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?