techcrium

I've seen several threads asking how many cards you currently own however I am curious how many credit cards you guys have opened in your entire lifetime?

For me, I have a 4 year credit card history and I have owned 10 cards in all.

sdsearch

I don't see how I could figure that out. Credit reports don't show cards which were cancelled 10+ years ago, so all those credit cards that I got while pursuing lifetime AA elite status (while miles from all sources counted toward that until 2011), etc, I have no way to count them.

Right now Experian shows almost 20 open accounts and just over 40 closed accounts for me, but I recall it showing close to 60 closed accounts a few years ago soon after I signed up for (the free version of) Experian online.

I still have a Discover card account that I opened in the late 1980s, and a Citi card account that I first opened in the early 1990s (though I've product converted that card a couple times, it kept the account history through those product conversions).

But I know I had at least one credit card before that Discover card, but it was a credit card that was discontinued decades ago.

So I'm guessing I must have had well over 100 credit card accounts since I started getting (then often cancelling) more cards for signup bonuses starting in the early 2000s, but I don't know how to figure out just how many.

Note: Back in 2000s, there didn't tend to be anti-churning restrictions of the kind that several banks these days, and meanwhile each card gave a much smaller signup bonus (AA cards only gave 25k bonus miles each for something trivial like $250 or $750 spend), and so you had to get a lot more cards to get some meaningful amounts, compared to today.

Dr Jabadski

It’s good for you to ask this question, with a 4 year history you’re probably very early in your FF & CC histories. Wish I had found FT 35 years ago instead of 10 years ago. I’m at the other end of the bell curve and I keep pretty good records, still have hard copy credit card cancellation verification letters going back to 1985 (same theory as saving military firearm return receipt, if the firearm is ever used in a crime, you definitely want proof that you turned it in).

~ 40 year credit card history, ~ 240 total accounts, ~ 170 SUBs, ~ 140 of each in past 10-11 years since finding and joining FT, Credit Karma states 100 closed accounts going back to 2012.

Late 80s: churned MBNA Visa for 2,500 or 5,000 US Air SUBs and churned NCNB Visa for 2,500 Piedmont SUBs, IIRC no minimum spend, bonuses were for first purchase on the cards. (See scan below of excerpts of my old hand-written records. Please recall that personal computers barely existed in 1987.) Didn’t want to pay any AFs for many years so left a lot on the table.

2004-2010: churned Chase UA Visa for 20,000 SUBs and churned Citi AmEx/Visa/MC for AA SUBs of 15,000 - 25,000, first big SUB was in 2010 Citi AA Business Visa 100,000, churned a few AmEx for Delta SUBs of 10,000-15,000.

Started reading FT in 2010, joined in 2011, learned what churning really is, learned that sometimes an AF can be worth it and learned that I could get business cards and they wouldn’t affect my credit score and average account age. Was at 20-30/24 for much of 2011 - 2017, darn anti-churning policies. (Also learned from FT that I wasn’t quite as smart as I thought I was for my 1 mileage run in 2003 (Dec 16th NYC-FLL-NYC for an hour for lunch in the concourse) to get 50,000 BIS miles for my first airline elite status. FTers had long before perfected the MR.)

Still have USAA and NFCU credit cards I opened in the mid-80s; no SUBs, thankfully no annual fees, very low threshold for inactivity closure, and terrific for my average account age.

Best SUB: NY Yankees blanket handed to me for CC application in person at Yankee Stadium, canceled the card without activating it the day I received it.

EmailKid

Internet wasn't around 35 years ago, let alone FT of course

As I understand it, founder of FT, Randy Peterson had a newsletter, but I am also pretty sure it did not deal with Credit Card maximization

We do have a few Original Members who still post, and if they read this forum maybe they can chime in on what was in the newsletters.

Dr Jabadski

Privilege Flyer thread

Correct. For the first few years of FF programs, credit cards were not generally viewed as the major way to earn miles, BIS miles were the focus. At that time 500, 750 or 1000 mile minimums and triple miles promotions were common. So a 600-800 mile RT ticket could net 12,000 RDM which “beat” a 2,000 or 2,500 mile SUB.

(Sorry for the tangent, it’s easy to get carried away with this stuff.)

md80only

I have records of 42 cards, and I am 42. I currently have 23 open. Very sad that my very first card (class attractive coed in the union asking freshmen to sign up trick) from Citibank got closed for inactivity. I still have my Discover and another card opened that year.

I wasn't that aware of churning and didn't know about FT until way too late unfortunately. The Citi Amex card I had was by far and way the most points I ever earned on a card, it was insane. Now I primarily use BOA Cards for 5.25% in categories (I have five CR cards so I can get 5.25% on up to $12,500 per quarter) and 2.625% on everything else due to my status with BOA/Merrill. But I just had to renew my Global Entry and realized that the IHG Premium Card covers the $100 - I used my Saph Reserve credit for a friend and recently closed my Prestige, so that was a nice find. Worth a google no doubt.

I also had an American Eagle store card and a Home Depot Card, and an Old Navy card I think at one point haha but didn't count those above. in the above, an Eddie Bauer Master Card, a Gateway Computers Card through MBNA, classics.

drminn

Got my first card, a Mobil gas card, about 40 years ago, my first "real" credit card, an Amex green card, in 1984. Since then I have opened and closed anywhere between 200 and 250 cards. For a time I was churning Citi AA cards every 45 days, until AA shut everybody down. For now I am slowing down a bit, Covid has put a serious damper on my traveling.

schistosomiasis

76 SUB since 2014 (when opened my business), 27 from 2007-13 when I began keeping track, perhaps another 5 or so before that. This doesn’t include the advice/ coercion I’ve given my family members to apply (they fly Cathay Pacific business to Asia all the time with points). But my favorite redemption? Three applications for Chase Fairmont got us three nights Banff, three nights Lake Louise, all with upgraded rooms, free breakfast and $300 dining credit! Use estimated taxes or business expenses to meet minimum spend.

ingy

Between the wife and I about 300