purdue1015

PS--Good thread, lots of good info...

takeshi74

Both matter. Overall may matter more but you don't want low overall with a maxed card, for example.

And despite what MDtR-Chicago says it's not just FT'ers and those in debt that have a high number of cards. Any credit discussion site is likely to have those with a large number of cards.

purdue1015

Thanks. Is not going above 10-20% a good rule of thumb for both?

krazykanuck

This article suggests 30% as a limit. 20% seems reasonable. There is no hard and fast rule.

Once you get a few cards with decent limits, utilization begins to matter a lot less, assuming your spending doesn't skyrocket. According to my current credit card log, I have 145k in total credit lines, 45k of which is on business cards which mean they don't show on my personal credit report. I don't think I've had a month in recent memory where my total credit cards have closed north of 6-7k in any given month but I still do manage my utilization during the month with extra payments if doing heavy MS.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-ca...-fico-1270.php

kdm31091

I personally feel better having less cards (I have 6 and will eventually be paring down to 4 or maybe 5). I don't like having to constantly log in to a bunch of accounts. I don't like having tiny amounts rewards spread out over a bunch of cards. For someone who doesn't spend a ton of money, there just isn't really any kind of meaningful gain by spreading so thin. Some people want the absolute most return on every transaction. For my spend level/income, it's a waste of time to worry about opening new accounts for an extra 1% on one category, etc. I couldn't understand, for example, the fervent hype for the Chase AARP for 3% dining from people who had 2% everywhere cards. But that's just my perspective. Some feel it's worth it.

Some people have 15 or 20 cards and have no issue managing them and maximizing all the rewards. For me, rewards vs effort just isn't there with more than a small handful of cards. YMMV.

purdue1015

Good article! Thanks

jsingles

I'm almost at that point myself. I don't spend $4-5,000 a month on a credit card; 1, because I'm a teacher and 2, because I'm a teacher. But since I am able to pay rent on a CC with no fees I've realized I can put $1400+ a month on credit. This amount hits all the spending minimums to get these big bonuses. So for that reason alone I'll first be getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred to add to my Amex Blue and Citi Double so I can hit that 50,000 points bonus. I'm likely to only open 2-3 accounts a year at the moment and then closing them when or if necessary. My rough calculations show that even with max $1600 a month spend I should be able to accumulate minimum $1,200-1,400 a year in points and cash back.