Thinned the herd

[expatCanuck]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
You may have another thread I missed, but are you closing cards with AF? Secured? Bank accounts as well? Just wondering why. You’ve closed 3 and only have 7 remaining. 10 is not an extraordinary amount if there is no AF and unsecured. Just wondering. Good luck with your plan, perhaps you could elaborate.

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For most American credit card users, ten is most definitely an extraordinary amount.  The people on this forum are unusual in the number of cards that they have.

Congrats MAZDA3!  I went from 9 to 6 last summer but am now up to 7, and like you, I think I should close another one soon.

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The average American has something like 19k in credit card debt.  I would expect they have multiple cards to carry that much credit card debt.  I prefer to be in the 20+ card group with zero credit card debt.  

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According to this Jan-2018 article, the average is $6375.

I have 7 cards and can see adding a few more (TD Bank, 'cause it's my bank, and CO QS and/or Savor - cash back and no FTF), and then closing the Amex and Discover (because I dislike the phrase "we don't accept ...").

[Anonymous]

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@MAZDA3 wrote:

Closed DCCU, TD Bank, and my one month old Barclays Aviator today. Down to seven cards and hope to knock it down one more by June. Feels good. 🤗

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Congrats on the thinning.. hey I drive a Mazda3 too.

Sometimes it's good to get rid of excess ballast.  Every card is another account to keep track of, another bill to pay, etc.  Even if you don't use it, you still have to log in and make sure there's no fraud etc.

I'm the MyFICO outlier with only 3 cards, all with small limits.  Like Dalmus, I had way more credit than I needed for my income/spending. When I "thinned the herd", I just took CLDs instead.

[Schwartzinator]

Congrats!!! Spring cleaning always feels good: I removed 7 of 11 credit card accounts last March, and it was incredibly relieving. And yes, most of them were No AF cards. Gasp! In other news, my Platinum card will be put pasture after the close of this month's statement and the Cash+ is next on the chopping block.

[wasCB14]

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@expatCanuck wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
You may have another thread I missed, but are you closing cards with AF? Secured? Bank accounts as well? Just wondering why. You’ve closed 3 and only have 7 remaining. 10 is not an extraordinary amount if there is no AF and unsecured. Just wondering. Good luck with your plan, perhaps you could elaborate.

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For most American credit card users, ten is most definitely an extraordinary amount.  The people on this forum are unusual in the number of cards that they have.

Congrats MAZDA3!  I went from 9 to 6 last summer but am now up to 7, and like you, I think I should close another one soon.

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The average American has something like 19k in credit card debt.  I would expect they have multiple cards to carry that much credit card debt.  I prefer to be in the 20+ card group with zero credit card debt.  

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According to this Jan-2018 article, the average is $6375.

I have 7 cards and can see adding a few more (TD Bank, 'cause it's my bank, and CO QS and/or Savor - cash back and no FTF), and then closing the Amex and Discover (because I dislike the phrase "we don't accept ...").

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I'm not sure of the accuracy of any figures, but watch out for the distinction between "CC debt for the average American" and "average for Americans who have CC debt". Also, some studies may only look at revolved balances while others look at PIFed ones.

[MAZDA3]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@MAZDA3 wrote:

Closed DCCU, TD Bank, and my one month old Barclays Aviator today. Down to seven cards and hope to knock it down one more by June. Feels good. 🤗

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Congrats on the thinning.. hey I drive a Mazda3 too.

Love love my 3! Bought it new last July. Amazing road handling. I wanted a CX3 but it has a crappy torsion beam rear suspension (nope, not spending $23k for a Toyota Carolla suspension), and literally no armrest storage was a no-go. And everyone wants one so they wouldn’t budge on price. Got $5k off for my 3 Sedan. 

I also CLD my Wyndham card from $10k to $5k during the thinning. I might CLD the Go Rewards to $5k instead of closing it in January.

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[Anonymous]

 Schwartzinator, just wanted to mention that the Cash+ gets the checking account fees waived at a brick and mortar bank, if that's of interest to you. "Saves" 12 or 13 bucks a month. USbank is the only real bank I use, all others are internet based. They are remarkably plentiful where I go in the US, and are great for getting cash or a large cashier's check (for instance a real estate auction).... Just food for thought.

[Schwartzinator]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 Schwartzinator, just wanted to mention that the Cash+ gets the checking account fees waived at a brick and mortar bank, if that's of interest to you. "Saves" 12 or 13 bucks a month. USbank is the only real bank I use, all others are internet based. They are remarkably plentiful where I go in the US, and are great for getting cash or a large cashier's check (for instance a real estate auction).... Just food for thought.

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I would definitely keep it around if I didn't already have my checking account fees waived through the Because You've Earned It program! 

[Anonymous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@expatCanuck wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
You may have another thread I missed, but are you closing cards with AF? Secured? Bank accounts as well? Just wondering why. You’ve closed 3 and only have 7 remaining. 10 is not an extraordinary amount if there is no AF and unsecured. Just wondering. Good luck with your plan, perhaps you could elaborate.

---

For most American credit card users, ten is most definitely an extraordinary amount.  The people on this forum are unusual in the number of cards that they have.

Congrats MAZDA3!  I went from 9 to 6 last summer but am now up to 7, and like you, I think I should close another one soon.

---

The average American has something like 19k in credit card debt.  I would expect they have multiple cards to carry that much credit card debt.  I prefer to be in the 20+ card group with zero credit card debt.  

---

According to this Jan-2018 article, the average is $6375.

I have 7 cards and can see adding a few more (TD Bank, 'cause it's my bank, and CO QS and/or Savor - cash back and no FTF), and then closing the Amex and Discover (because I dislike the phrase "we don't accept ...").

---

I'm not sure of the accuracy of any figures, but watch out for the distinction between "CC debt for the average American" and "average for Americans who have CC debt". Also, some studies may only look at revolved balances while others look at PIFed ones.

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Very astute point, statistics can be made to show essentially anything you wish them to say.  Bottom line, if anyone wishes to "thin the herd" for whatever reason they choose or no reason at all, that's a personal decision. I only asked because the personal decision was posted to a public forum, not to create derision.  I carry 19 credit cards with a total limit of ~ $175K in available credit and an income ~ $110K.  I carry $0.00 in CC balances month-to-month and enjoy the benefits of cash back, miles, and other perks my cards provide.  Only 2 cards have an AF ($89 & $95) and those AFs are far outweighed by the savings and perks I receive.  So for those who don't wish to do so, more power to them all, as well as those who realize they do not have the discipline to use them responsibly.  To all...Enjoy your lightened wallets or enjoy your credit and thank you for sharing!

[Anonymous]

The article linked says the average houshold with credit card debt has 16883 dollars of debt. Obviously people without credit cards don't have credit card debt.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Been using only one card recently to meet a SUB and i gotta say its kinda liberating only using one card and not worrying about its rewards or structure lol. Lol, i maybe on to something. Forget all credit goals and find THE ONE