I've just sort of hit that place where thinking about relying on credit less causes a warm, fuzzy feeling. In a few years, my income will go up and with all the cards paid down I'll really only need 2 or 3 for daily spending.
I'm also over the whole score thing, too. For now its necessary to worry a lot because if I can get to 775+ there's a slightly better student loan rate. That being said, once I buy a house again, bills will still get paid on time but I'm not going to be score chasing.
I'll keep the BCP and two other cards. If someone closes an account, it's really no big deal. Having diversity helps prevent being held hostage by a particular creditor but on some level I think the whole process sort of sucks us in.
Starting Score: 675
@kevinjjc wrote:
@drkaje wrote:
@kevinjjc wrote:
@drkaje wrote:Gardening pays off for most.
I'm only apping twice this year for student loans.
There really isn't a lot out there that floats my boat in the CC world at this point. It's actually pretty easy to garden now.
Do you already have the US Bank Cash+ card? In my opinion, it's a must-have!
I already have BCP, Delta Amex, 2 Citi, Chase Freedom, and 2 USAA cards. I was jonesing for a USBank card but really don't want anything else to manage.
My long term (7 year) plan is to only have 2 or 3 cards. Unless someone comes up with a card I'll lose sleep over not applying for this dude is staying in the garden, LOL!
In my opinion, it's risky to have only 2 or 3 credit cards. Diversification in this credit game is important. For example, if you get AA'd with your 2 or 3 credit cards, you're essentially out of luck. Please carefully think about this.
i don't see having "only" 2 or 3 credit cards as risky, especially if they're diversified, such as at least 1 visa, 1 MC and another (amex, discover, store, co-branded, etc). diversity would also include having more than bank/cc issuer (amex, chase, BofA etc).
i am amazed at the sheer numbers of cards some posters report, often with multiple "duplicate" issuers (e.g. multiple amex cards,multiple chase cards, etc).
i have BofA (visa), chase freedom MC, macy (store and amex). as long as i treat them responsibly (i tend to PIF each month and usually charge less than 10% of my CL, with an exception now and then) i feel i am at very little risk of having AA.
imo, it's not the numbers of cards, but the way someone uses them, that minimizes the risk of AA.
i'm a fan of keeping things simple, and having 5 or 8 cc's to keep track of is not something i would personally want to do, so i can appreciate where the OP is coming from 