Originally Posted by
LongviewTX
That's right - then add a little bit of time to actually find the best sign-up offer for the card you need, a little bit of time to keep track of due dates and payments on these credit cards, a little bit of time for investigating of what to do if you're not approved (reconsideration calls, letters etc.). Add to that offsetting factor of annual fees (unless you're willing to spend time cancelling it, choosing a new one, applying for it, getting through the hoops of possible rejection - than you're such deep in the game that regular monitoring of you credit report becomes a must).
And a little bit later when the OP decides to buy a house - oops - mortgage companies will not give him the best rate. Now he will have a pay extra $100s a month just for pleasure of knowing he's getting points valued at let's say 4 cents per $1 spend instead of following his original suggestion of just getting 2% cashback everywhere he uses a credit card.
I have credit cards with the major hotel chains and I really think your over-estimating the time involved in securing and maintaing cards in various hotel programs. The statements you make about investigating, approval, denials are true for rebate cards as well as hotel affinity cards. Payments are easy to keep track of now and even easier to make. Afterall, how long does it take to login to an account and click make a payment. You have to make a decision on whether the annual fee offsets the additional points and perks you receive with the card. One thing you fail to mention are the yearly caps on the amount of rebate you can earn, many are $1500 per year.
I absolutely disagree with your mortgage assessment! Yes, after you apply and receive a credit card you will see a decline in your credit scores for a short period of time only to see a rebound with increased credit score due to lower utilization because of the increased total credit lines.
We are not talking about churning here.
Cheers!