Is it ok to have more than 3 Credit cards ?

MooMoo444 said:
How do you go about increasing the limit on your card? (assuming you're not at the limit?)

It'd be nice to be able to put bigger purchases on there.
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The lender will assess you every so often and inform you of an increase. I don't *think* you can ask for an increase with credit cards, I believe it's automatic.
 
el_dazza said:
The lender will assess you every so often and inform you of an increase. I don't *think* you can ask for an increase with credit cards, I believe it's automatic.
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Yes you can, I have. With American Express it can even be instant, you fill in a short form saying what you'd like it raised to and when I did it the system came back straight away and doubled my previous limit.

Otherwise call them and ask.
 
[FnG]magnolia;25674089 said:
'They'? Are you talking about the Banks offering the cards, the Schemes who back the cards, or something else?

If you're suggesting that your Barclaycard is monitored then I'm not going to disagree with you. If you're suggesting a limit was lowered because you hit some pan-card saturation point then I am probably going to disagree with you.
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Cant remember the exact wording of the letter, something about the balance steadily rising and only paying the min payments, and something about being concerned it didn't become unmanageable, hence the reduction in limit.


But yes it was just concerning that particular account.
 
I have a workmate with 14 different cards(!)

He is nearing retirement age, rents his home, drives an old MX5, travels the country in a nice mobile home (on HP) and holidays overseas 3-4 times per year.
His attitude is "**** them! You can't take it with you, life is too short"

I kind of admire his stance if I'm honest!
 
el_dazza said:
I would, just make small purchases and pay it off in full every month. If you never get any credit then a bank is going to tell you politely to go away if you ask them for £250,000 for a house. By getting a card and being sensible with it you'll be proving to potential lenders that you can afford the credit, you're not reckless and you'll keep up with the payments on time. That'll help your score.

If you're only going to use it for things you pay for anyway as you stated, then it can only benefit you! Just be sensible and have discipline.
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Thanks, I had a friend who got one for the same reason, then his gf maxed the card and left him.
So I wanted a second opinion :p

I usually end each month with leftover cash which goes in the ISA, so I'm fairly disciplined.

inbefore: "New thread: 3K PC buildlog!!!"
 
GiraffePencils said:
Thanks, I had a friend who got one for the same reason, then his gf maxed the card and left him.
So I wanted a second opinion :p

I usually end each month with leftover cash which goes in the ISA, so I'm fairly disciplined.

inbefore: "New thread: 3K PC buildlog!!!"
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Lesson there is always keep your pin to yourself and don't add another cardholder! My gf doesn't know any of my pins and I don't know any of hers, and that's fine with me!
Russinating said:
Yes you can, I have. With American Express it can even be instant, you fill in a short form saying what you'd like it raised to and when I did it the system came back straight away and doubled my previous limit.

Otherwise call them and ask.
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[FnG]magnolia;25674272 said:
e : I was responding top post #61:

Yes, you can. Automatic increases are also offered/given depending on individual circumstance.
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In that case my apologies, good to know though :)
 
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Yes and no....

The more you have, the more "unsecured" borrowing you have (even if you haven't put anything on your credit card). If this reaches a certain level, then you can be declined certain things.

Other half has big credit card limits (all at zero) but was declined an account at HSBC as they are not secured and went above a threshold. We haven't closed them down (which we should really do) as 1) we/she won't get that type of facility again in this day and age, and 2) it is there in case of an emergency.
 
Zero credit cards 100% credit score (almost). Comes of always paying bills and mortgage on time, no bad debt history. Now no mortgage either.
 
A few years ago my credit rating was shocking, yet I had a decent salary going through my bank account.

Didn't have a credit card (nor did I want one). That changed about two years ago when I went abroad and tried to hire a car, turns out it's very difficult to rent a car just with a debit card.

When I got back I opened a credit card (mastercard) with my bank (got refused elsewhere, but the bank took my history into account with them), initially got a small limit (£500) but that was fine for me. I got another card (VISA) after having a few problems in a petrol station (mastercard network was playing up)

Both cards are paid off in full.. Hopefully my credit rating should be improved enough as I'll be looking at getting a mortgage in the near future
 
For all those talking about a credit "score" - there isn't really such thing at least not in the sense you probably think. Anything the credit agencies may tell you is just indicative.

What the agencies actually provide to financial institutions is a feed of data which includes things such as:

- Number of lines of credit
- Credit Limit
- Current Balance
- Month by month flags to show where a card is cleared in full, minimum payment, somewhere in the middle, or a default

It is then up to each institution to interpret the data as they see fit and make a judgement as to your credit worthiness.

It is for this reason (in addition to targetting different types of customer) that one lender may decline your business whilst another might accept. With that in mind, it's impossible to say for sure what the specific impact on your credit worthiness is of actions such as opening another card, decreasing or increasing your exposure. What you can do however is make an educated guess.

In some ways this is very similar to how insurance works. There's no industry wide agreed calculation to say what your risk is and how that is applied to the Sum Insured to come up with a premium - that's down to each insurance company to work out and is part of their IP and a potential competitive differentiator.
 
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lol at the people saying don’t use credit cards they are spawn of the devil !

They have uses but as mentioned in quite a lot already in this thread, discipline is required. You simply need to look at it as "IT IS NOT FREE MONEY" !!!! which I know a couple of people who do think this....

I have 2 credit cards, one has a massive limit which I have never EVER nor will come close to. But I have it in case I need emergency cash (saves me taking money out of my ISA) The other credit card I use purely at petrol stations to buy well petrol and nothing else. Each month both cards are always paid off. Unless of course the big credit card has had a massive hit due to emergency repairs to car or whatever. At which point it will most likely be paid off the following month.
 
As long as you can afford the payments and you keep the balance under control it's fine. I don't see the point in more than one unless you are getting offers from them
 
I have 3 (one is a Halifax Clarity card that is only used on holiday). They all have £0 on them and are there for emergencies - I should get rid of one of them as it was only used for a balance transfer.
 
Do you travel? Buy things online? Have you ever had your card cloned?

It's 3 yeses for me, and a CC offers more protection to fraudulent activity, plus it doesn't come out of my current account.
 
bowey said:
never had one, personally don't see the point in them?
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Improve credit worthiness, take advantage of signup bonuses and ongoing points offers, emergencies, greater payment protection, generally off-set payments by 30 days, etc.

I've made thousands from credit cards, there really is no reason NOT to have one.
 
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