This post is really just a general rant/commentary based on recent musings in my head. I have nothing against people who want to carry 15 cards to maximize their rewards on every single transaction. Increasingly, though, I realize that it just isn't for me. Wondering about which card to use for which transaction, after a certain point, becomes a headache. It takes up too much time and effort that I could be spending on more fruitful activities. For example, due to having what I feel is "so many" cards, I accidentally had opted for department stores as my 2nd 5% category on Cash+ for Q3, despite Discover offering it (and doubled at that!).
We often get very caught up in maximizing our rewards, and sometimes I think it reaches the point of silliness. Let's just assume one is an "average" spender, with an average amount of expenses each month. I'll just call that $2000 a month in spending, though some do definitely spend less than that.
Say $300 of that is groceries. $200 in gas. $300 in dining. The rest are just random transactions not under a bonus category (trying to keep this simple).
On my BCP, if I put every single dollar on it for the month, I'd have $1200 at 1%, $200 at 3%, $300 at 1% for dining, and $300 at 6%. This comes out to $39 for that month.
Of course, putting that same exact spend on my Double Cash unilaterally would net me $40, despite the fact that the BCP's percentage on certain things is much higher.
The point is that sometimes we get wrapped up in category bonuses, but if you are spreading your spend across 10 cards, you will take a very long time to rack up any meaningful numbers of rewards, and often, may find you get the same or better rewards by consolidating on to less cards. I am not giving up or closing any cards at this point, just musing that really, it often isn't worth spreading the spend around (now if your spend is higher, it would be more of a difference obviously, and the points cards offer the potential of more value if one travels and can make use of the points, etc).
Say you have a BCP for groceries and gas, then you throw your dining onto an AARP. So that $300 a month now just earned an extra 2%. Which means $6 over your BCP. Ok, great. But the DC spend netted $1 more than BCP, so really, you gained $5 a month with the AARP, yet that $5 is seperated onto a different card with a different system. Is it really worth it?
I find myself missing the days when I just spent pretty much everything on Discover and QS. It was simpler, and didn't take up as much time mentally (or as much wallet space lol).
Chime in with opinions about spreading rewards vs consolidating them 
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Right, but I'm talking about day to day spending, excluding the initial boost of the bonuses. Should have made that more clear I know plenty of people app for cards purely to get the bonus.
I totally see what you're saying. Initially I apped to finally get some great, prime cards with nice limits. Then I went for the nice signup bonus cards.
Now, since I do have a couple cards with balances (Had to take 3 trips back home in 2 & 1/2 years & one more in Oct!) I want to get a nice balance transfer card with a 0% transfer & 15 to 18 mos 0% int.
My "daily drivers", if you will, are my AMEX BCP & Discover. Those rewards are nice without having to keep track of what's what.
I definitely do agree with this! But I do feel like the bonus maximizing is something that only the credit obsessors like us do; I know my parents do not. My parents have a BCE, Marriott Visa, and some Citizen's Bank MC. I think they mostly use the BCE and Marriott cards and they alternate them throughout the month and they don't pay attention to bonus categories so much. I think most people just get 1-3 cards and just use those.
Kind of a carryover from another thread, but with cards like Freedom, Discover IT, or Sallie Mae, the CC companies count on both/either you using the card for all your spend (outside the bonus categories) or that you'll carry a balance and they will make money on the interest. And I think *most* people probably do that. I know my fiance mostly uses his Sallie Mae (sometimes he uses his QS for bigger purchases since it has a higher limit), regardless of bonus categories. I find myself mostly swiping Sallie Mae regardless of what I'm buying.
Even for moderate spend, I don't think having more than 3-4 rewards cards makes sense (since as you say kdm), you wind up with a few dollars spread too thin over too many cards. I find using Sallie Mae only, I rack up points really fast. I cashed out $42 at the beginning of August and I am back to 2500 points again already. I'm a low spender ($500-800 a month) but until you get to big spend, I don't think the difference between a 3% bonus category and a 2% one will make that much of a difference. Even in another thread lately, a poster was asking about getting an AARP (3% on dining) versus using Citi Double Cash. The difference was only a few dollars a month and it's up to the individual whether it's worth having another account or not.
I find having too many accounts to monitor is a pain which is why I closed my Rewards and VS cards. Eventually QS will replace Freedom but that'll just be SD'd since I bank with Chase and I can monitor Freedom whenever I look at my checkings account.
Quicksilver $10,000 | Better Balance Rewards $2000 | Sallie Mae $3500 | Freedom $3500
I hear 'ya!
I believe there's an 'optimal' number of cards, and for me, I'm definitely there, although my wallet is quite a bit 'thinner' than most folks on here.
If anybody's counting, the number of cards that I actually 'use' is four - Discover (categories), BCP (groceries), Sam's MC (hotels and restaurants) and the Quicksilver for anything else. At the moment, it's actually three since the Discover is a 'de-facto' 2% cash back for general spend during the promo, so the Quicksilver gets very little love these days.
Having any more than this would honestly be silly for my own spending amount, but I'm certainly not going to judge others. I know I'm probably not typical (at least on this forum) and many if not most people have spending quite a bit higher than mine. That's OK, though... my method works for me!
As for the folks who use a fist-full of cards, while I know it wouldn't work for me, I enjoy reading about how they divvy everything up and chose 'what goes where'. While I would find it exhausting, I think for those folks they probably see it more like a game than a burden. And, as an added bonus for me, sometimes I'm able to pick up a tidbit of knowledge to tweak my own meager rewards! 
Im tired of all these cards to be honest. The thrill is gone. My goal is closing everything that doesnt serve a purpose and isnt used regularly this year, use the latest card for a major purchase which I plan on taking my sweet time paying off while its in a 0% intro and the rest use as needed but PIF each month. That will leave me with a balance on one card and six total...but I might also cut SM #2 after moving the limit over for simplicity reasons. Having two is nice but I could certainly live without it. As of now here's how my spending goes.
SM #1 - 5% groceries, gas & Nook books
SM #2 - 5% Target & Wal-Mart (could use Discover for Wal-Mart online 5% instead)
Ink Cash - 5% cell, cable & internet bills + 2% dining
Discover - mainly Discover Deals + rent & misc spend that doesnt fall under covered categories
Others I dont use and would like to close except BCE. Backdate, credit line and EX FICO are helpful.
My goal is closing everything that doesnt serve a purpose and isnt used regularly this year, use the latest card for a major purchase which I plan on taking my sweet time paying off while its in a 0% intro and the rest use as needed but PIF each month. That will leave me with a balance on one card and six total...but I might also cut SM #2 after moving the limit over for simplicity reasons. Having two is nice but I could certainly live without it. As of now here's how my spending goes.SM #1 - 5% groceries, gas & Nook books
SM #2 - 5% Target & Wal-Mart (could use Discover for Wal-Mart online 5% instead)
Ink Cash - 5% cell, cable & internet bills + 2% dining
Discover - mainly Discover Deals + rent & misc spend that doesnt fall under covered categories
Others I dont use and would like to close except BCE. Backdate, credit line and EX FICO are helpful.