How many credit cards is too many?

[Anonymous]

I just did an inventory of all my credit cards and counted 16 cards total. I was at 24 at the beginning of 2016, but have closed down 8 cards that I no longer need/use to avoid any problems with banks. I'm thinking of closing down more, probably down to 10 cards by the end of 2016 as the AFs are coming up. 

Yes...reducing my overall exposure. I'm hovering around 200k in available credit at the moment and I personally think that's way too much. 

So the question is...how many cards is too many?

How much available credit is too many?

If one makes 100k annually, does that person need 200-300k plus in available credit?

It doesn't help that some banks are soft pulling me each month, like Citi (meh). They are watching me like a hawk. I have somewhere between 15-25 inqs on each report and I know that doesn't help my situation.

My game plan is to sit tight and do nothing for 1 full year, I don't want to raise an alarm or red flag.  

What's your take and opinion?

[Anonymous]

I can't help you with your questions but I will tell you right now I sit at like 18-19 CC's that are open.  I looked at my Experian and noticed that Amex is the one that watches me most but not monthly.  I will probably pull my other ones to see whats up.

After my last approval I am at around $70k total credit exposure. I make about $40,000 a year from full time job.

[dragontears]

"too many" is completely a personal thing, some people are not bothered by 20+ cards others prefer to have only a few. there is no right or wrong answer and every individual will have a different number as to what the "right" number is.

[MrsCHX]

It depends.

Shrug.

That's the correct answer for most questions on these boards. Income, monthly spend, credit report, all of these variables change the picture.

"Too many" credit cards is more than the invidivudal feels comfortable maintaining. If one is forgetting about cards or manufacturing reasons to spend to keep a card open, they may have too many cards. 

"Too much credit" is the same. It depends on your individual circumstances.

I want to be able to put my normal monthly spend for groceries, gas, entertainment, etc on one card without worrying about making a payment by a certain date and worrying about utilization. Monthly spend for me in that handful of categories is around $600. I want to get at least 1 card to $6000-7000 so I have to stop worrying about when to pay and when it'll report, etc.

Another example, I shope at Target all the time. My limit was $300 before. So a normal trip for groceries and personal items was about $125-150. Bam; I'm pushing 50% utilization. Gotta pay it down by a certain date. When will my statement cut, etc, etc. It's a headache. I am at $800 which is a better cushion and would like to see my Target card at around $2K.

Personally, I don't need tens of thousands of dollars in credit. But some other people do!

[Anonymous]

I decided on 10 as the maximum I'm willing to manage.

[ddemari]

Im impressed you can hold back and only have 10 captool! lol.

but, the question of how much credit is too much credit? is a question that I have looked at on google searches a bunch of times.

for someone that makes 100k, having 200k in credit is very reasonable in my eyes. A lot of people probably have 3 to 4 times more in credit than they make, some even more. It all depends on what you want, how you want to use it and what's important to you. 

As a rule of thumb for myself, if I am adding more and more debt to my overall profile, its usually time to stop getting more credit and spend time on paying down balances. 

[baller4life]

Individual preference. How ever many you feel you can comfortably manage. I decided I really don't want to manage any more than 20-25. And I really don't need that many. But, I would much rather have more credit than I need than to need credit and can't get it! 😉

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the replies. 

[Themanwhocan]

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@MrsCHX wrote:

It depends.

Shrug.

That's the correct answer for most questions on these boards. Income, monthly spend, credit report, all of these variables change the picture.

"Too many" credit cards is more than the invidivudal feels comfortable maintaining. If one is forgetting about cards or manufacturing reasons to spend to keep a card open, they may have too many cards. 

"Too much credit" is the same. It depends on your individual circumstances.

I want to be able to put my normal monthly spend for groceries, gas, entertainment, etc on one card without worrying about making a payment by a certain date and worrying about utilization. Monthly spend for me in that handful of categories is around $600. I want to get at least 1 card to $6000-7000 so I have to stop worrying about when to pay and when it'll report, etc.

Another example, I shope at Target all the time. My limit was $300 before. So a normal trip for groceries and personal items was about $125-150. Bam; I'm pushing 50% utilization. Gotta pay it down by a certain date. When will my statement cut, etc, etc. It's a headache. I am at $800 which is a better cushion and would like to see my Target card at around $2K.

Personally, I don't need tens of thousands of dollars in credit. But some other people do!

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Well, it will help your FICO score if you have some cards of at least $10K limits, maybe more. And it will certainly help your FICO if you have larger limits, so that your individual card utilization, as well as your overall utilization, are very low. So, unless your FICO is already well above 740, it might be good to pay attention to raising the limits on some credit cards.

[kdm31091]

It's a personal decision as income and spending vary. That said, excessive limits vs income doesn't look good on anyone's profile on a manual review. IMO, if you want to avoid "standing out" to creditors in a bad way, keep your limits and exposure in line with your income. If you make 20k and have an average monthly spend of 1k or so, you probably don't need 20 cards, both because it's excessive for your income/spend and just that you'll never rack up meaningful rewards that way.

Low utilization makes one's profile look good, but I think going for constant CLIs and new cards to pad utilization is overemphasized around here. Once you have enough credit that your utilization stays below 10% or so (less than 10% is considered "good" or "low"), you're only talking about maximizing perhaps a few points on your score by adding more, which is generally not necessary unless you have a major app planned (mortgage, etc).

For me, being a retail manager with not wonderful income, more than 5-6 cards is silly and I want to eventually be at a core 4 and no more than that. More than that is just a waste for me, rewards wise, and I think 4 cards/ at least 3 different banks or so is plenty diverse enough for the average person. YMMV depending on income/spend/preferences.