How do you guys handle having multiple cards?

[Anonymous]

Greetings MyFico’ers!
I joined this forum at the top of the year and believe I’ve learned a lot. Last year, my credit was in the tank and today I’m over 700 on each bureau.

What I noticed about people here that’s different than the people I know in real life is that most people around here seem to collect cards. Before I got here, I thought I only needed one good, high balance card for every thing. I see most of the popular posters here have around 20.

I just got 3 cards this week and now I’m wondering how can I use them properly. So my question to all of you is how do you use your cards? Do you just replace your bank debit card with one of your credit cards to earn points and cash back?

I’m trying to learn from the best.

[mkhan1093]

Hi Bigdaddy003,

A belated welcome to the forums, and congrats on raising your credit score! I can only speak for my practices but I'm sure others here have similar stories. For all my cards, I have them set to autopay so I never miss a payment ever. I never use my debit card, and the only reason it's even in my wallet at this point is for emergencies because you don't want to withdraw money from a credit card *ever*! For making purchases, I simply use the card that offers the best value back, be it in cash or in travel points. My go-to's are the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Freedom, Discover it and Amex SPG cards for their respective categories because the value can't really be beaten. Then there are the cards I pull out every now and then like the Amex Platinum or PRG when I can get a good deal. Other cards I keep alive every once in a while just for the credit history. For me, it's all about knowing the earning potential for each card and knowing what's best to use when (and then having autopay to make sure I'm not delinquent because it's cumbersome to remember 20 due dates)

[Anonymous]

Well, I think first that you need to analyze your spending patterns.

In other words, what categories, i.e., groceries; gas; travel; dining; etc. do you spend the most on? Your credit cards should reflect those categories. Then I would pick the two or three best and use those. I would only carry those cards that reflect what you charge on a daily or frequent basis. In my case, I use my AMEX  Blue Cash Preferred for 6% groceries and 3% gas, and Citi Double Cash for 2% on everything else.

I also have Chase Freedom and Cap One Savor which are in my sock drawer.

I cannot warn you enough about using debit cards. If you lose one or have it stolen, a thief can drain your bank account and you will jump through hoops to get your money back from the bank. I know, because my sister-in-law has gone through it -- twice.

Good luck !!! 

[Manonfire]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Well, I think first that you need to analyze your spending patterns.

In other words, what categories, i.e., groceries; gas; travel; dining; etc. do you spend the most on? Your credit cards should reflect those categories. Then I would pick the two or three best and use those. I would only carry those cards that reflect what you charge on a daily or frequent basis. In my case, I use my AMEX  Blue Cash Preferred for 6% groceries and 3% gas, and Citi Double Cash for 2% on everything else.

I also have Chase Freedom and Cap One Savor which are in my sock drawer.

I cannot warn you enough about using debit cards. If you lose one or have it stolen, a thief can drain your bank account and you will jump through hoops to get your money back from the bank. I know, because my sister-in-law has gone through it -- twice.

Good luck !!! 

I'll definitely echo this. Credit cards with a lock feature are also a plus in my book. My Cap1, Discover cards offer this feature and i always have them locked to prevent any fraud, and believe me, its saved me a couple of times. I wish Chase and Amex would offer this. Not sure why they dont. I was reading Wells Fargo is going to offer it on their credit cards sometime in 2018. So that will come in handy for my new Propel card.

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[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the replies. As you can see I’m very new to this credit stuff. So at this point in my credit career, I only have the cards that lenders had me prequalified for: Amex Blue Cash, Amex PRG, and the Cap One QuicksilverOne. All I do is buy groceries and gas so I thought the Blue Cash would be ok for that. Everyone said to get a charge card the same day so I did that too. I really want to start traveling more than I do and since I now have credit and some decent cards to use, I can. I’m still trying to figure out how best to use that QuicksilverOne card though.

[Anonymous]

Just like previous posters, I use my cards based on maximizing rewards, the only time I use debit card for a few dollar charge here and there is to satisfied debit card requirement for my high rewards checking account.

As for management, after experimenting with AZEO for a while last year, all balances now posts to statement and everything is set to autopay on due date so very little management is needed. I do however use Mint because I have 10 open cards, 20+ bank accounts and a few investment accounts, I get to monitor all my accounts with 1 single Mint log in for any funny business, I also get Mint alerts for any irregular or large transactions.

[Felony_Phil]

I once read on here that every card has a job to do. Another bit of advice is that if the billing cycles get overwhelming, call and have the cycles moved to your liking. I get paid twice a month so I had to move mine so I could put an additional payment in before it reports... that's just me though.

[Anonymous]

I think there are a handful of different questions behind the question as to how ppl use them properly. I’ll break some of those down in Q&A format.

How do you ensure you never miss a payment?

Turn on auto-play (full statement balance) and never spend beyond what your checking account can handle, to avoid OD fees. If you’re intentionally carrying CC debt on any card(s) turn on min-payment auto pay ONLY on the card(s) intentionally carrying a balance, and make additional payments manually as necessary.

How do you ensure none are ever closed for inactivity?

It depends on how many cards you have & why you’re keeping them open. For your most useful cards, this isn’t a problem because you use them regularly.  If your oldest CC account is no longer very useful to you apart from your AAoA, put a recurring payment on it. For other cards that have lost their usefulness for you, you may not necessarily care if they are closed; you may even close them yourself. However, if you really want to keep them, you can schedule 6-month reminders to use them on your next swipe, whatever it is, in your calendar or in a spreadsheet.

How do you maximize CC rewards?

This is a big topic that depends on your answers to some questions #1 What are you spending habits, particularly your travel habits? #2 How many cards are you willing to use regularly? (the marginal increase in rewards for carrying an additional card can get very small very fast, but that doesn’t stop some ppl) #3 What cards are available to you, based on credit score, geographical location & banking history? (Banks often favor customers with whom they’ve built a relationship, but if you burn a bank they’re unlikely to work with you again for a very long time, reguardless of score) #4 What are you willing to do to optimize those rewards? Banks sometimes offer CC holders small incentives to use their other products or to use affiliate products.

I recommend the following regarding rewards: if you travel a lot, shoot for the “Chase trifecta” of CF, CFU & CSP or CSR. This will cover general purchases, travel, & dining.  Alternatively, if you don’t spend much traveling, I recommend a 2% or 1.5% general purchases card, the Uber Visa (4% dining, 3% travel, 2% online), the Amex BCE or BCP (depending on grocery spending) and a 5% rotating card (Discover and chase offer essentially equivalent options).  Additionally, if you frequently use a particular store, their card is worth considering (Citi Costco or Chase Amazon for example).

It goes almost without saying, but chasing rewards is only worth it if you’re not paying interest & most of us do at some point.  It’s also not worth spending too much time and energy doing (I’ve researched this stuff because it’s interesting to me, but in terms of rewards dollars/hr spent, I’d have been better off with minimum wage). Pick 3-5 cards, reevaluate your choices every couple years or if your spending dramatically changes, and call it good enough.

I’d also like to add that, in my view, it’s easy to get addicted to the feeling of getting an app approved or getting a CLI. It’s important to remember credit cards are tools, just like your work truck or your computer. Take care of them as necessary by getting 3-5 that fit you, but don’t get carried away apping for cards you aren’t going to use.

[Anonymous]

My regimen is pretty simple:  AMEX BCP for groceries, CitiCostco for gas and Costco runs, Citi DC for most everything else, Discover for whatever their 5% category happens to be and AMEX Delta Gold for flights.  When I travel I carry a couple of backup cards too, BofA Cash Rewards and whatever else looks like it needs to get some potential use.  

As far as paying, my wife and I sit down every Sunday evening, watch Beachfront Bargain Hunt and whatnot on HGTV and pay the week's bills.  It's our little ritual.  She keeps everything on a legal pad, written in pencil.  

[Anonymous]

I forgot to answer one of your original questions: yes, replace your debit card with your credit cards. It’s weird to get used to, but treat it as if they’re equivalent, except with a CC the money doesn’t immediately leave your bank account, you often get additional purchase protection & you get paid (a minuscule amount) to use them. Obviously, don’t spend a dime extra to get rewards. That’s the psychologically difficult part.

if it helps psychologically, you can actually pay you CC issuer as soon as your charges post via their apps. It’s not nessessary (unless you’ve maxed the card out) but it can help you think of the CC the same way you think of a debit card.