Too many credit cards? aka "The Credit Card thread"

I have around 4-5 cards and tend to use one of them at a time. It then allows for more frequent interest free balance transfer options.

I keep a Clarity card for overseas transactions too for holidays etc.

I've been tempted to close accounts myself but figure that's just limiting myself unnecessarily. Some emergency might mean they come in handy.
 
robfosters said:
In what way am I doing credit cards wrong?
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It's a fair assumption that someone who makes a thread like this has outstanding credit card debt.

This is a pretty poor use of credit cards as they are astronomically expensive compared to 1) not borrowing at all, 2) taking a loan if it's an expense that really cannot wait.

The right way to use credit cards is to spend on them regularly, clear them in full, maximize any perks (AMEX 1% cash back / Barclaycard 0.7% cash back + regular spending offers like 10% off of Morrisons etc).

Do you keep any balances on your cards Rob or are you clearing them each month?
 
dLockers said:
It's a fair assumption that someone who makes a thread like this has outstanding credit card debt.

This is a pretty poor use of credit cards as they are astronomically expensive compared to 1) not borrowing at all, 2) taking a loan if it's an expense that really cannot wait.

The right way to use credit cards is to spend on them regularly, clear them in full, maximize any perks (AMEX 1% cash back / Barclaycard 0.7% cash back + regular spending offers like 10% off of Morrisons etc).

Do you keep any balances on your cards Rob or are you clearing them each month?
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I pay them off every month. I normally put a sub or two on one like my Netflix or Spotify sub and pay them off so they’re constantly being used. The only reason I got in trouble years ago was through illness
 
robfosters said:
I pay them off every month. I normally put a sub or two on one like my Netflix or Spotify sub and pay them off so they’re constantly being used. The only reason I got in trouble years ago was through illness
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Yeah you are doing the right thing that. What is your "prime" card? Are you getting any benefit for having it? If not, put it aside and get a BarclayCard Rewards card. At least it'll give you a bit of cashback.
 
dLockers said:
Yeah you are doing the right thing that. What is your "prime" card? Are you getting any benefit for having it? If not, put it aside and get a BarclayCard Rewards card. At least it'll give you a bit of cashback.
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Barclays won’t give me a prime card yet. The card I’ve just got is the Tesco bank low APR card. Doesn’t have any benefits other than a low APR. But I don’t think those cards usually do have any extra benefits. Oh, I get club card points when using it.
 
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robfosters said:
Barclays won’t give me a prime card yet. The card I’ve just got is the Tesco bank low APR card. Doesn’t have any benefits other than a low APR. But I don’t think those cards usually do have any extra benefits. Oh, I get club card points when using it.
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It's this card.

Barclaycard Rewards | Barclaycard

Barclaycard Rewards with 0.25% cashback and no transaction fees on purchases when you’re abroad
www.barclaycard.co.uk www.barclaycard.co.uk
 
robfosters said:
Barclays won’t give me a prime card yet. The card I’ve just got is the Tesco bank low APR card. Doesn’t have any benefits other than a low APR. But I don’t think those cards usually do have any extra benefits. Oh, I get club card points when using it.
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Ah ignore APR generally rob. It should be a cold day in hell when you pay any interest on a credit card as they are all daylight robbery. I won't get into 0% card and BT trickery lol.
 
You can't really "have too many" credit cards but personally at 8 it makes it difficult to keep up with the costs in each.

You want to have them good for;
purchases eg rewards,
0% purchases or balance transfer
good for fee free travel money

Or a combination of all three.

Personally I have about 8 and about 40k in 0% credit card debt, cheaper than a loan and I make interest on the savings.
 
Buffman said:
You can't really "have too many" credit cards but personally at 8 it makes it difficult to keep up with the costs in each.

You want to have them good for;
purchases eg rewards,
0% purchases or balance transfer
good for fee free travel money

Or a combination of all three.

Personally I have about 8 and about 40k in 0% credit card debt, cheaper than a loan and I make interest on the savings.
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£40k ?!

Jesus...your house renovation I take it.

I only use 1 card mainly, the Amex, as it has the best rewards. If a shop don't take it then i use one of the VISA ones, recently it's the Barclay Reward. No balance currently, but when i bought a couple of cameras I would use the 0% and spread the few k over a year.
 
I’m not just building my credit record to get better credit cards, it’s other things too. For example, I’ve found 0% 12 month BNPL plans can be tricky to get without a very good credit record. Supposing something big like my TV breaks, it’s nice to have the option just to be able to replace it without any problems. We can’t all afford £1500 or more in one hit.
 
I only use a credit card as a method of payment, sometimes prefer to put something on my credit card than using my debit card. I always pay it off before any interest is accrued. I used to have a VISA and MasterCard credit cards but now my bank uses only MasterCard. My debit card has changed to MasterCard as well.
 
IvanDobskey said:
Not bragging, just don't see the point of them.

Easy to get into serious financial trouble if you don't manage them properly.
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Section 75 is something you should get on board with. Anything over £100, even if you buy a car...put £100 on it, the entire purchase is protected and can get the credit card company to fight for you should the purchase go south.

Fraud protection is another. Not having your actual bank account details exposed is a good thing. If you seen Catch Me If You Can, the real person of that main character would advice the same, it's what he tells all his children to do, it's what he tells people when he gives consultancy talks.

And this is before all the perks from a money POV.

That's the point of them. The easy to get into financial trouble aspect....that is the problem of the end user without self control, not the problem of the product. The product itself is fine...if you play the game right. Sure, if you have no self control, don't get one. But that doesn't say there is no point of them, there are plenty of reasons to use one.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
Section 75 is something you should get on board with. Anything over £100, even if you buy a car...put £100 on it, the entire purchase is protected and can get the credit card company to fight for you should the purchase go south.

Fraud protection is another. Not having your actual bank account details exposed is a good thing. If you seen Catch Me If You Can, the real person of that main character would advice the same, it's what he tells all his children to do, it's what he tells people in his consultancy.

And this is before all the perks from a money POV.

That's the point of them. The easy to get into financial trouble aspect....that is the problem of the end user without self control, not the problem of the product. The product itself is fine...if you play the game right. Sure, if you have no self control, don't get one. But that doesn't say there is no point of them, there are plenty of reasons to use one.
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I guess they do have their perks.

But if you can't restrain yourself from buying stuff, it's a dangerous thing to have.

I know some years ago my brother got himself into all sorts of trouble and needed help to get him out of it.

That said, I'm generally not that sort of person, I just never feel the need for one.
 
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