Managing multiple CC accounts, usage, and balances.

[raisemysc0re]

I have 17 cards and like @GatorGuy I use an axcel spreadsheet. In it I have the open date, last CLI date, last paid date and some calculated fields that tell me when card is ready for CLI, Age of account which is red until it reaches 1.00 years, then yellow until it reaches 2.00 and finally green, and another to calculate how many months since last activity.

When a card gets past 5.25 months active the cell turns red and I'll buy something cheap on Amazon with it.

I only have to update it when making a payment or when requesting CLI.

I also created a simple batch file to open up all the websites to check balances and make payments.

[AlanGJP]

No offense meant by this, and it's not meant to be directed at you personally, but...

I really don't get these types of posts. Hear me out here. I have a smart phone, most of us do by now, right? I have a folder there with all my bank apps. It takes me maybe 5 minutes in total to check all my accounts. I do this daily, at night, while watching tv with my DW.

For me, it's just a daily activity. I check my balances, hit the CLI button -- should it be available, and pay whatever needs to be paid. I don't carry balances -- at all. So maybe for me, that's the reason this isn't an issue?

What I do is this: (Personal, non business cards. Business is a different beast.)

- I have two or three daily drivers. Those have random spend on them depending where I go and what I do, and which card will give me the best return. Food, gas, entertainment, etc. Two cards is easy to manage, three and I mix up sometimes and use the wrong card for maximum return. (Oh well, it happens)

- Most of my monthly bills are spread between all my other cards depending what gives the best return. (Entertainment credits for TV subscriptions, etc)

- I check my apps at the end of the day, pretty much every day. I have a spreadsheet (in google sheets -- get the app) that has all my cards listed and when their statement cuts. (It also lists when my last CLI increase was and when I should request the next one, my limits, etc)

That's it. It's really not hard and honestly isn't more than 5 minutes a day. I enjoy it, really.

I don't understand why this is difficult. And if it is, maybe it's a bad idea to have more than one or two cards...

[Anonymous]

Reading some of the responses, I see a lot of people keep a record of when they last requested a CLI or when they can request the next one.

This is very much a MyFico "need".   IMO, you don't need to get CLIs at each and every opportunity, and will simplify life a little!

[AlanGJP]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Reading some of the responses, I see a lot of people keep a record of when they last requested a CLI or when they can request the next one.

This is very much a MyFico "need".   IMO, you don't need to get CLIs at each and every opportunity, and will simplify life a little!

---

A need? Nah, nothing like that - at least for me. Like I said above, it's not really a chore. It's 5 minutes of my day to check virtually all my accounts. CLIs aren't something that occur more than maybe every couple months. (When factoring every card I have in) So it's just a quick flick though my spreadsheet and 90/100 times there's nothing waiting on me. When there is, clicking that button is exciting. Keeping those limits high keeps your util low should you (at some point) have a need to carry a balance.

Maybe there are two types of people. Those that see credit as fun and those that see it as a chore. Personally, I can't understand the latter. I've begun to see my FICO as an extension to who I am. Not keeping up on it would be like not taking a shower.

[BronzeTrader]

It seems we want to run this thread to another big one.

I do not have a lot to say.  Each person has his or her own own way of doing it.  My focus is more on the rewards and spending.  Not on the CL increases etc.  I spent most of the time on new card bonus, card benefits and the best cards to use for large spending.

[Yasselife]

 there's nothing that I don't love specially limit increases. I use apple's reminders too.... My level of passion(control freak) would go as far as getting a FICO Tattoo on my forehead lol it's an extension of God's spirit in my case.

[Anonymous]

---

@AlanGJP wrote:

---

Keeping those limits high keeps your util low should you (at some point) have a need to carry a balance.

---

I would buy this explanation if I ever met an advocate with a stopping point.  Sure, a TCL of $5M would be good if I ever needed to carry a $400K balance, but, if I did have such a balance, trashing my FICO scores because of excessive util would be well down in my list of priorities!   People do it more because of "why not" and, as you said, it can be "exciting".   So sure, if you want to track it, fine, but, IMO, not exactly a must.

[Anonymalous]

---

@iNathanDrake wrote:

By this method my AAoA is trash and never going to build age since I'm constantly adding to it , is that an issue?

---

If you get 1 card today, in 20 years it'll be 20 years old. Your AAoA will be 20 years.

But if you get 1 card today, and another in 20 years, at that point you'll have a 20 year old card and a 0 year old card. Your AAoA will 10 years.

And if you get 1 card today, another in 10 years, then another at the 20 year mark, then you'll have cards that are 20, 10, and 0 years old. Your AAoA will still be 10 years.

That scales up indefinitely. If you get cards every 3 months (a total of 81 over 20 years), then your AAoA will still be 10 years, because for every new card you'll have an old card.

This shows your AAoA will tend to be about half the age of your oldest card, if you get cards at a steady pace. While this assumption doesn't match reality, because cards will close and few people will continue to get cards at a same pace indefinitely, it does show that getting a lot of cards doesn't necessarily tank your AAoA, compared to getting just a handful. In fact, having more cards gives you more of a buffer as those cards age, which protects your AAoA.

[iNathanDrake]

Yeah... seems my title was poorly worded. I don't take offense, as it's my mistake for the misleading title.

Let me calrify lol.

I don't have any trouble managing it in the traditional sense of "keeping track" of everything. I too have all the apps on my phone, have my own spreadsheets, reminders, I don't ever carry balances,  ETC. I don't need help here.

MY question was more, eventually it becomes annoying/alot to care to update cards on places like Amazon, or other online retailers where I could burn a transaction. I have reminder on my phone that go off every 6 months telling me to go spend on card "X".. I simply don't care to keep up with it anymore, it feels like a chore to me. I keep my 3 main cards in my wallet and I was foolishly trying to hit the 15-21 accounts on credit Karma which thankfully alot of people pointed out is really not as beneficial as I thought and pointless. Sweet!

Then my next concern was, okay logically if you don't wanna deal with all these cards and you're too lazy to up keep them, close some yeah? I was worried about what/how I was taught that closing accounts is bad for your credit health. A lot of people have clarified that that's also a non issue and thayt even closed they keep reporting for 10 years or so, and that the dip is miniscule. 

Again, this post was my mistake for the title, but I am thankful for everyone's feed back and am done applying for cards as I genuinely don't want anymore, and am now considering closing a couple of the smaller ones that I simply don't care about. 

[iNathanDrake]

---

@AlanGJP wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Reading some of the responses, I see a lot of people keep a record of when they last requested a CLI or when they can request the next one.

This is very much a MyFico "need".   IMO, you don't need to get CLIs at each and every opportunity, and will simplify life a little!

---

A need? Nah, nothing like that - at least for me. Like I said above, it's not really a chore. It's 5 minutes of my day to check virtually all my accounts. CLIs aren't something that occur more than maybe every couple months. (When factoring every card I have in) So it's just a quick flick though my spreadsheet and 90/100 times there's nothing waiting on me. When there is, clicking that button is exciting. Keeping those limits high keeps your util low should you (at some point) have a need to carry a balance.

Maybe there are two types of people. Those that see credit as fun and those that see it as a chore. Personally, I can't understand the latter. I've begun to see my FICO as an extension to who I am. Not keeping up on it would be like not taking a shower.

---

I do have a direct question for you however, if you don't mind! For educational purposes, how do you upkeep your CLI's? I ask because I used to keep with with them, and eventually I stopped getting approved for them and just kinda stopped trying (as I started to care less ofc). So for curiosity sake, I just tried CLIs on Cap1, Amex, and Discover. All of which got me a No lol. I'm positive it's for my lack of activity and utlization.

Do you utilize all 10+ cards you have regularly or is there a certian point where CLI's stop? 

Just trying to learn! Thanks in advance.