Here is a suggestion for those who want to keep track physically. It's working beautifully for me, so I thought I'd share.
I don't like having so much stuff on Mint. My credit cards change quickly, and I also need to track spend and retention bonuses. I currently have between 30-35 open credit card accounts in the family. I try not to lose out on a single bonus point, but it's hard to keep track of. I'm not a spread sheet person, either. I sometimes have to log on to a turned off computer before heading out the door with the credit cards, just to figure out which Barclays card has xxx promo or which Amex promo I've used or not used, etc.
At the end of summer, I was completely fed up with my own accounting system... post-its on the back of credit cards with retention offers; smeared marker notes on the cards I carry, notes about churns, apps, 8/65/18 month rules, etc. This was effective when I had a few credit cards, but, now, with dozens of cards, it just wasn't working for me.
So, here is the method that I came up with:
You will need a 3 ring binder for each person's cards that you manage, plus a set of divider tabs and a sheaf of 3 ring clear plastic business card holders. And a 3 hole punch to add the paperwork. I also have a student zipped, clear plastic pen/marker holder... I put the "to do" bank correspondence envelopes in there before filing them in the binder.
-Get a binder for every family member. Compile all your paperwork by family member.
-Use tabs to separate the pages by bank. So Chase, Citi, Barclays, etc... they each have a tab and a plastic business card holder.
-Use the 3 ring hole punch to put in ALL relevant mailed paperwork...bonus spend notices, approval notices, recon call notes, cancellation notices, etc, in chronological order, most recent first, sorted by card. With the Citi Exec cards, this meant tracking the progress of a large number of short lived card's lifespan... app date, approval notice, cancellation notice, all in order.
Now, by bank, you can quickly track all of your apps, cancellations, etc, by date, using the bank's own dated correspondence to you.
-Then, I have a tab section for denials, all banks (only 3 of these so far, but I want to keep track of them because I know I'm pushing the limit). I have a copy of these in the "denial" section (all family members), and a copy, in order, under the bank's tab. I will look here before making new applications.
-Add a tab for Misc. debit cards such as Redcards (opened and cancelled), Bluebirds, Buxx cards, Serves, Sun Trust, misc debit cards from checking accounts, etc. Put all the debit cards in the "live" folder in this tab. If you've got multiple people as AU's, this will help keep the accounts straight.
-All open cards go in the front, in the business card holders, sorted by bank. This is the "sock drawer" file. This works if you don't have a ton of open, active cards. Actually, I needed more space, so I have an entire "open card" binder for JUST open cards and retention/spend bonus notes. All family members have their own tab, and each bank has a business card holder page, as needed. At a glance, I can see that I've got xxx cards from xxx bank currently active and open. I can also quickly tell what cards are out "in the wallet" and, with teenagers in the picture, which cards they've been handed to use currently.
- All closed cards go in their individual bank section, with all the associated paperwork on application dates, spending, miles posting and close dates. This way, you can see at a glance if you had a card in the past. If I've thrown out a card, I just put a little paper (a flipped over business card) in the card holder noting that xxxx IHG card was cancelled on XXX date as a Visa.
Let me know if any of you find this handy..I'm sure there is room for improvement. I'd love to hear your suggestions.