot of cards? Many credit cards have benefits. For example, hotel status, bonus point spending on different categories, lounge access at airports, different rewards programs, etc. Some cards will give out free nights upon renewal which make them worth the AF. People want to diversify their rewards earning, so they will not be crushed by sudden devaluations of travel partners.

The bottom line is you should only have as many cards that you can manage. If your struggling then you should revaluate the cards you have and see if you need them all. You can sometimes move credit card lines around to consolidate them on to other cards, so that way your overall credit does not take a hit. Some cards, like the ones with free hotel stays, are not worth putting any spend on but the annual benefit makes it worth holding on to for the long run. I think keeping too many cards open can cause a problem if you want to apply for new products in the future. Eventually the lenders will become concerned about the overall credit risk if someone has too much credit outstanding. Therefore, its best to be critical of your credit card porfolio and cut loose cards that are no longer of use to you.

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

dtjones052209 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:27:40 GMT

Baller4life- I forgot about Ron... I am really curious to hear someone's input. It just seems like it would consume most of your day trying to figure out what's next

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

Creditaddict — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:30:27 GMT

@dtjones052209 wrote:
Question:

What is the recipe to your madness? How are you able to manage so many cards? In my thought process of having many cards that i don't use frequently, is that the issuer will eventually close the account because of no use. Is that true or is there a method to the madness?

What is the longest that you go without even using a card before receiving a notice or letter?

Just out of curiosity, what is the benefit of having more than 15 cards if you can't really utilize the benefits of rewards without heavily using them?

I am struggling with the 10 that i have showing enough love to each one before the other gets jealous.

Any insight is graciously accepted.

depends on lender... some won't really close it out for years but it will stop reporting to credit so I would have to make a little charge to bring it back.

Kays is a good example of this... I already had 1 close out and I have one now and they CLI me at 11 months or so but I have no use for it but it has stopped reporting so it's not figured into my util. anymore... depending how bad you need that is when you have to worry about keeping them reporting and active.

Comenity is another example of this... got my Pottery Barn just about 2-3 months ago and had not used it but they gave me CLI from $2k to $2800 with luv button onine but they are not reporting that CL because the account has not been used... I went and bought candles last week and waiting for that to generate a statement

Much less point to the madness if you have great credit, or PIF, etc.... Really if it comes down to it if money was not really an issue and I didn't have any past baddies and just spent less time focusing on things then really most of the cards are pointless.

Fidelity Amex (2% our daily card)

Capital One Quicksilver (1.5% when Amex not accepted, my partner uses it for lunch and some DR stuff mostly)

my 76 gas card is decent because they are just about cheapest station and were giving me 10 cents a gallon off, now it's 5 cents so I have it so I like to keep gas seperated but otherwise I would say why bother, just use Fidelity.

Amex BCP - we now do grocery delivery through Amazon so we downgraded to BCE and it barely gets used.

costco amex - we use fidelity

Macy's (sure the discount is a big deal so they are worth it usually if you shop with them

SOME store cards are very worth it IF you shop frequently - Express

Target

Lowes

we have them and sometimes we do and sometimes we don't do the categories (chase freedom and discover)

but again... if i wasn't the obsessed person of having every credit card in existence just because and just wanted to earn VERY good rewards without fuss I would carry Fidelity Amex, Fidelity Visa or as we have Capital One Quicksilver and that would really probably be it!

Just have a couple others like our Navy accounts for big purchases that can't be paid off or something.

**When I'm helping others with credit, I really try to suggest them to 3-5 cards depending where they are starting, wanting to go, and what they do with credit. (at least 1 credit union relationship)

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

clocktick — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:32:02 GMT

I don't have 100 cards but I think I have 19. I don't use them all. Most were opened for rewards points. I haven't used my Shell in over a year and finally got a letter from Citibank stating if I don't use it by a certain date, they will close it. Feel free!

I have 4 store cards. I use Lowes basically every week while I use Kohl's and Macy's just a couple times per year around Christmas and Mother's Day/birthdays. Most I don't use and a lot I closed. Some I wouldn't mind if they were closed - the credit grantor can take care of that if they choose. A couple have BTs on them from a "timeshare" thing I bought so I just pay them as if paying a mortgage. My United is just for airline tickets exclusively.

I can only speak for myself but having a lot of cards doesn't mean all the cards are being used every month, if at all. If I could only keep a handful, at this time I'd choose the BCP, CSP, Freedom and Lowes cards.

Many people use spreadsheets or just check their accounts once or twice per month. Some set up automatic payments just to prevent anything from being "overlooked." I suppose some do use all of their cards often. I guess if one can handle it, why not?

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

clocktick — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:36:02 GMT

creditaddict - glad you responded. I remember when you had all of those Target cards! We've been here almost the same amount of years!

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

dtjones052209 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:39:24 GMT

Red259- Great insight! I see your point of view. I guess as Lexi and yourself pointed out is that activity every 2-3 months is a good rule to live by. So the old adage that having a card for just emergencies is a little premature because no use will eventually hurt you.

Does anyone know if the Fico equation have a threshold on when CC's stop affecting score. ( what i mean by that question is that the mega cardholders may have 60k in credit spread amongst 50 cards compared to someone who has 3 CC's with 12k)

I would think that it would get to a point where having more may not affect score as much.

My engineering brain is starting to turn now... lol!

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

Creditaddict — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:44:56 GMT

@clocktick wrote:
creditaddict - glad you responded. I remember when you had all of those Target cards! We've been here almost the same amount of years!

just 3 out of the 4 now... lost 1 last year with my bad spell.

I have been trying to GW them too with no avail on the lates on the now current and still open 3.

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

dtjones052209 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:48:25 GMT

Clicktock and Creditaddict- I am glad you responded. lol! Good to hear a different prespective. I think if i am hearing correctly from you Creditaddict is that there is some type of obsession with credit. I think that sounds like a running tune i am hearing from all of us who get card after card. lol!

If there was one question that i would ask all of you: If there was some sort of regulation limiting you all to just one card. What would that card be for you? What can you not live without?

For me i haven't figured that out yet. I am still in the honeymoon stages with all of my cards.

@Creditaddict - one slipped through the cracks i see.

Re: Mega Cardholders (I.E. Creditaddict)

thom02099 — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 22:25:16 GMT

@dtjones052209 wrote:
Question:

What is the recipe to your madness? How are you able to manage so many cards? In my thought process of having many cards that i don't use frequently, is that the issuer will eventually close the account because of no use. Is that true or is there a method to the madness?

What is the longest that you go without even using a card before receiving a notice or letter?

Just out of curiosity, what is the benefit of having more than 15 cards if you can't really utilize the benefits of rewards without heavily using them?

I am struggling with the 10 that i have showing enough love to each one before the other gets jealous.

Any insight is graciously accepted.

Some of us with multiple cards have had a change in living and/or lifestyle over the years. While some of the newcomers to credit have accumulated cards fairly recently, some of us have had cards for a while, and when we applied for specific cards, they served a specific need. Those needs change as one gets older. Yes, I have a lot of cards, compared to some. Yes, I use and manage them. But not all of them all the time. They have or had a specific purpose, and that purpose changes over time. I'm not really actively looking for any new cards, although I recently got an AMEX BCP to replace the worthless Clear card I have. I moved most of the CL to the BCP, left a bit on the Clear and will leave it open til I'm told to close it. I know I can close it and it won't have an adverse affect, but it's a sentimental thing! There's no fee, so why not leave it open? The point is, it had a specific purpose, but it has outlived that purpose now.

Anyway, some of us with a lot of cards are also getting ourselves set up for retirement. I plan to use my cards for travel when I retire later this year. Some of that travel will be domestic, taking my trailer out for long trips, and thus using the cards that give me the best rewards for fuel, groceries, RV parks, etc. If I travel internationally, there's going to be other cards that will fit better for that purpose; being able to charge a trip to New Zealand on one card and reap the benefits, has it's advantages.

And since I won't really have a need for BT's, I'll probably close the Slate and merge the CL with either the CSP or JPM card. The CITI DP and IberiaBank can be used for BT purposes if I should need it. Other cards such as Lowes and Home Depot will just SD for a while, until needed...if at all.

Regarding utilisation, you'd be surprised how regular household bills can accumulate points and rewards, when done regularly with the same card(s). Little things that we take for granted go on the credit cards, simple things like going to the car wash, or getting a haircut; these go on the cards. Paying the cell phone bill with one card, paying the household utility bill with another...it adds up easier than one may think. And that's just the routine stuff.

There are folks here who run thousands and thousands of $$$ on their cards every month, and I'm sure some of them also spread those expenses out over multiple cards. Or use singular cards. Depends on personal preference. As with anything credit wise, that's what it comes down to...personal preference.