How many credit accounts is too many or too few? Credit scoring formulas don't punish you for having too many credit accounts, but you can have too few. Credit bureaus suggest that five or more accounts — which can be a mix of cards and loans — is a reasonable number to build toward over time.
There is no universal number of credit cards that is “too many.” Your credit score won't tank once you hit a certain number. In reality, “too many” credit cards is the point at which you're losing money on annual fees or having trouble keeping up with bills—and that varies from person to person.
Having a lot of credit cards can hurt your credit score under any of the following conditions: You are unable to service your current debt. Your outstanding debt is more than 30% of your total available credit1 You have added too many cards in too short a time.
"Too many" credit cards for someone else might not be too many for you. There is no specific number of credit cards considered right for all consumers. Everyone's credit history is different. Lenders tolerate different levels of risk, and different credit scoring formulas have different criteria.
“Too many” credit cards could be anywhere from 2 to 5 or more, depending on the individual. Everyone should have at least 1 credit card for credit-building purposes, even if they don't use it to make purchases, but the exact number of cards you should have differs from person to person.
Having at least two or three credit cards can be a useful thing in times of crisis. Ideally, these cards should have no annual fee, a relatively high credit limit, and a low interest rate.
It's generally recommended that you have two to three credit card accounts at a time, in addition to other types of credit. Remember that your total available credit and your debt to credit ratio can impact your credit scores. If you have more than three credit cards, it may be hard to keep track of monthly payments.
A 0% credit utilization rate has no real benefit for your credit score. Instead of aiming for no utilization, keep your credit utilization rates below 30%, and preferably under 10%, to help your credit.
There's no such thing as a bad number of credit cards to have, but having more cards than you can successfully manage may do more harm than good. On the positive side, having different cards can prevent you from overspending on a single card—and help you save money, earn rewards, and lower your credit utilization.
The average American have 4 credit cards, according to the 2019 Experian Consumer Credit Review.
While the number of cards you carry likely won't have an effect on your score in isolation, avoid applying for several new credit cards at one time. That can negatively impact your credit score in the short term.
The standard advice is to keep unused accounts with zero balances open. The reason is that closing the accounts reduces your available credit, which makes it appear that your utilization rate, or balance-to-limit ratio, has suddenly increased.
Yes, two credit cards will build credit faster than one, if used responsibly, because having a second card generates more positive information to report to the credit bureaus each month. Having a second card will increase your total credit limit, too, making it easier to maintain low credit utilization.
More cards could give you an indirect boost
Utilization is simply the amount you owe on your cards divided by your available credit. It plays a major role in the 30% of your FICO score that's determined by amounts owed. The lower your utilization, the better — below 30% is preferable, and below 10% is ideal.
In general, it's best to keep unused credit cards open so that you benefit from a longer average credit history and a larger amount of available credit. Credit scoring models reward you for having long-standing credit accounts, and for using only a small portion of your credit limit.
Four or fewer accounts is generally considered to be a "thin file." It's harder to score high with a thin file than a fatter one, and lenders also might view thin files as riskier. And with a thin file your credit actions can have a bigger effect on your score than if you had more accounts.
A zero balance on credit card accounts does not hurt, but it certainly does not help increase a credit score either.
We recommend having at least two open credit card accounts. It's best for your credit score to keep your oldest account open, and you should be able to get an upgrade for everyday spending after a bit of credit building. But there are lots of ways to get the job done.
Credit utilization — the portion of your credit limits that you are currently using — is a significant factor in credit scores. It is one reason your credit score could drop a little after you pay off debt, particularly if you close the account.
A good guideline is the 30% rule: Use no more than 30% of your credit limit to keep your debt-to-credit ratio strong. Staying under 10% is even better. In a real-life budget, the 30% rule works like this: If you have a card with a $1,000 credit limit, it's best not to have more than a $300 balance at any time.
Technically, there's no limit to how many credit cards you can have. If you want to break the Guinness world record for the biggest assortment of valid cards, you'll need to collect a whopping 1,498. But the perfect number of cards for you will depend on your personal financial needs.
Chase doesn't have a hard limit on the number of cards you can have at once. Instead, there's a maximum amount of total credit they'll extend you. Some of us on the MMS team have six or more Chase credit cards.
In general, you could get approved for a credit card with a $20,000 limit if you have excellent credit, a lot of income, and very little debt.