How many CC's is enough?

[ObeyJohnny12]

I personally would like to have 4 in total. 1 visa (csp visa sig)1 mastercard (freedom world mc), 1 discover , and 1 amex (bce in the future) i have more than 8 which i managed just fine but like they said less is more.

[zeusta20]

Wait...so do you have 4 cars or 8???

[Anonymous]

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@zeusta20 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@zeusta20 wrote:

I've always heard that you're supposed to have betwen 3-5 credit cards. No less than 3 and no more than 5. I've carefully planned out my portfolio ever since i was 19. (i'm 22 now----23 in july----). So now I have my 5 CC'S. BUT, after reading so many different beneifts, I'm extremely tempted to get two more...lol.

Is it bad on your credit report to have 6 or 7 CC's? Do you guys think that may be over doing it?

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Just curious, who or where did you always hear this 3 to 5 CC rule?

I just read that 7 in national average.   IMO,  5 to 12 is a good range.   Get the 2 more that you want.

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Well I just got approved for one this week. Should I apply since its still fresh? That way my AAoA will all be maturing at the same time?

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Yes, from an AAoA point of view, more is better as it reduces the effect of any 1 card.   

I just added a card and my AAoA went down 1 month. .

[advocate1]

There really isn't a number that is considered "enough". It's more a question of how much you can afford to pay off each month, as well as keeping your utilization percentage low. Having 3-5 revolving lines reporting positively will help you qualify for an auto loan and/or mortgage. Banks look very closely at how you manage relatively small amounts of debt before deciding you're an acceptable risk for a much larger installment loan. I have 5 revolving lines reporting positively for 90 days and it helped get me a new car loan at 2.8%.

That said, I went on an application spree in February with GE Capital and was approved for almost $10,000 in revolving credit. I also have CareCredit (medical) and PepBoys for gas at Mobil. I will let everything age for a year before doing anything else, plus the inquiries need time to become less of a factor. Ideal utilization ratio (amount of revolving credit allowed versus amount actually used) under the FICO model is around 15%, but if you're already over 750 with all 3 bureaus, it won't hurt you severly to go up to around 30%.

[gh17]

I don't mind spreading rewards out among many cards.  To me, I don't mind having to pick from several cards and use the one with greatest rewards for each purchase.  It's just kind of habit.

I like having cards with multiple banks as a kind of hedge against when rewards change in the future, as some others mentioned.  I would like to refrain from having to apply for too many new cards down the line to maximize rewards.  Since I'm young, I feel like it's a good time to build a "base" that will hopefully sustain me for a long time to come.  That way, if my spending habits change in ten years and I want a new card, at least that new card only makes up 1/7 of my credit cards instead of 50% and won't pull down my account age too much.

Half my cards are new, but I plan to use three regularly year round: Sallie Mae, Citi Forward, and Capital One.  The BofA is just there because it was my first card I got when I was 18 and I had a bank account with them.  I plan on PCing it to Better Balance Rewards sometime for the free $100 a year, probably will throw Netflix on it.  Chase and Discover I'll use occasionally for categories, but for the most part, they're there because they have a history of good rewards programs and I feel like if my other cards ever lose their rewards structures, I'll have some options.

I feel like it becomes "too many" if you're applying for new cards every year and holding down your average account age.  But if you have 20 cards that are all 15 years old, you're not in bad shape.

But really, this varies person to person.  Some people like to play the rewards game heavier than I do with manufactured spending or frequently getting new cards for the sign-up bonuses, etc.  For them, there's really never "too many."  Others might feel tempted to spend more with more cards - for them, they probably shouldn't go more than a few.

[JHex2]

I have 4, and would be comfortable with 5, but I'm saving the last spot for an AF card once I start making enough to support the spend for it. I'm around the same age as the OP, and am enamored with the credit card world. Slowly but surely!

[SuperKirby]

I have 10 but I only use the ones in my Siggy. I keep the others because it helps with UTIL.

[nachoslibres]

I'm going to go with 4 - because I currently have 3 and would like to eventually get 1 more (probably the Chase Hyatt).  I don't think my wife would be happy with having to keep up with another card and there isn't much more I could get to help me eek out more rewards than what I already get (except the CSP and the Sallie Mae - but I think the CSP wouldn't give me enough value to justify the AF and the Sallie Mae just isn't worth the time and effort and tradeline just to save me a $150 or so a year).

I do like the strategy someone said of having a Visa, MC, and Amex - and since I have 2 Chase CC's and a Chase debit - which are Visa - the Arrival + fills the need of having a MC for when I go to places that don't accept Visa (Sam's Club, FedEx Kinko's).  I'd get an Amex but I value rewards too much and I just don't want to have another miles system that I have to keep track of just to diversify.

[gh17]

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@advocate1 wrote:

There really isn't a number that is considered "enough". It's more a question of how much you can afford to pay off each month, as well as keeping your utilization percentage low. Having 3-5 revolving lines reporting positively will help you qualify for an auto loan and/or mortgage. Banks look very closely at how you manage relatively small amounts of debt before deciding you're an acceptable risk for a much larger installment loan. I have 5 revolving lines reporting positively for 90 days and it helped get me a new car loan at 2.8%.

That said, I went on an application spree in February with GE Capital and was approved for almost $10,000 in revolving credit. I also have CareCredit (medical) and PepBoys for gas at Mobil. I will let everything age for a year before doing anything else, plus the inquiries need time to become less of a factor. Ideal utilization ratio (amount of revolving credit allowed versus amount actually used) under the FICO model is around 15%, but if you're already over 750 with all 3 bureaus, it won't hurt you severly to go up to around 30%.

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ideal is 1-9%, I think that's pretty well known

[takeshi74]

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@nachoslibres wrote:

 I'd get an Amex but I value rewards too much and I just don't want to have another miles system that I have to keep track of just to diversify.

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AmEx offers more than just MR cards.  Rewards and AmEx aren't mutually exclusive either.

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@gh17 wrote:
ideal is 1-9%, I think that's pretty well known

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10% or less is just a generalization.  It's may be possible that one could see a negligible loss from going to 15%