I currently have 5 creditcards, 2 of which I use regularly because of cashback rebates. The other 3 have no rebates, but I've had them for more than 5 years. Is 5 credit cards too many?
2007-09-11 04:36:36 · 7 answers · asked by Ming 5 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
I have one of each type of card: Discover, Mastercard, (2) Visa, AMEX. The reason I applied for them was to have one of each kind because some places did not accept AMEX or Discover so I had to use VISA.
I have never paid just minimum, but paid in full.
2007-09-11 06:15:14 · update #1
I think if you can remember to make the payments, there is no sense in closing them. You are contributing positively to your credfit with the age of the accounts. Use the cards once every 3-6 months for a tank of gas just to show usage.
I currently have over 20 open lines of credit, with scores over 700. The number of credit lines I have open has no adversely affected my score. It has actually helped, because my utilization of credit lower. FICO likes that! :)
2007-09-11 06:35:42 · answer #1 · answered by KatyG 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most financial advisers will tell you 2-3 credit cards is sufficient, and any more than that is a sign of trouble.
In your situation however, it's probably not. Your only using 2 of the cards "regularly" and you've had the other 3 forever. Closing these accounts now would "probably" have a negative effect on your credit rating. If two or more of the cards come from the same place, maybe you could call your issuer and have them combined into one account, that way you'd reduce your total number of cards, while keeping the same available credit. The downsides of this are: it would be reported as "new" credit on your report, and you'd lose the points you had earned by keeping an account(s) in good standing for more than 3 years.
2007-09-11 04:53:22 · answer #2 · answered by djajr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No 5 is not too many. What you don't want to do is close them. This will not decrease your ceredit score but it will not help you in the long run. Put $5.00 on each of them a month and pay them off each and every month to get them going. You will build your credit and soon you will have EXCELLENT credit and will be able to buy virtually anything.
2007-09-11 04:47:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you close them you will adversely affect your credit score. Not only will you close the 5 year history, but you lower your overall credit limit.
Personally, I would close at lease a couple of them, especially if they are store or gas charge cards. I think it stupid to have a pile of credit cards just for the sake of having them. You have to monitor and secure them. They are just aksing for problems.
As long as you aren't planning to purchase a home in the near future, go ahead and close at least two of them. Your score will rebound in a few months.
2007-09-11 04:48:30 · answer #4 · answered by bdancer222 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
3 is considered a good number to have. Enough credit lines without too many.
2007-09-11 04:46:07 · answer #5 · answered by Bob D 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cancel any you don't use. There are too many scams out there that involve credit card fraud. The less you have the better. Not using one will bring down your credit score too.
2007-09-11 05:04:35 · answer #6 · answered by FILE 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
depend on your annual salary and the percentage of debit
you have.
2007-09-11 06:01:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋