Too many cards

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
store cards for the extra discounts offered only - especially for childrens place and macy's. gas cards because i like to keep exact count of my gas paid for business reasons. I just would not want to complicate my life with 20 cards. don;t see the purpose so I was wondering if there was some reason i was missing that can potentially hurt me not having 15,20 or 25 cards.

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Major cards offer a variety of rewards and cash back.  You can get a Visa, MC or Discover and dedicate it to "gas" if you want...and some have 5% cashback on gas.

Stores will give you discounts by signing up for their frequent purchase programs, mailings and catalogs.  Get a co-branded Visa or MC store card then you get both.

A major card can be used anywhere.  A store card only in one place.  That store is not going to be the best place to always buy everything.  It won't always have the best prices nor the best product 100% of the time.  You are forced to shop with them only if you want to use a store card.  That is complicated to me.

Same for gas.  One gas card forces you to buy gas in a single brand.  They will never be the cheapest or most conveniently located 100% of the time.  A nice cashback major card lets you buy gas at the most convenient and best price and get rewards back.

Gas and store cards are of no value, except when they are what you use to rebuild credit because you can get one of them with higher CL than with a major.  There is nothing a store card can do for you that  a major cannot. 

Message Edited by txjohn on 05-17-2009 09:48 PM

[Anonymous]

lol - trust me childrens place offers deep discounts on already discounted items when you use their card. I guess its my personality but I don't see the benefit of playing too much the credit card rewards game, apr , cl game. I just want cards with no af and I'm fine as I pay in full. 2nd I just want a great fico score - so a good mix is fine . other than that I don;t get it . some of you seem obsessed and I am trying to figure out if I am missing out on the reason. seems like it takes alot of energy.

[Anonymous]

I will look into what you said about gas and store cards being uneccessary - It would be great to get the number of my cards down to 4.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
lol - trust me childrens place offers deep discounts on already discounted items when you use their card. I guess its my personality but I don't see the benefit of playing too much the credit card rewards game, apr , cl game. I just want cards with no af and I'm fine as I pay in full. 2nd I just want a great fico score - so a good mix is fine . other than that I don;t get it . some of you seem obsessed and I am trying to figure out if I am missing out on the reason. seems like it takes alot of energy.

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I'm not sure what games you mean on the reward side.  The basic cashback rewards provide a statement credit to you based upon your net charges.  As for APR, store cards generally carry higher average rates.  And if you don't carry a balance, then it is a moot point.

How can the store offer such huge discounts just for using their card?  Because the item is marked up to begin with and the financing side of the business is so profitable.  Most store cards range from 18% and up. 

I have no AF's on my cards, except one, which I chose for a particular purpose.

Toys can be had at any variety of places, physical or online.  No brand is only available at Toys R Us or any other "store brand."  In addition, having a store card encourages you to spend in ways you might not otherwise spend.  A credit card dedicated to toys....hmmmm, sounds like a lot of toys.

I don't mean to argue, but I see so many people talking about the "mix" of credit and getting a store or gas card for the "mix."  Mix means:  Revolving (credit cards - and major is better), installement (such as auto), mortgage and real estate transactions.  It does not mean a wide variety of credit card types.

As for the rewards issue, I would like to address that again.  Many no AF cards provide 2-5% cashback (rebate) from the use at gas, groceries, utilities, restaraunts, internet, cell phone, movie rentals, etc.  What I am saying is they provide value just for using them for your normal expenses.  And if you PIF each month, that is the best way to go.  And when you get cashback or reward, you are getting a discount on the bill or expense you have to pay anyway.  Plus you can keep the cash you would have spent in savings for an extra 3 to 4 weeks earning interest...so you earned interest on your cash longer, had a consolidated "1 bill to pay" on the card, and got a discount (reward cashback /rebate) for doing it.

Store cards and gas cards don't compare.  And they often compel you to shop in a manner that costs you more in the long run, not less.

[Anonymous]

I would only have a store card at a store I have to use frequently anyway. right now its childrens place . so if they give an extra 10% off when using their card on top of already discounted items .and I pif each month . how is not having a childrens place card going to help me when I would like their clothes and would shop there anyway? please explain ?

[Anonymous]

just like you say having a store card encourages uneccesary purchases ( which i do think it does for some) - if i got a card mainly for a certain apr or cash back program - when a better one comes wouldn;t that encourage me to apply for that card as well ? idk i mainly use my debit card - and i pif on all cards. my goal with my cards is just to have activity and keep my credit score high . how i deal with my credit cards is directly linked to a specific goal i have . i don;t deal with credit cards for the sake of having credit cards because I don;t need them. but i do understand the rewards thing but I don;t put much time or energy into it.

[Anonymous]

I think all Txjohn is saying is that given a choice between a CC with a $1000 limit and a store card with a $1000 limit and the former having even a 12.99% apr and latter having an 18.99% (or even the same) he would take the credit card cause he has the option of using it any and everywhere.  Also if the CC has a 3% reward and the store card a 10% discount (somewhere) assuming that using it in the store was only 1/4 of what you put on that card in a month you would be better off getting 3% of 4 times the amount back by being able to use it everywhere.  If you use the discount a lot that is awesome for you.

Although DH has a bunch of cards I only have few

A macys card (cause they gave me a card to build credit when I had none and increased limit from 100 to 1000 after 3 months), a LB card (store) cause I got 30% off first purchase when I was spending $800 buying whole new work wardrobe after all my clothes were lost in move from NY to TX - never used it since then, never will. 3 CC's with no AF and rates of 7.99%, 9.99% and 12.99% each.  I will try and get one more from Alliant in a year or so but building relationship and age of accounts first.  That's plenty for me. 

[MsKiwi]

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@Anonymous wrote:
is there such a thing ? I see some people on this board list all there cards and their apping sprees - seems a little extreme to have 20 cards . Isn;t the goal to have a nice variety of cards, high limits and age ?? is 15 cards needed to do that - my goal are 2 gas cards, a discover , an amex, 1 mastercard, 1 visa and 2 store cards . thats 8 cards that I will let age. whats the point of 15-20 cards . trying to understand how that can be a good thing - please explain

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I have 5 cards. 1 store card, 2 MC's and 2 Visa cards. I have no desire for AMEX they are far too much worry for me. I really don't use my cards much and have no desire for more than maybe 7 cards max.  I admit my jaw drops when some people list the # of accounts they have. I'd say if you're happy with the # of cards you have, that is all that matters. You don't need 15 cards to have a great score.

[smallfry]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@smallfry wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
is there such a thing ? I see some people on this board list all there cards and their apping sprees - seems a little extreme to have 20 cards . Isn;t the goal to have a nice variety of cards, high limits and age ?? is 15 cards needed to do that - my goal are 2 gas cards, a discover , an amex, 1 mastercard, 1 visa and 2 store cards . thats 8 cards that I will let age. whats the point of 15-20 cards . trying to understand how that can be a good thing - please explain

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8 cards is plenty. I might go with just 1 gas card and 1 store card and bump the Visa and MC up to 2 each tough.

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Personally I see no value in gas cards or store cards in general.  You can buy gas and store items with a major card.  Gas and Store add nothing to you "mix" of credit.  They are just usually easier to get and higher limits when building than the majors sometimes.

I have 1 store card, and only because it is my oldest....Macys at almost 21 years.  I have no gas cards and don't plan to ever have one.  I do not plan to ever apply for any type of store card, I just do not see any value in them.

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I see no reason for a gas card myself have none and only have a single store card.

[smallfry]

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@clocktick wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

 Gas and Store add nothing to you "mix" of credit. 

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This is the exact opposite of what I've been reading on here the last few months.  Anyone else care to chime in on this one?

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Having at least 1 store card or gas card helps the mix a little.