Wouldn't Many Cards Help You in the Long Run?

[Johnny_Favorite]

Here's my thinking.

You only have one credit card with a 10 year AAOA. You add another one, suddenly your AAOA is 5 years.

You have 10 credit cards with a 10 year AAOA. You add another one. Your AAOA drops to 9.2 years.

Better to have 10 cards right?

Is my gorilla logic and gorilla math correct?

[SnackTrader]

Cards aren't the only thing that goes into AAoA. So I have 26 tradelines, but only 4 credit cards.

But yes, in general, the more tradelines the better. But it also probably means you paid a lot in interest over your life due to loans :/

[jake619]

There are other factors to consider beyond AAoA anyway.  AAoA also includes closed accounts (ignore CK) as well as non-CC accounts, such as auto loans and mortgates.  Since these report for many years after they are close you must continue to include them in calculations.  It's bigger than just CC's, and it isn't a race.

EDIT:  Snack beat me!

[SnackTrader]

Apparently it is a race

[jake619]

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@SnackTrader wrote:
Apparently it is a race

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Yep.  A race to win 15% of the pie 

[distantarray]

Just get an Amex now, and when you need account age apply for 10 Amex cards =P

[FrugalRican]

This isn't a vaccuum.

Don't automatically assume AAOA is king.

What if those 10 cards you have include First Premier, Orchard, and some other cards of the same ilk?

And that one card is a Plat Plat AMEX?

[youngandcreditwrthy]

This is why I have 20 cards lmfao!

[creditnocash]

As long as you use them yes that logic is correct! 

im at 10 right now and thinking of trimming down! but when i opened my 10th card i barely took an aaoa hit too my small file. just be careful. eventually those lines and cc will fall off (10 years after closing in good standing) so lets say you have 10 for 10 years and then you close 7 of them. and then in 10 years after that they all fall off, lets say your 40 now. you have 3 cards with a 20 year history on each. then open one card and your aaoa drops from 20 years too 5 years. but you still have the older cards on file. 

this is all relative as each person is different, and you have no other type of lines or loans(car, house, student loans, etc....)