I'm a proponent for a higher type of credit line total. You can have many cards, and while each card does factor into a utlization score individually, your overall utilization will also factor into a FICO score.
Here on FICO you can see this first hand in your report, even on creditkarma (I know), and other places, they still tally your credit utilization as a whole - and that's simply for a visual available to you. Whether that's used as a component of the algorithm no one really knows, but you can speculate.
As an example, if you owe $5000, on a $5000 card and that's all you have at your disposal, that's bad. If you owe that same $5000 on a $10000 credit card total (across all your credit cards), that's still bad. But, if you owe $5000 across a grand total of $500,000 in credit line totals, you are realisitically only using 1% of your total credit line, even if that one card among many, is grossly over ultilized. That all factors into the utilization score. For those that don't think it's true, I stand a bit of in disagreement. People have been in this situation and scores barely flinched.
By this logic, someone holding $500k or even one million in credit line totals, can be roaded by something as simple as a Home Depot card. Using the $4000-$5000 balance they give you, and you spending it on one single home project. Not unlikely, but it blows the utilization score out of the water on the individual card, but overall utilization still remains less than 1%. It would otherwise suggest, these meager cards could take down a WELL defined and thick profile, for many points. I know this isn't true, others know this isn't true. FICO scores won't likely reflect this when dealing with significant credit line totals.
I have an in-law that likes to keep credit cards low, likes to keep totals low. Stouts his 830+ FICO score, but low credit line total in the grand scheme. We hold much in lines, playing it well, last FICO scores bounce between 829-844. The only difference, is utilization scores never matter in our world. We can't spend enough, and still repay on it, to even matter. It helps to minimize or eliminate the impact of utilization.
My suggesting is to up your credit totals a bit, where utilization will matter less. You are already doing the credit thing responsibly.
$XXX,XXX in credit lines. First digit isn't a one or two.
4-5 weeks in free credit reward vacations, booked through 2028.
$X,XXX in bank rewards in only 12 months.
I like FREE...
800+ FICO.
Making all numbers dance on a financial ledger.
Abuse that score responsibility for maximum gain.
