Comments on: Why Do People Need More Than One Credit Card?

By: bishophicks

bishophicks — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:51:23 +0000

I have 2 credit cards for a very specific reason. I went to pick up a reserved rental car once and the place had just stopped accepting Visa because they had reneged on paying some damage claim (something like that – this is 15 years ago). The guy in front of me was 3000 miles from home, had only a Visa card and was pretty much out of luck. Fortunately, in addition to Visa I also had Amex and was able to rent my car no problem.

I’ve also experienced times when the payment system for one of the cards was down but I was able to pay with the other.

By: Nick in Iraq

Nick in Iraq — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:53:16 +0000

It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have a few cards, but some of you folks with 7 cards might want to rethink that a little bit. Once you get more than 4-5, and especially if they are high limit cards, you might be getting hits on your credit score.

Specialty rewards cards are a great idea to use when you have the chance. I have a card for home improvements, and it gets 4% cash back on those purchases. It really adds up when you are fixing up houses to flip.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:24:33 +0000

Jodi, you played the role of Debbie Downer quite nicely by kinda-sorta-but-not-really responding to Cap’s post. Instead you decided to post a few silly paragraphs about how money isn’t real. Nice. That was totally worth my time (and yours). No offense meant though. Keep spreading the good vibes.

By: bob

bob — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:31:39 +0000

Using a credit card causes prople to spend more than they would if paying with actual cash. See daveramsey.com for details. I know most of u wont believe it, but studies prove credit card transactions cause you to spend 8-12% more. Why do you think Mcdonald’s now takes plastic?

By: Cards

Cards — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 22:25:09 +0000

I have a number of credit cards:

1) My B of A card. This is the first card I ever had (it was MBNA then), so I keep it open for the sake of my credit score. I use this for all of my fixed bills, so that this card has the same balance every month. It helps with budgeting.

2) My Citibank card. I get good rewards on this and use it for my variable expenses.

3) A Discover card. I have 0% interest on this through the end of the year, so I keep it maxed out while the money I’d otherwise be paying it with earns 5% in a savings account.

4) A Crapital One card. I don’t like Crap One, so I only use this when traveling internationally. AFAIK, Crap One is the only credit card issuer that charges ZERO foreign currency transaction fees.

I was glad to have multiple cards a few weeks ago when someone tried to make an unauthorized charge on my Citibank card. Citibank caught it immediately, but closed my account anyway out of caution. It took them more than a week to send me a new card.

The way I see it, if you’re responsible with credit cards, it doesn’t matter if you have 1 or 10. If you aren’t responsible with credit cards, 1 is too many. I got my first card in college and have never, ever carried a balance. It works for me.

By: fivecentnickel.com

fivecentnickel.com — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 21:25:54 +0000

Weekly Roundup – 06/15/07…

Well, here we are… In a few days we’ll be taking off for vacation, so we’ve been madly rushing around trying to tie up loose ends in advance of our departure. If you’re interested in contributing a guest post, please let me know…

By: Independent George

Independent George — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 21:52:16 +0000

The thing to remember here is that technology has significantly reduced the time cost of tracking multiple accounts. I spend less than twenty minutes a month on bills; ten years ago – when I was still in school, and had a greatly simplified financial situation – I would typically spend over an hour per month tracking my finances. Not only did it take longer, but my information was also less accurate (did I already write a check for that bill? Did it go through yet?). Back then, I never would have trusted myself with the rate arbitrage games I take for granted now (nor would I likely have qualified for it).

#17 – this is true, but there’s money to be made by being the outlier. The key is being honest with yourself – if you know you can’t stay disciplined enough to avoid the interest and fees, then the cards aren’t worth the effort. If you’re diligent about your bills like most of the commenters here, then the card companies are effectively paying you for the privilege of extending short-term, interest-free loans every month. Which is nice.

By: Elissa

Elissa — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:44:43 +0000

I just have the one, and it’s my pride and joy.

It’s a Crapital One card (they’re online service BLOWS) but I do get 1% cash back on everything I purchase. It’s not that much, but I never turn down free money. :)

Having just the one makes life way more enjoyable (as opposed to NINE). My goal is to acquire a card that’s the most rewarding to me, while only having one credit card.

By: annoyed

annoyed — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:29:44 +0000

i’m afraid of credit cards! :)

By: Wimbly

Wimbly — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 03:54:11 +0000

One personal card is enough for me. It is for on-line purchases and emergencies only and is paid in full every time a bill is sent.

Don’t be fooled… perks, rewards and other benefits make sense on paper, but the credit companies all know that statistically, we DO spend more money when we use a card. What really, is the price of the rewards we get? My experience is that sometimes, the free things end up costing quite a bit.

By: ladydoughgirl

ladydoughgirl — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:19:48 +0000

i think we started to get into trouble when we got more than one credit card. the reason is that i had a hard time keeping them all straight. in a household with two working parents and a hectic schedule it’s hard to stay on top of bills. especially when you have more than one type of visa. my goal is to pay off the credit cards and then only have one card that my husband and i share. much more transparency to what we spend that way and i think we’ll do a better job managing our bills/expenses.

By: kungfukoh

kungfukoh — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:46:17 +0000

I have only one card and its a Discover Card that is accepted at about, oh 75% of all businesses. Enough said. I know I know, its pathetic!

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:45:30 +0000

Sometimes it just makes sense. I’ve got 3:

1) Driver’s Edge. For everyday rewards. Cash back. Use it for gas, groceries, everything….except. After my next car purchase, this will be retired, as I plan to convert over to the “buy a used car and drive til it dies” philosophy, so my rewards will not last between purchases.

2) Kohl’s. Sometimes you can get extra discounts as long as you charge on your Kohl’s card.

3) American Express Blue. I got this one for ONE purpose. 20% off ski packages at Sugarloaf USA. That saved us a bundle! I’ll use it again next year when the snow flies!

By: Phoenix

Phoenix — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:24:23 +0000

Between my husband and I, we have 4 cards that we use:

1. Joint Disney Chase card–used to auto-pay household bills, and for most of our joint expenses
2. My company AmEx card–issued in my name, but used only for work expenses and paid by my employer
3. My Capital One card–used very infrequently, primarily to keep it active
4. His Capital One card–again not used very often

All of these cards are paid off every month. As to why we have the Capital One Cards–this being my second marriage, I am a bit paranoid financially. I don’t want either one of us in a situation where all credit reporting and availability is based on joint accounts,just in case.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:15:25 +0000

I have found that it pays to have both a MasterCard and a Visa because some parts of the world only took one or the other (wierd, but true).

Some cards max out the reward, so it pays to switch. The “other” perks vary by card (like car rental insurance), so I keep a mix just for that.

By: Jodi

Jodi — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 03:57:17 +0000

Money is just an illusion. It’s not real. It’s only worth what we say it is worth. If the government all of a sudden said we would use seashells for currency instead of bills, then we could literally wipe our a**es with $20 bills b/c they would be worth nothing. We would be putting 600 seashells on our credit cards for that new iphone instead.

Our amount of spending decides the prices of things. Consumers are the ones that decide whether the cost of real estate goes up or down. The more credit that is given to the general public = the more “money” most of us will spend with that issued credit. Inflation occurs with this spending on pieces of plastic that we can never seem to pay off, along with a rise in consumer debt. So now, we have higher prices of goods along with debts to pay, all thanks to who you ask? Why ourselves of course!

Don’t worry though, we can at least act like we’re rich. Let’s live the American Dream now and then worry about paying it back later. There are always those 401ks to cash in early at a fraction of their value.

Back to the Spurs game.

By: Independent George

Independent George — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:09:36 +0000

I have seven cards, each with its own story:

1. Corporate AmEx for business expenses
2. Chase Freedom for groceries (3% back)
3. Emigrant Direct for most other purchases (1.4% back to my savings account)
4. A furniture store credit card I’m using to furnish my new home (0% for two(!) years)
5. Another store credit card, from the time I got caught in a torrential downpour without an umbrella during a business trip, and had to buy an entirely new outfit (and never used again since).
6. A trusty backup credit card I’ve had since college (no annual fee, unused for about four years)
7. A new, 12-month 0% APY card I’m using to finance the renovations in my new home (or, rather, I’m charging my Emigrant card for the rewards, then transfering the balance to the 0% card).

I’ll have more in the near future as I fully intend to play the 0% rotation game indefinitely (depending on how the mortgage affects my credit score).

By: Debbie

Debbie — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 19:44:55 +0000

I think it’s good to have a credit card, if you can handle it, for car rental, for buyer’s insurance (your credit card company can help you deal with bad sellers) and for emergencies.

I think it’s good to have two credit cards so if something is wonky with one, you have another to rely on. For example, sometimes a large purchase will freak out a credit card company and they’ll put a hold on purchases until they can get in touch with you. Or sometimes there’s just a mistake.

I have three credit cards:
1) awesome rewards card for groceries, gas, and pharmacies
2) good rewards card for home improvement and other stuff
3) low-interest card from my credit union, in case I want to carry a balance for a brief period or am traveling or otherwise would prefer to deal with a less slimy credit card company.

If you have a favorite shop that offers credit cards, having a credit card can get you on their mailing list, which might be nice, but most of my favorite shops just have a form you can fill out to get on their mailing list.

By: cami

cami — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:49:01 +0000

ATPFB, I wouldn’t say it’s laziness, perhaps it has more to do with the fact that I am not a confrontational person. I have one card that I’ve tried to cancel several times, each time they give me something, more miles, vouchers, etc. I actually get more rewards from trying to cancel the card than I do from purchases! And yes, one of my cards is the oldest record on my credit report so I keep it around, but since it has a piddly credit line and mediocre rewards I don’t use it.

However, I will say that I only carry around one credit card, unless I’m using my Amex because like Beth mentioned with her Discover card, it isn’t taken everywhere.

By: Leo

Leo — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:51:13 +0000

I have 3 cards:
1) Rewards card thats 5% cash back on groceries and gas, 1% on all else.
2) Travel card thats 2-3% for flights and trips and 1% on everything else
3) Subaru mastercard thats 3% off on everything, except I have to use the rewards toward Subaru stuff (convenient, since that’s what I drive)

I put all my groceries and gas on #1, travel on #2 and everything else on #3. If I go over the max annual rewards on the subaru card, I start using one of the 1% cash back ones.

Using 3 cards helps me get 2-3% back on instead of 1%… which makes a big difference when I spend 40k/year.