# How many credit cards are too many? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2013, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885 "2013-12-09T11:01:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/21 "2013-12-09T20:13:15Z")
For those of you that carry one and pay the balance off every month for convenience sake, why do you opt for this rather than a bank issued visa credit/debit card linked directly to your checking account? I have one of these that I use for practically everything and it seems to be even more convenient than the “pay off every month” since it eliminates that step. Do a lot of banks not offer this type of card? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/22 "2013-12-09T20:23:53Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > For those of you that carry one and pay the balance off every month for convenience sake, > why do you opt for this rather than a bank issued visa credit/debit card linked directly to your checking account? > I have one of these that I use for practically everything and it seems to be even more convenient than the “pay off every month” since it eliminates that step. > Do a lot of banks not offer this type of card? if security is breached on the account, I want it to happen with someone else’s money, not mine. My debit card is for the ATM only. Anything else is foolish IMO. Plus, I get free stuff. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/23 "2013-12-09T20:25:21Z")
I have a debit card too but there are 2 important reasons never to use a debit card. 1. If your debit card gets stolen or the number compromised, it’s much harder nearing impossible to get any money back stolen from your account. On a CC it’s ridiculously easy to file a fraud claim and not have to pay a penny of it. 2. Debit cards do not generally give rewards or special offers. I use my SW card because I get points and fly frequently, so I get hundreds of dollars worth of free flights every year just putting everything on that card (even regular bill payments). ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/24 "2013-12-09T20:26:06Z")
Never heard of US Bank that doesn’t have a Visa/MC Debit card. But how much do you spend per year on things that wouldn’t cost any extra to use a Credit Card ? 10k ? 20k? more ? Using a debit card or cash costs you 2%+ of that amount (so $200, $400, more ?), even if you just want to use the same credit card for everything. (Fidelity Amex -2% cash back, Barclay’s Arrival Card Visa - 2.2% cash back, must redeem against a hotel/flight/car rental expense). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/25 "2013-12-09T20:57:29Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > For those of you that carry one and pay the balance off every month for convenience sake, > why do you opt for this rather than a bank issued visa credit/debit card linked directly to your checking account? > I have one of these that I use for practically everything and it seems to be even more convenient than the “pay off every month” since it eliminates that step. > Do a lot of banks not offer this type of card? In addition to the reasons stated by **Ruken** and **drewtwo99** , some merchants (gas stations, car rental agencies, etc.) put a “hold” on your card – often much larger than the charge itself – until the transaction clears. My credit card balance has _never_ been so high that a temporary additional $50 or $100 would be noticed. My checking account balance has on a handful of occasions been low enough that such a hold on my debit card _would_ result in bouncy checks, except that I used my credit card. 😉 As to “free stuff,” I haven’t paid a penny of interest on my credit card ever, and I’ve amassed enough Amtrak points from my regular purchases alone (not Amtrak travel) that I could travel across the country, bedroom all-the-way, three times over. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/26 "2013-12-09T21:29:45Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > if security is breached on the account, I want it to happen with someone else’s money, not mine. My debit card is for the ATM only. Anything else is foolish IMO. > > Plus, I get free stuff. These. My AmEx card has an annual fee, but it collects Delta Airlines FF miles, and by periodically cancelling/reinstating it (and getting an extra card on my wife’s Amex account during the down periods), I’m able to collect extra miles when I start the account up again. For some folks spending FF miles is a PITA (especially if you’re trying to use them around a major holiday), but for me it works great: I just flew to/from Japan a month ago, no charge. That’s a $1500 airfare; I’ve only had the card for maybe 2.5 years, so that’s a pretty fat benefit. That card also gives you a “companion” domestic ticket discount: if I buy a full-fare flight, my wife flies with me for $99. That card also lets me check luggage at no additional charge; this pays for the annual fee all by itself after a couple of trips. And then yeah, consumer protection laws seem to favor credit card users far more than debit card users. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/27 "2013-12-09T21:40:46Z")
There’s a perk I didn’t know about for a while with Visa credit cards - use it to pay for your rental car and waive the rental company’s insurance, and Visa provides collision and theft insurance for you, no extra charge. I had only one credit card for a long time and it was all I needed. We only got a second one since we wanted a rewards card and my husband needed to build a little credit. I don’t expect to need any more. No balance carried. As mentioned upthread by others, I also use the CC for all my online, large, and/or “fishy” purchases (fishy meaning “This gas station looks seedy and I’m two states away from home”) so as to have consumer protection on my side. Debit cards are pretty great too, but I’m not a fan of having my checking account drained in the case of theft. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/28 "2013-12-10T04:26:40Z")
\*\* > [@](#): > > How many credit cards are too many? If you have to ask, you have too many. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/29 "2013-12-10T04:41:06Z")
That’s an ass load of cards in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![MrDurden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@MrDurden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDurden)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/30 "2013-12-10T09:10:53Z")
> [@duckster](#): > > \*\* > > if you have to ask, you have too many. > \*\* Wrong! ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/31 "2013-12-10T09:13:25Z")
One is too many. CCs are used by the banks to make gullible people pay them a shed load of money. If you must have a card, pay the balance off every month and if using one on holiday, load it up before travelling so you don’t pay interest on cash advances. I used to have a card just for internet purchases with a very small limit. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/32 "2013-12-10T12:18:12Z")
It was only a matter of time before one of these showed up: > [@Doggo](#): > > One is too many. > > CCs are used by the banks to make gullible people pay them a shed load of money. How many people in this thread do you think are stupid enough to pay interest? You read it, right? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/33 "2013-12-10T13:22:51Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > CCs are used by the banks to make gullible people pay them a shed load of money. I do pay an annual fee, 'tis true. However, the benefits I receive in return (cheap companion airline ticket every year, free checked luggage and early boarding privileges every time I fly, FF miles) substantially outweigh that fee. This is particularly true since I and many of the other gullible people chiming in here do indeed pay off the monthly balance in full, never incurring a smidge of interest or late fees. Maybe I’m not one of the “gullible” people you’re talking about. Maybe the “gullible” people are the ones who pay for everything with a cash or check, since they end up subsidizing all those delicious benefits that I enjoy by using my credit card. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/34 "2013-12-10T13:29:46Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I see 3 negatives of having credit cards you never use: > … > 3. The credit card company keeps sending you junk mail. > > I just cancelled two unused Amex cards because of third reason–at least once a month they were sending an email about changes in conditions. They’ll send you the junk mail anyway - we get stuff from Crapital One weekly and have never had a card through them. Good luck on the annual fee on the Southwest card - they tend not to negotiate on those. I found that out when I had a Citibank card that gave me points (on American Airlines, I believe). I ran up quite a points balance, splurged them all on a first-class trip to California, and decided to see if I could get them to waive the fee. No dice - they said their agreement with the airline precluded doing so. So I let that one go, got one with USAir points, ran that up, spent the miles, and cancelled that one. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/35 "2013-12-10T13:30:54Z")
Oh, and: for people who pay in full every month (like us): studies have shown that even if you do that, you tend to spend more than if you paid cash for everything. So there’s THAT tradeoff as well. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/36 "2013-12-10T14:07:07Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Oh, and: for people who pay in full every month (like us): studies have shown that even if you do that, you tend to spend more than if you paid cash for everything. So there’s THAT tradeoff as well. That may be true, but those extra dollars are still getting me something of value. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/37 "2013-12-10T18:11:48Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > That doesn’t mean that credit cards don’t have their uses. Have fun shopping online if you intend to pay by check…Maybe I misunderstood, and you use a debit card or something else that deducts from, say, your checking account without having to go through the bother of writing checks. Ding, ding! We have a winner. I use a debit card and get, IMHO, the best of both worlds - no fees, no interest, no "forgot to pay that bill, and debit cards cost the merchant less in swipe fees. My bank has the same $50 liabilty for lost/stolen debit cards as for credit cards. I never said “credit cards = living in debt” or “credit cards don’t have their place” as some others accuse me of. In fact I said just the opposite in the second half of my post. Debt is a tool. There are often multiple tools to do a particular job. I sometimes use the heel of a shoe to drive a small nail but I hear a hammer works, too. I choose not to have a credit card or car payment, but I have a mortgage. It’s all in what one prefers. > [@](#): > > I used to have most of my cards deduct from my savings, until my bank started imposing a $10 fee (and could cancel my account entirely if I did it twice in six months) if I made more than six online transactions (ATM withdrawals and transfers don’t count) on my savings account, including an automatic transfer to checking, in a 35-day period. That is due to federal banking regulations concerning reserve funds banks must keep on hand to cover potential withdrawals. The more liquid the account, like checking, the higher the reserve requirement (and the less money the bank can lend or invest). The converse is true for less liquid accounts. In order to keep a bank from calling everything a savings or money market account and artificially lowering their reserve requirement, the government sets transaction limits on those accounts. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/38 "2013-12-10T18:25:28Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Oh, and: for people who pay in full every month (like us): studies have shown that even if you do that, you tend to spend more than if you paid cash for everything. So there’s THAT tradeoff as well. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > That may be true, but those extra dollars are still getting me something of value. I find the opposite is true for me: when I have cash in my pocket, in my head it’s already “spent”, and it just dissolves. Plus, there are impulse items (vending machines!) that can only be bought with cash. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/39 "2013-12-10T19:49:11Z")
Actually, lately I’m seeing vending machines that take credit cards. That’s useful, because I rarely carry small bills or change. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885/40 "2013-12-11T00:57:31Z")
[When he takes you out to dinner, try to sneak a peek at his wallet while he pays for you. If he only has one credit card, BEWARE. It means he doesn’t spend a lot, and worse yet, it could be a debit card. If he has more than four cards, that’s a little fishy. The perfect number of credit cards to have is … two](http://www.moviewavs.com/php/sounds/?id=gog&media=M4RS&type=TV_Shows&movie=South_Park/Episode_304_Tweek_VS_Craig"e=304_creditcards.txt&file=304_creditcards.m4r). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-credit-cards-are-too-many/675885.md?page=3)