WillCAD

We're having a discussion in the TS&S forum about a fraudster who was recently apprehended transiting a checkpoint with 50 credit cards in his carry-on. TSA thought this suspicious and called the police, who subsequently determined that the cards were fraudulent and the man was charged with several crimes.

I'd like to get a sense of how many credit cards the average frequent flier has at any given time. This does not count gift cards or pre-paid cards, just credit and debit cards that actually have a name on them.

Although this is a financial topic, I avoided the forums dedicated to credit and debit card programs, because I want to get an idea of the mean average. Those who frequent the credit and debit forums, I feel, would be more likely to open larger numbers of accounts in order to take advantage of signing bonuses and other programs, which would throw off the results.

So, tell me: How many credit cards do you have at any given time? How many do you carry on your person when traveling? How many do you actually use, as opposed to those you only signed up for to get some bonus miles?

brendog

Amex Plat (95% of all spend)
AS Visa (For places that don't accept Amex)
REI Visa (Had it forever. Use it only for REI purchases.)
B of A MC (Had it for 20+ years. Only keep it for the credit history. Haven't used it in 5 years)

tev9999

Total open:
21 credit cards (down from 23 a few weeks ago due to annual fees hitting)
3 debit cards

Carry: Three credit (usually) and two debit cards. The credit will fluctuate depending on what I might be churning for signup bonuses- currently the Club Carlson Visa.

I also have a "truck wallet" that contains a backup credit card, my Kohls card (only store card I use, and rarely), whatever gift cards I might have bought at the grocery store for gas points (currently Lowes, HD, McDonalds) and my insurance cards. I went to a front pocket wallet/money clip a couple years ago due to sciatic pain, and it maxes out at about 12 cards.

I also have three cards that have balances at 0%, but the cards are in the sock drawer with the other unused cards.

shenxing

15 credit cards, 2 debits, and about 400 drained visa/mc gift cards.

waygora

I have 3 debit cards and 7 credit cards. I carry 2 debit and 3 credit cards at a time. I probably have fewer than most on FT.

durberville

21 open, but between my partner and myself, we have 38...

Hope TSA doesn't call the police on me

mbece

I have 8 CC. When traveling, I have two visas (one says in the room's safe), an AMEX and my debit card.

GSSmith

3 CC, 2 debit.

yknot

3 credit, 0 debit
2 gas cards
2 dept store

skitch23

I've got 16 cc's + 2 debit cards + 2 Bb's + 2 tmo's + any number of prepaids.

Probably 8-10 of my cc's are always in a sock drawer. And when I travel I only take 2-3 cc's + a debit card with me.... mostly because if I were to lose my wallet I don't want to have to deal with trying to remember all those card numbers nor the hassle of calling 8 different card issuers.

It was bad enuf three years ago (before my points/miles obsession) when my wallet got stolen and I couldn't remember the number on the ONE card I had... stress can do funny things.

CPRich

4 Credit Cards, 1 Bank MC-branded ATM/debit card, 1 Corporate AmexPLT.

I usually leave 2 of the CC's at home

Mamibear

I have 20 total ~ only 6 are currently active where I'm still working on 2 to meet min spend while the other 4 are for regular MS activities. I still use the remaining 14 every now and then just to keep them active, other than that, I leave them in my safe. DH has more or less equal number of cards but I help him manage them. So far we make a good team.

I keep a yearly planner with notes on what CC to use/what month, for a small purchases just to keep them in active status.

gfunkdave

3 debit cards (Chase Visa, Ally MC, and my healthcare flex spending card)
3 credit cards (Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa, PenFed Visa, and SPG Amex)

GRALISTAIR

Company issued B of A card - all company spend
Delta Platinum Amex (90% of personal spend)
Frontier Airlines Mastercard (3% of spend)
United Airlines Chase Visa Mileage Plus Visa (7% of personal spend)

IslesFan

I have alot of Credit Cards... but I only use 1-2 on a regular basis:

Debit: BOA, Ally Bank, Schwab Bank, Capital One 360.
Credit: Marriott Chase Visa Premier, Chase Amazon Visa, Discover Card, BankAmericard, American Express Costco, American Express Blue, American Express Blue Cash, Capital One Venture One, Best Buy Store Card, Kohl's Store card.

The Marriott card is my primary card(all personal/work travel expenses on that one). I carry the Capital One VentureOne in my wallet as a backup, with the Costco and Amex Blue Cash there as well. For Debit cards, I use the Ally and Schwab Interchangeably, and the BOA just to deposit cash. The capital one card just collects dust at home.