Questions for folks with few cards

[nccarguy1]

First, not new to this forum.  I went cold turkey for a year and a half and when I retrieved my user name/password and posted again I realized I had two profiles, this one never used.  Oh well.

My company has a card but all points go to company but allow me to be reimbursed for using my personal cards.  I spend $70-80,000 per month mostly for advertising vendors and Google analytics.  I use Amex Centurian, CSR and Citi Prestige depending on where I need points.  I don’t use cash rewards cards as I find more value in using points for business/first class air and sometimes hotel redemptions.

i am always on the look out for 50,000 - 100,000 point/ mile sign up bonuses so always have multiple cards open.  Rinse, lather, repeat for card issuers that allow.  I keep quite a few cards open for utilization as well.  Even though I PIF my statements cut with upwards of $80,000 in balances so keeping $600-700,000 in available credit is a must.

We take great vacations twice a year for just the cost of meals.  Actually a lot of work, but worth it.  Years ago I used 8 different cards to maximize every possible reward but it was a pain in the a$$ and realized it was better to miss a few points or dollars to consolidate my spend.  Nothing worse than multiple account with 10,000 points or miles that could not be combined.

[Anonymous]

I fully admit that as my scores went up, I went a bit crazy with the approvals. Out of everything in my wallet, only a few cards get regular spend.

NFCU More Rewards - groceries and fast food
BBVA ClearPoints - Comcast and cell bill
Amazon Store Card - I spend a ton at Amazon
PayPal Cashback - everything else.

Discover got a lot of use during the first year but it’s unlikely to see much until 3rd and 4th quarter now (and possibly not even 4th quarter if I don’t go on a shopping spree for Black Friday), SSFCU and Capital One both earn less than my PayPal Cashback does, my NFCU Platinum is my low APR emergency card and end of year no or low APR BT card if I ever need it, DCU is my overdraft protection for my checking account with them.

If I really wanted to simplify, I could just throw everything on the PayPal Cashback since I only get an extra 1% from the other cards and use my Amazon Store Card for 5% back on Amazon purchases. I don’t really see a reason to make any changes though and I would be lying if I said I won’t jump on an opportunity to get a decent SUB and a 0% intro APR on a large purchase. Why would I turn away free money?

[Anonymous]

This is a cut from Longtimelurker and it captures the happenings for me:

" ... But I've been around long enough to know that every smart consumer would be wise to have at least one credit card in their pocket at all times that offers a permanently low interest rate

Right, but as you say, things always change, and a permanently low rate may not exist!   But worth getting one with a track record..."

It happened to me during the last few months, my bank since 2006 changed my credit card account from 6.9% Fixed Apr for purchases and cash advances to 12.50% Variable Apr rate for purchases and cash advances. The bank had held that rate for twelve years! In shock but then, everybody else was jumping on the let's increase our variable rate purchases and cash advance so what can I do? Shop for a new bank and is it really going to be better and in truth, I will not going to switch banks as I do have other low rate options.

[Shooting-For-800]

For me it’s about rewards, getting better cards than I had, and not having all my eggs in one or two baskets.

[kdm31091]

I've always been an advocate of fewer cards. To me, 3-5 is a good number, because you are "diversified" enough without diluting your rewards to where it takes forever to build up any reasonable amount. The more cards you spend on, the longer it's going to take to reach any reward goal.

I find the "diversity" argument can sometimes tend to become an excuse to collect cards. I don't recommend putting all your eggs in one basket, but I don't personally see much need for more than 3-4 lenders. However, to each their own and it's up to what you feel comfortable managing and what you feel gives you enough benefit to be worth the effort.

[wasCB14]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

I've always been an advocate of fewer cards. To me, 3-5 is a good number, because you are "diversified" enough without diluting your rewards to where it takes forever to build up any reasonable amount. The more cards you spend on, the longer it's going to take to reach any reward goal.

I find the "diversity" argument can sometimes tend to become an excuse to collect cards. I don't recommend putting all your eggs in one basket, but I don't personally see much need for more than 3-4 lenders. However, to each their own and it's up to what you feel comfortable managing and what you feel gives you enough benefit to be worth the effort.

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"Diversifying" also means different things to different people.

For one person, it means having backup tools in the event of fraud, a lost card, IT problems, AA, etc. Diversifying here is mostly about avoiding inconvenience.

For another, it means maintaining an emergency fund of credit (not a strategy I advise). Diversifying here is about financial survival.

[Anonymous]

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@Aim_High wrote:

Just wondering ... do you still have that card and is it still a good card for you? 

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(Referring to my 1% Amalgamated Bank MC from 1990). 

No, I stopped using it as better cards came along, and eventually the told me that they wouldn't send a renewal card but kept the account open (and from time to time sent BT checks)   It was finally closed on all three CRAs in 2015, after years of non-use.

It was the card with my first experience of fraud.   I think that a renewal card got stolen from my mail box (or earlier) and was used to rack up $8000+ in charges at a guitar store and other similar places.   This was early 90s when $8000 was real money!   Also, pre web, so the first indication was when my monthly bill arrived.

 Turns out that the card had two dates, valid from and to, and at the time of the transactions, since it was a renewal card, the from date hadn't arrived.   So the issuer happily informed me that the merchants would take the full hit, as the card wasn't valid at time of use.

Glad it was generally big chains rather than a mom-and-pop store that had to eat the charges....

[Anonymous]

Just wondering ... do you still have that card and is it still a good card for you? 

[Anonymous]

I haven't read the entire thread, so I'm sure someone has said this, but it is really a very personal thing. I have 5 cards at the moment, but am considering reducing that to 4 because I just don't get benefits from one of them that are better than another.

I think the goal is to analyze your spending and decide where the benefit is. For most of us that would be grocery, fuel/rides, shopping, and travel (e.g. airlines/hotels). For me it is mostly grocery, amazon, and maybe fuel.

I chose the Amex BCP because it just makes sense given my grocery spend.

I got the Amazon Prime Visa because I already have Prime, and 5% back made sense.

I also got the Discover IT because it usually has a quarterly grocery category that allows me to maximize my BCP rewards without having three months of 1%.

Those three cover 90% of my spend. I also have the Cash Magnet, and the Cap 1 Quicksilver, which overlap greatly. I'm not even sure why I got either of them really since I'm only seeing about $0.50 to $1 on either of them monthly in cash back. It's almost not worth the hassle in that regard, but they help pad my AAOA if I apply for something new so I keep them.

[NaaryalHead]

@Obscure-Expert Do you mind sharing what those 6.9% and 9% cards are?

[Anonymous]

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@NaaryalHead wrote:
@Obscure-Expert Do you mind sharing what those 6.9% and 9% cards are?

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UFCU - TX (6.9%) and ITCU - TX (9.5%)