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

[robfosters]

I'm on have both the Amex BA and Barclays Premier which includes Avios.. this allows me to link other credit/debit cards not associated with Avios to earn points. Don't have a specific Barclays Avios card.

Got too many credit cards tbh.. around 15 or so, if i include debit cards... which i use about 3 as my main and the opthers i make random purchases and pay off straight away. This is purely done to increase my credit rating after i got a Default (which i appealed) a long time ago because of a non existent mobile bill

Doesn’t too many cards negatively impact your rating though?

 

[OldKitMan]

Doesn’t too many cards negatively impact your rating though?

I think paying your bills on time has a better effect on your credit rating than the number of cards you have. My experience anyway.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Doesn’t too many cards negatively impact your rating though?

Not really. I mean there are many many factors. One of them is utilisation rate. So if you have 1 card with a limit of £1k, and you are at £500. You are at 50%.

If you have 5 cards with a combined limit of £10k, you also only need £500 monthly, then your utilisation rate is at 5%.

The 2nd scenario you are seen as a safer customer to lend money to and will help credit rating.

There however is a rule of thumb as a general consensus that you should not apply to more than 5 cards in any 2 year period.

 

[mattyfez]

I'm on have both the Amex BA and Barclays Premier which includes Avios.. this allows me to link other credit/debit cards not associated with Avios to earn points. Don't have a specific Barclays Avios card.

Got too many credit cards tbh.. around 15 or so, if i include debit cards... which i use about 3 as my main and the opthers i make random purchases and pay off straight away. This is purely done to increase my credit rating after i got a Default (which i appealed) a long time ago because of a non existent mobile bill

That seems a bit daft... as above... have fewer cards that you utilise the benefits from and close the rest down... the admin headache alone would annoy me, and plus.. fewer cards with higher credit limits (and less utilization of overall credit limit) would look better.