Do you carry all your cards?

greent · ‎07-02-2016

So, I have to be honest. I've always been terrible with credit. Just last year I got serious about it. I am 33 and my score is the highest its ever been TU 680 EX 667. I recently got approved for some cards brining my total CL to 22, 000. But I just get nervous about having that many cards in my wallet and DH having them in his. He is AU on all of them. I have a total of 9 cards. I went to Best Buy yesterday and used my Discover and they didn't ask for ID. It seems like they never do. I get nervous about getting them stolen. I'm thinking about carrying only my Discover, Amex and Citi Visa. Any feedback is welcomed.

Gmood1 · ‎07-02-2016

It's whatever is comfortable for you. I'm out of town and have most of my cards on me. Everything is insured, so what is there to worry about? Having access to $350,000 in my back pocket doesn't worry me at all. Actually I feel more secure.

DantGwyrdd · ‎07-02-2016

I only carry two to three cards on a daily basis and currently that's my Capital One Quicksilver (daily driver) and the Sheetz Visa, once we pay off the 0% purchase promo on the Citi DC it's going to go into the wallet as well (so I have a Visa and a MasterCard in the wallet). Other than that, I'll add a card if I plan on using it (i.e., if I'm making a specific purchase for which I know one of my other cards will get me better bonuses/rewards or if I hadn't used the card in a long while to avoid getting it closed for inactivity).

I don't know what other cards you have to make a better estimate of what's the most useful set, but a Visa, Discover and Amex sounds fine.

Anonymous · ‎07-02-2016

@greent wrote:
So, I have to be honest. I've always been terrible with credit. Just last year I got serious about it. I am 33 and my score is the highest its ever been TU 680 EX 667. I recently got approved for some cards brining my total CL to 22, 000. But I just get nervous about having that many cards in my wallet and DH having them in his. He is AU on all of them. I have a total of 9 cards. I went to Best Buy yesterday and used my Discover and they didn't ask for ID. It seems like they never do. I get nervous about getting them stolen. I'm thinking about carrying only my Discover, Amex and Citi Visa. Any feedback is welcomed.

You really don't need to carry more than 2 or 3 cards with you at any given time. Just pick out couple that you the most and carry them along with any reward card that you might need for that particular day.

As for retail establishments asking for identification-that's not unusual at all as most creditors encourage retailers not to ask for ID. Visa for example specifically tells retailers not to and that they cant require id to complete a credit transaction. It's very unusual for retailers to ask for it any more these days.

DantGwyrdd · ‎07-02-2016

@Gmood1 wrote:
It's whatever is comfortable for you. I'm out of town and have most of my cards on me. Everything is insured, so what is there to worry about? Having access to $350,000 in my back pocket doesn't worry me at all. Actually I feel more secure.

Well, for one thing, if someone steals your wallet what will you use to pay for stuff while you wait on your banks to reissue you all of your cards?

Anonymous · ‎07-02-2016

@Gmood1 wrote:
It's whatever is comfortable for you. I'm out of town and have most of my cards on me. Everything is insured, so what is there to worry about? Having access to $350,000 in my back pocket doesn't worry me at all. Actually I feel more secure.

Those are both very good points. I have 3 cards and carry all of them just in case, plus my debit card. If I had 9 I would probably consider leaving some at home. But I just want to grab my purse and go, not have to think about which cards I want to carry first, It takes me long enough to get ready as is, at least according to hubby.

Anonymous · ‎07-02-2016

Outside of sign-up bonus spending periods, I usually carry 4-5 day to day. Some are only used for recurring bills or online purchases so there's no need to ever have them on my person, some are used only for certain times of year, and some are basically SD'd and only used to buy lunch once per quarter to keep active.

Anonymous · ‎07-02-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
@greent wrote:
So, I have to be honest. I've always been terrible with credit. Just last year I got serious about it. I am 33 and my score is the highest its ever been TU 680 EX 667. I recently got approved for some cards brining my total CL to 22, 000. But I just get nervous about having that many cards in my wallet and DH having them in his. He is AU on all of them. I have a total of 9 cards. I went to Best Buy yesterday and used my Discover and they didn't ask for ID. It seems like they never do. I get nervous about getting them stolen. I'm thinking about carrying only my Discover, Amex and Citi Visa. Any feedback is welcomed.
You really don't need to care more than 2 or 3 cards with you at any given time. Just pick out couple that you the most and carry them along with any reward card that you might need for that particular day.

As for retail establishments asking for identification-that's not unusual at all as most creditors encourage retailers not to ask for ID. Visa for example specifically tells retailers not to and that they cant require id to complete a credit transaction. It's very unusual for retailers to ask for it any more these days.

Wow, I didn't know that. I live in a tourist town so we do get asked for id sometimes. Maybe I should start telling them that.

Gmood1 · ‎07-02-2016

If you're out of town and someone steals your wallet. What are you going to use from home? Enter Blispay, I can use my phone to pay for items.
It's going to be an inconvenience whether there's two cards or ten in there.

DantGwyrdd · ‎07-02-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
@Gmood1 wrote:
It's whatever is comfortable for you. I'm out of town and have most of my cards on me. Everything is insured, so what is there to worry about? Having access to $350,000 in my back pocket doesn't worry me at all. Actually I feel more secure.
Those are both very good points. I have 3 cards and carry all of them just in case, plus my debit card. If I had 9 I would probably consider leaving some at home. But I just want to grab my purse and go, not have to think about which cards I want to carry first, It takes me long enough to get ready as is, at least according to hubby.

That's definitely one way to look at it, my way is that I'd rather think about it at home than in the checkout line (Although, I'm not really a rewards chaser, I only consider what will give me better rewards on larger purchases, for the daily spending I generally just whip out the Capital One).