The strap on my purse is threatening to break so I went on a lightening binge. Turns out that most of the weight was from my wallet and it sure wasn’t the dollar bills causing the problem. Nope, it was cards. So I was wondering… how many credit cards should a person have?
I asked Debbie from http://www.creditorweb.com/ for her input.
This was her reply.
“Personally, I think you only need one credit card. I know some people
will say you don't need any at all, and other people will say you need a wallet full- with one credit card that's used for travel and another one that's used for gas rewards, etc. I think one good credit card is all anyone really needs. By "good", I mean a card with a reasonable interest rate.
If you are careful, a rewards credit card can give you some benefits over non-rewards credit cards, but you need to fully understand how the program works, what fees are involved, and be disciplined enough to keep your balance paid in full each month to really gain any rewards on most credit cards.
I do think you need at least one though, because it is becoming increasingly harder to do anything without one. Try booking your next flight without a credit card, making a hotel reservation, or getting a cell phone!”
Crikey, one credit card? I was thinking three for personal (Mastercard ‘cause of the purchase protection, Amex ‘cause that’s what Costco takes, Visa ‘cause of the rewards) and one for business (gotta have that business card, keeps the expenses separate and the tax man happy).
Then there are my store cards. Debbie will hold my hand through that discussion next week.