How Many Credit Cards Should I Have?

Many borrowers wonder whether they should have more or less credit cards than they currently have. On the one hand, a borrower may want to have as many cards as possible in order to be able to access as much cash as is available in case of an emergency. On the other hand, a borrower may be concerned that having too many cards affects credit scores and makes it difficult to keep finances organized. People at both extremes of the spectrum may find that they have credit problems resulting from the number of credit cards that are issued to them. So what is the right number of credit cards to possess?

The number of credit cards that is right for any one given person can differ greatly from what is right for his neighbor. For example, let’s take a single mother who is making just enough money to pay her bills. She may find that one or two cards is enough to give her access to the extra money she needs in a crunch without making it too tempting to go crazy on her cards. On the other hand, let’s take a business woman who travels extensively for work. She may find that the rewards offered by different cards make it valuable for her to have three major credit cards as well as a business credit card. She may have an additional card that is in a joint name with her husband. For the first woman, one or two cards works. For the second, it’s better to have five or six cards.

The key to determining how many credit cards an individual needs is to look at the lifestyle needs of the person. How many purchases truly need to be made on cards on a monthly basis? How reasonable is it for the individual to pay off the different bills that come in throughout the month? Is this an organized person who can keep track of department store cards and gas station cards in addition to their regular credit cards? Or is this someone who will forget what was spent until the bill comes in? The more money you spend and the better you are at organizing your spending, the more cards you can successfully carry.

It’s never a good idea to have too many cards. Credit scores do get lowered when too many cards are open. For this reason, it’s a bad idea to get ten or twenty different department store cards when you could just carry one general credit card. But some shoppers may find that they benefit from having a card for their one or two favorite stores. The idea is to look at the spending that you do and figure out what’s right for you. If you’re having trouble making payments, keeping track of cards or running up too many bills, then you probably have too many cards!