Angel asked:
I have 16 credit cards, however, 2 of them are Business Cards (so they aren’t even reported to my consume credit report, but instead to a Dunn and Bradstreet credit report?)
I have 16 credit cards, however, 2 of them are Business Cards (so they aren’t even reported to my consume credit report, but instead to a Dunn and Bradstreet credit report?)
I have 14 personal credit cards.. 2 of them are Store Credit Cards. 12 of them are visa/mastercard/amex/discover. Okay, all of them are paid off and have a $0 balance on them, except for 3 of them. And the LOWEST credit limit I have on 1 card — It’s a $500 credit limit. The rest are 1k+. I am scared this will hurt my credit score, but I’ve NEVER been late on any card, never gone over the credit limit on any of them. 2 of them I plan on paying off completely. The last one, I pay about 20 dollars more than the minimum payment they ask for.
Is this hurting my credit? Even though I pay them all on time, never missed a payment, never gone over my limit, etc?
Robert
#1 by Guns Don't Kill People I Do on December 11, 2010 - 7:44 pm
Luis
wow, u must get a hell of a lot of junk mail
#2 by Moony on December 14, 2010 - 12:40 pm
Georgia
Wow, are you serious? I don’t know much about credit cards as I have none. Ask a credit counselor if you are concerned.
#3 by Kita on December 16, 2010 - 3:11 am
Gertrude
It is not bad if you have never missed your payments. The only thing bad about it is not being able to keep up with your payments and forgetting which account needs to be paid on time. It gets stressful.
#4 by Persephone on December 18, 2010 - 9:40 am
Alma
Actually, it can be bad to have that many accounts open. When I was in the process of buying a house, I was told I should close the accounts I don’t really use or care to keep because it would affect getting it pushed through.
#5 by abi on December 20, 2010 - 7:05 am
Allan
ohh can you give me one? =d
#6 by audreykoo2006 on December 20, 2010 - 5:58 pm
Darrell
Its fine having 16 credit cards, I have a friend who has 30 cards the most important is never miss a payment, once you miss one it will keep on piling up you might even have to borrow money!
#7 by catherine i on December 22, 2010 - 6:33 am
George
Hi from France ♫
It’s not bad if you’ve too much money !!…
Have a nice day,
Cat.
#8 by Mahyar on December 22, 2010 - 3:23 pm
Alice
Why bad!? I don’t even have one…
?
#9 by Mary B on December 23, 2010 - 1:39 pm
Gilbert
I would cut it down to at least 10, because you are wide-open to possible identity theft with that many accounts open, and if they are not store cards, why do you need so many?
I personally have several store card for discounts and sales, but I only have one Visa and an American Express card…I just don’t see the purpose of it.
Lenders get nervous when they see more than 10 lines of credit open, regardless if they have balances or not.
#10 by Pythia on December 26, 2010 - 1:22 am
Tyrone
The total number of credit cards you hold does play a role in your credit score, but only a relatively small one. Check with Fair Isaac to find out the exact percentage. The most important components of your score are your payment history (that includes always making payments on time, and the length of your entire history with the credit reporting agency) and what percentage of available credit you are using. This is computed as a percentage of the available credit per card, and also globally. So, it can actually be good to have several cards and use each one for a small number of purchases each month. If you always pay in full or carry minimal balances, your credit score will be better than if you had only one card! Having said that, sixteen is usually considered a lot. Yet I had more when I sought financing for my car, and my score was well over 750 anyway (I’d rather not say the exact number). Note that cancelling cards will not help your score, and can hurt it. It is much better to put the cards with zero balances away, to be used only in case of true emergency. The credit limit on those cards is included in your total credit limit, but you never use them, so they are not included in the percentage of total available credit you use. This will cause your score to go up gradually with time.
#11 by chikaomi a monkey on December 27, 2010 - 12:22 pm
Jeffery
Ｙｏｕ should be dispose of 80% credit cards unless falling in bankruptcy.
#12 by grierGRIER h on December 27, 2010 - 5:28 pm
Denise
Avoid too applying for too many credit cards all at once. When ever you check your credit score it leaves a mark. If you have too many marks too fast lenders thing you’ve hit a financial wall and are headed for trouble. One case that comes to mind is about a first time home buyer. They were approved for the home loan but it hadn’t been finalized. The buyer thinking he was getting a home applied for a credit card to buy furniture. Because the loan had not closed the new credit card application caused the loan to be rejected at the last minute. This one application caused his credit score to drop to an unacceptable level and he lost the house. The moral: be careful with the timing of your credit card applications. Read more from:
#13 by spifiman1 on December 30, 2010 - 2:16 am
Kelly
You are fine.
The number of credit cards you have is not important. What is, is how you manage them.
I once had 14 credit cards and had great credit (still do)because I managed them like you are doing.
#14 by beauty s on January 1, 2011 - 11:46 am
Carmen
Why do u have some many credit cards?? and close like half of them now… close the newes ones.. I hope u don’t go in debt