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. Having very few accounts can make it hard for scoring models to render a score for you.
While there's no perfect answer to how many credit cards you should have, the 2019 Experian Consumer Credit Review found that the average American has four. If you can responsibly manage multiple credit cards, you can maximize rewards, annual statement credits and interest-free financing.
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 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.
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.
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. Having very few accounts can make it hard for scoring models to render a score for you.
On a daily basis, you shouldn't carry more than two credit cards (one primary and one back-up) and one debit card in your wallet at the same time.
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.
Whether you own two credit cards or 12, your score will suffer if you accrue debt you can't pay. On the other hand, if you use your cards to pay for purchases that you then pay off right away, having more credit cards can result in a credit score increase.
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.
Bottom line: Is it good to have multiple credit cards? Being a multiple credit card holder is good as long as you keep track of payments due, avoid overspending and maintain a low credit utilization ratio.
Having accounts open with a credit card company will not hurt your credit score, but having zero balances will not prove to lenders that you are creditworthy and will repay a loan. Lenders want to make sure you repay, and that you will also pay interest.
It's better to pay off your credit card than to keep a balance. It's best to pay a credit card balance in full because credit card companies charge interest when you don't pay your bill in full every month.
Some credit card issuers will close your credit card account if it goes unused for a certain period of months. The specifics depend on the credit card issuer, but the range is generally between 12 and 24 months.
If you have many store credit cards, you should only take the ones you plan to use when you leave the house. Another downside of keeping too many credit cards in your wallet is that you may be tempted to use them and not pay them off, which can ruin your credit score and lead to a ton of debt.
Multiple credit cards help you afford your everyday purchases but also your emergency expenses. You can rely on credit when you run into an unexpected expense, but with two cards you can prevent that large expense from hurting your credit score.
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.
Number of Cards
Capital One will allow you to have only two of its personal credit cards open at once. This is a hard rule and cannot be overridden. This does not apply to Capital One's co-branded store cards, but these are not the types of cards we typically look at to maximize travel rewards.
In 2020, the average credit card credit limit was $30,365, according to Experian data. This was a 3% decrease from the previous year's average. However, average credit card limits also vary by age range, and people who are new to credit or rebuilding their credit may have lower credit limits.
According to Weiss, one of the most recommended cards for high-net-worth individuals is The Platinum Card® from American Express . While this card comes with a wide range of perks that make it seem too good to be true, it also comes with an annual fee of $695 (See Rates), which is higher than most other credit cards.