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Home > Have I Gone Credit Card Crazy?

Have I Gone Credit Card Crazy?

August 22nd, 2012 at 08:50 pm

Since my credit score breached the 700 mark, I have been getting some pretty great rewards card offers. This time last year, I had only $500 in credit card limits, with one card. Now I have $14,000 in credit card limits, with a $756 balance on one card, a $6,500 soft-cap card coming in the mail, and a total of five credit cards.

Have I gone nuts? Should I really keep opening credit card accounts? I honestly do use all of them but one, and none of them have any maintenance fees, annual fees, etc.

10 Responses to “Have I Gone Credit Card Crazy?”

  1. LuckyRobin Says:
    1345665511

    You probably don't need to get anymore. If you have enough to meet your needs and you have a spare, I wouldn't tempt fate by getting more and more. That way lies the chance to really get yourselves into trouble. Just because you can get it, doesn't mean you should. And it could make things difficult down the road if you need to get a house loan or a car loan if you have too much available credit.

  2. Homebody Says:
    1345669120

    That's easy....NO!

  3. ceejay74 Says:
    1345670430

    If I weren't working on bonus cards, I'd keep my total credit cards down to three. I have one that gets good grocery rewards but it's an Amex, which not everyone takes, so I have a Chase Freedom that gets OK rewards that I use for everything else. Then my partner has a Cap One Mastercard.

    I have others open, but with plans to spend up to the required amount to get a bonus and then close. If I weren't doing that, I'd keep the number of cards to a minimum. That's my take on the matter.

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    1345671082

    It is great that your credit score went up and that you are eligible for better offers, however, I would not keep getting more cards. It is too much to keep track of with payments, due dates, closing dates, and it opens you up to spending more than you can pay back in a month.

    I would only get a different card, if the new card was better than one I was willing and able to close with a zero balance.

  5. Frügal Says:
    1345679004

    Great advice! Pretty sure I am done with new credit cards.

    Question: How does having too much available credit hurt you?

  6. wowitsawonderfullife Says:
    1345682470

    First off, congrats on how far you have come on your credit score. That's amazing work!

    Second, I have a debit card and an Amex card. I cancelled my Visa due to the rate once I paid it off. But I do wish I had a Visa or Mastercard because of the flexibility. On the other hand, I don't have any risk of building up any debt.

    I have heard that credit scorers make the assumption that you can max out all your cards at the drop of a hat so whether or not you use them you still look like you have that debt. I could be wrong or perhaps things have changed in the last 10 years.

  7. LuckyRobin Says:
    1345687157

    Yes, it is that if you have too much available credit that you could max out at any time, the bigger loan people will think that makes you a higher risk and not loan you as much money based on that. It's such a balancing act really. You want to have enough to build good credit and keep your debt to available credit low, but not have so much available that it risks your credit worthiness later on when you need it for that house loan or car loan.

  8. Frügal Says:
    1345687364

    Wow... I thought the more credit, the better. Especially when you owe nothing and have not owed anything in the recent past. I thought they viewed it as "disposable funds". Hmm... I need to think about this.

  9. Jerry Says:
    1347285823

    I am also partial to AmEx on everything except for the fact that they are not accepted everywhere, which sometimes leads to some travel frustrations. For that reason I carry an MC as well, just to be safe, but that is about it. I have a debit card, as well, but that isn't a credit card and it is not used like one. I do usually have the insurance of my travel expenses (usually the AmEx) being covered by research funding for my graduate program, so that is nice. Otherwise I might not use it at all. I think that there is such a thing as too much credit. A CC is not the same as an EF.
    Jerry

  10. Frügal Says:
    1347301134

    Should I cancel any?

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