How Many Credit Cards Should I Have? All You Need to Know

Credit cards have made people’s lives easy. It rescues people when they don’t have money. You don’t have physical cash? You can use your credit card. Or you don’t have money in your account? You can use your credit card. They can be the best help or the worst, depending on the person using them. 

If you have a stable income and you’re good at repaying debt money, a credit card could be the thing for you. On the other hand, if you don’t have a stable income, using a credit card could put you in trouble. 

If you want to know, how many credit cards should I have? Well, it totally depends on you. While having multiple credit cards has many benefits, if you can’t manage those cards then it will become a problem for you. If you’re wondering, how many credit cards should I have? Read our complete article and you’ll get answers to all your questions. 

How Many Credit Cards Should I Have?

If you want to know how many credit cards can I have, the answer is simple. You can have as many credit cards as you want. The right question should be, how many credit cards should I have? It totally depends on you and your management skills.

If you can handle multiple credit cards and repay all of them then you should obviously have multiple credit cards. But, if you’re someone who finds it hard to manage multiple cards and you have unstable or less income then we will suggest you have minimum cards. One or two total credit cards.

Benefits of having Multiple Credit Cards

Though it might be difficult to manage multiple credit cards, having them is totally worth it. There are many benefits of having multiple credit cards. 

• Helps in Building a Credit Score

The best thing about having multiple credit cards is, it helps in building a good credit score. If you have multiple cards, you use all of them and repay them on time, then you’ll have a better credit score than the rest of the people.

For example, if you have one credit card with a limit of $10,000 and you use $9000 and repay it on time. On the other hand, you have three credit cards with a limit of $10,000 each and you use $3000 from each card and you repay it on time. In this condition, you’ll have a better credit score in the latter situation.

• You get Extra Discounts

Have you ever come across a situation where while online shopping, there is a big discount on a particular credit card but you don’t have it? Some might ask their friends and family if they have that credit card, but it can be a little embarrassing.

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Multiple credit cards are best for these situations. You can use a credit card which provides you with a maximum discount. This way, credit cards can actually help you save your hard-earned money as well as increase your credit score. Some credit cards also provide cash back. 

• Increased Credit Limit 

Credit cards are proven to be the best lifesavers in case of emergencies. Having multiple credit cards means having a high credit limit. If you exceed the credit limit of one card, you can use another credit card.

Disadvantages of Having Multiple Credit Cards

By this time you know how many credit cards should I have. Let’s look into some of the disadvantages of having multiple credit cards.

• Difficult to Manage

No matter how many benefits you have with multiple credit cards, we cannot deny the fact that managing these cards is a tough task. If you forget to pay the bill of even one credit card on time, it can affect your credit score negatively. 

• Leads to Unnecessary Debt

It happens many times that people use their credit cards for unnecessary things, even when they don’t have money. If you’re someone who can’t control their urges and ends up buying unnecessary things then credit cards are not for you. If you buy something unnecessary from your credit card and can’t repay the money on time, you’ll end up with a bad credit score. 

How Many Credit Cards Should I Have to Build Credit?

Now that you know, how many credit cards should I have and what are the benefits of having multiple credit cards, let’s see how many credit cards you actually need to build a good credit score.

As long as you pay the credit card bill on time, you’ll have a good credit score. If you want to increase your credit score rather than the number of credit cards, it depends on the repayment. But, if you have multiple credit cards and you’re able to pay bills on all of them on time then you’ll have a better credit score.

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If you can manage to have four to five credit cards, use all of them for some or other purpose, and pay credit card bills on time then you’ll have a very good credit score. But, if you can’t pay the credit card bills then it’s better to have only one credit card, Because, not paying the bill on time will decrease your credit score and you’ll end up with a bad credit score. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1- What is the ideal number of credit cards to have?

There’s no such ideal number for credit cards. It totally depends on the credit card owner. If you’re good at managing different credit cards and you can repay all of them on time then you can have as many credit cards as you want. But, if you can’t manage different cards or have less or unstable income then you should own only one credit card. 

Q2- Is having 4 credit cards too many?

It depends on you. If you can manage multiple cards then why only 4, you can have 10 credit cards. If you can repay all 4 credit cards on time, every month then 4 credit cards are not too much. Whereas, if you find it difficult to repay all 4 different credit cards then it can be too much for you. In such a situation, we will suggest you have only one or two credit cards. 

Q3- How many credit cards do the average human have?

As per research, an average American has two to three credit cards. But, only a few Americans use all of these credit cards. Most Americans use only one or two credit cards.

Q4- Is it bad to have a lot of credit cards?

According to experts, having a lot of credit cards is not a bad idea if you know how to manage them properly. But it is not advised for those with poor financial management skills as they may get into debt if not manage their credit cards correctly.

Final Words

The number of credit cards you should own completely depends on your personality and management skills. If you’re good with juggling different cards and can repay all of them on time then you should obviously have multiple cards. But, if you can’t manage these cards and you think that you might end up overspending then it’s better to stick to one card only. 

Having multiple credit cards has its own advantages and disadvantages. If you can cope with the disadvantages then only you should own multiple credit cards.