Why So Many?

[webhopper]

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@bs6054 wrote:

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@webhopper wrote:

3-4 cards are plenty.

I have 4 credit cards, and 1 business credit card.

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But your sig lists 6 cards!

And certainly 3-4 cards are not enough for some.

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  You are right!!!   I forgot that I had 5 personal cards.   Amex Zync stays in a Sock Drawer so it doesn't get used.  Amex Lowes is a business card.  I have two Amex change cards, and 3 major credit cards

Amex Zync is on the block to be closed,  I do not use it, but I am keeping it open to help my DH, who is an ACM on the card. As soon as DH is approved for his own Amex, I will close Zync

[improvingmycredit]

Greeting nonsufficientfunds!
Welcome to the forums!
Generally, it's best to find the specific cards you think will help you achieve your FICO goals then pose the question to the forum to get as much insight into who may be pulled for which card. A good site to use is "whogavemecredit.com" and credit pulls data base. (Google it)
Remember that the sites are member generated so not all info will be accurate but it's a good start.

[NonSufficientFunds]

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@improvingmycredit wrote:
Greeting nonsufficientfunds!
Welcome to the forums!
Generally, it's best to find the specific cards you think will help you achieve your FICO goals then pose the question to the forum to get as much insight into who may be pulled for which card. A good site to use is "whogavemecredit.com" and credit pulls data base. (Google it)
Remember that the sites are member generated so not all info will be accurate but it's a good start.

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Big Thanks for the valuable info !!

[Dustink]

Since I am young and new to credit. I am trying to build up a large number of cards at the start. Then later on a new account will have little effect on my AAOA. Whereas if I only opened a few accounts now, a new account would majorly hinder my AAoA. Also, I like to get a sign up bonus now and then.

[L0RDAVENTAD0R]

Having so many TL's isn't necessarily for utilization purposes. A member on here can have 3 CC's & have a combined credit limit of $75,000 while another member on here can have 25 CC's & have a combined credit limit of $50,000.

In my opinion, a good credit portfolio has CC's for every aspect of the CC holder's lifestyle. That can be 1 - 5 cards for some & it can be 20 - 30 cards for others.

Frequent travelers will have their go-to travel cards, big grocery spenders will have their go-to grocery cashback cards, people who think they might carry balances will have their low APR cards, etc. Then there are some people who will sign up for a lot of CC's to take advange of bonuses & then there are some people who apply for a lot of CC's just for the heck of it.

[scenery_guy]

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@bs6054 wrote:

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@bs6054 wrote:

There are several different motivations.

1) As Commandolam says, all the cool kids are doing it, and you wouldn't want to be uncool would you?

 

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I should just be clear that there is cool and cool.  Cool kids get lots of cool cards, maybe flash them a little, but that is all. Wannabe cools have conversations like: "So this card gets me 2% off anything at Sears, whereas this one is 4% at a drug store.  I used to use this one there for the miles but....."   This is not cool.  At all.  Thank you for your attention to this Public Service Announcement.

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You sound like my wife. 

[Anonymous]

Because its fun to apply for the signup bonuses and recieving the shiny new cards 

[Anonymous]

For the rewards and utilization. When my total credit limit was $7100, my Util was 39%. Now that my total credit limit is $10,600, my Util is 25%. This drop in utilization will offset some of the point loss from the new accounts. I have 6 CC total. My last app will be for an AMEX BCE in July 2014 and then I will be done for awhile...until something new and very appealing comes out.

[enharu]

To OP:

1. Rewards. Different cards have different bonuses for each category.

2. Line of credit in case of emergency

3. Ease of paying for stuff. I hate using cash, especially when they return my change in coins. I'm going to be buying it anyways, so might as well get some rewards and convenience while I am at it.

4. Security. Zero liability in terms of fraud. For example, there's a lot of pesky sellers on eBay who are fraudulent........such as the item delivered being very different from what was described in the listing.

5. Image. Certain cards are a chick magnet. 

uh. what else..........hmmm.

And to add: I don't think its an issue with how many cards one has. The bigger issue at hand is whether a person is disciplined in terms of credit management. Even with just 1 card, misuse and mismanagement of credit, can have very dire consequences. If you feel that you're okay with handling credit, the more the merrier. At the end of the day you just need to make sure everything is under control.

[Anonymous]

As of right now, we have two brand new TL, with limits that will be very easy to keep the util down on. 10250 limit/87k income. 3 open and completely positive installments for hubs, 2 for me. 

If I'm not going to be really going after rewards at this point, having the two TL with good util should be fine until we can get some good history and apply for the cards that actually offer great rewards, correct?  I'm just trying to make sure that I'm doing the right thing here.