Using only 1 card

[smc733]

Hi all,

I am weighing a new idea here, which is to use only 1 card.  I often see people who have problems used many cards, etc...  And while that's all anecdote, I can say that I do feel like I can more easily manage my spending if I use just one card.  I'm not planning to close anything yet, as I will keep at least Amex and Citi around, but I was wondering what everyone thinks of just using my Chase Freedom for everything.  (I would still keep the Amex in my wallet), it would just be an easier way to keep track of everything.

Has anyone tried this?  What do you think?

PS.  Not to mention it would be easier to accumulate rewards this way...

[CreditMuppet]

---

@smc733 wrote:

Hi all,

I am weighing a new idea here, which is to use only 1 card.  I often see people who have problems used many cards, etc...  And while that's all anecdote, I can say that I do feel like I can more easily manage my spending if I use just one card.  I'm not planning to close anything yet, as I will keep at least Amex and Citi around, but I was wondering what everyone thinks of just using my Chase Freedom for everything.  (I would still keep the Amex in my wallet), it would just be an easier way to keep track of everything.

Has anyone tried this?  What do you think?

PS.  Not to mention it would be easier to accumulate rewards this way...

---

I think it depends on your spending habbits and where you spend your money.  Freedom is a 1% card and 5% on rotaing catagories with $1500 cap so its a great card for the 5% catagories but most of the time you will only net 1% back.  Personally I reset all my spending and aquired the cards I wanted and that had rewards that would compliment each other (ie gas on Freedom/Discover for 5% rotaing and then Amex BCP for 3% at all other times..)  Yes you have to track your spending and keep in mind the caps (ie $300 cap on Discover) and rotate through your cards as the cash back changes but IMHO I think that's the best way to handle it, it will take longer to earn rewards that way rather than using a single card but it also helps you to control util.

[pizzadude]

I think your idea is a good one. 

To keep your other cards open and reporting as active you will want to make a small purchase every other month or so.

If you are concerned about your scores, then be aware of the utilization percentage and also when your Chase card reports.

I believe that Chase reports to CRAs within a day after statements are cut.

[KingAdrock]

I don't see anything wrong with using one card. The only reason I use more than one card is just to rotate rewards. I switch between my Chase Freedom and Discover for whatever is 5% cash back at the moment, and my BofA Amex for pretty much everything else.

[smc733]

I understand about the rewards, and I was initially persuing Freedom+BCE, but I find that I overspend and don't keep as tight track of my finances with two cards, where if just one encompasses all my spending, it makes it much easier to manage.

I would probably end up dropping BofA and Discover, but I'll certainly used BCE once every other month and Citi once every 3 or 4 months.

[birjest]

IMHO, I think it is cool to have just one card to use.  I have 2 debit, AMEX pre-paid, Zync, and Cap1, yet, I will only use my debt or Zync card (for the rewards points).  As for Cap1, I may use it once in the blue moon to flex my credit score.  Just my thought process....

[SevenNEW]

---

@smc733 wrote:

I understand about the rewards, and I was initially persuing Freedom+BCE, but I find that I overspend and don't keep as tight track of my finances with two cards, where if just one encompasses all my spending, it makes it much easier to manage.

I would probably end up dropping BofA and Discover, but I'll certainly used BCE once every other month and Citi once every 3 or 4 months.

---

I like your philosophy and completely agree. I would still use BCE for groceries -- I don't think there is much risk of overspending there...

[coldnmn]

The only problem I see is Util if you close the other three cards. In order to keep under 9% you would have a limit of $450 or pay down to that before statement closing. If you keep them open the amount would be $1575 to keep under 9% Util. My thought is to put a monthly payment on each acct in the sock drawer and have auto payment to them from a bank account. If you don't care about Fico score or Util then go for it if it makes your life easier. YMMV it's just my thought.

[smc733]

Well, I don't have any balances owed, and the Credit lines are what are in my sig:

Freedom $3k

Citi $6k

BCE:  $2k

I generally run up about $500-1000 a month, and PIF.

[hedgeclipper2]

I will be doing this for the next three months on my Sapphire Preferred to meet my $3,000 spend to get $500.   I am also kind of hoping I like this as well, as I would like to cut my spending to one or two cards all together as well.  Makes it easier to see how much money I am actually spending.

I am probably going to switch to just using my Sapphire Preferred and Freedom card.  So it will really make checking how much I am spending easy since both cards are right next to each other online lol.