Tell this 20-year-old why anyone would need more than one credit card.

[Michigander4Dean]

Okay, I'm only two decades old. I am young, have quite a bit of energy, and (hopefully) a good future. I also have one credit card - not 2, not 3, not 50 billion.

I am a college student who usually uses plastic only when he has no other option to pay for something. I consider myself fiscally disciplined.

So... Why would anyone need - or want - more than one credit card?

[rwheeler31]

1. Do not get yourself in a credit crunch at a young age

     Credit is a good thing in an emregancy but not an
economic plan.

[mistertrickster]

2. You can probably get by with one just fine, but . . .

I have two. Why?

1. When you're traveling, sometimes a hotel you're staying at will "freeze" a couple of hundred dollars of your credit line just in case you rack up a big bill. If you have a small credit line, like 5 to 15 hundred dollars, they can max you out when you're unaware of it, and your card won't be any good when you need it, like at that fancy restaurant with your prospective boss or girlfriend.

2. Not every place takes every credit card. I've had good luck with Visa, but in Asia when I was there, shopkeepers seemed to only want American Express (or Am Ex as they called it).

3. If you're trying to show how well you can handle credit, so you can get a mortgage to buy a house, say, having more of a credit line, using it and paying it off in a timely manner MAY help toward that goal.

But don't forget--like the millions of American families who owe an average of over 8,000 dollars of credit card debt--to pay off your card every month to avoid charges and usurious interest rates.

[revcarol]

3. Because sometimes credit card companies get flaky and cancel

your card or lower your limit and you don't find out about it until 10 days after you bought filet mignon and champagne to celebrate your engagement and were totally embarrassed when your credit card was refused and you had to sign your life away to get out of the restaurant!!

Seriously, you sound like the kind of responsible person who only needs one card.

Just keep it up, tell me which card you have, so I can watch for reductions in the interest rate because there is one fewer deadbeat!!

[ant]

4. different deals?

I have two primary credit cards, and I use them both because of the rewards. One gives me money back to use at LL Bean (I love their stuff) and the second gives me frequent flyer miles. I have a third card that I got recently only because it had a 0% interest deal for all balance transfers; I never actually use it. (I accumulated some debt last year and so I transferred that over to the new card so I could pay it off slowly and not worry about interest charges.) In short: credit cards aren't good or bad. They can certainly be used unwisely, but they can also be convenient financial tools.

And, as someone else already mentioned, while too much debt is certainly bad, no debt at all can hurt you too. That's not necessarily an argument in favor of multiple cards, but just remember that no credit history can be as bad as having a bad credity history. (Assuming you want to one day apply for a big loan of some sort.)

[tsipple]

5. I Have 4 Credit Cards...

Credit Card #1 is a Chase Stockback Mastercard. Pays 1% cash(*) rebate on every purchase from first dollar. I mostly use this card.

Credit Card #2 is an AOPA Mastercard that provides 5% cash back on aviation fuel and related purchases. (I expect most people don't need such a card! :-))

Credit Card #3 is a Discover Card. Major Chicago-area supermarkets let you charge $50 over the purchase amount on this card, to get some petty cash. The card has up to a 1% rebate, although it's not as attractive as the Chase card.

Credit Card #4 is an American Express card that my employer requires me to use for business travel.

My ATM card is a Visa debit card, although I don't use that except for one grocery store that takes debit (but not credit) cards.

I pay all balances, in full, every month, via the issuers' web sites.

I phoned 888-5-OPT-OUT to remove my name from credit card solicitation lists so that I don't get lots of credit card applications in the mail.

(*)I recommend the cash option, not the mutual fund option, for this card.

[Skittles]

6. I don't know. I've only ever had one

and I've never paid so much as 1 cent in interest.

[DBoon]

7. 2 Good reasons

1. Your employer might expect you to charge business expenses and submit them for reimbusement. You employer might also be a cheap bastard who does not provide employees with a company card. Good to keep these separate from personal ones. Yeah I know you can keep a ledger, but much easier to have 2 cards

2. You may need to cancel one card suddenly due to fraud OR have a card canceled or suspended due to idiotic credit card policies. I was once a day late with a payment and found out my card had been suspended only when I tried to use it to pay for dinner. Fortunately I had a second card, so canceling the jerks on the first card wasn't a problem.

[Code_Name_D]

8. I don't even have a credit card.

I do have a debit card that works like a credit card. Only I am spending my money. So long as I do not exoghst my acount, I have no worries.

[Wcross]

13. Me too- PROBLEM

I had always worked on a cash only basis and went to buy a new car. ( I had crashed my 15y/o car) No credit history- 15% interest was what they quoted!!!! I went to my insurance company and they offered 4.6% on the loan because of my homeowners/auto insurance payment history with them. If it wasn't for that I would have had to go with the highest rate. I went out and got a line of credit and 1k limit card just to build history. I don't buy anything with them, just every six months or so I take some out and put it back in.

[Festivito]

9. To play one against the other to drop charges.

The CC companies play games with charges and interest rates. You have to be able to call them up and have the yearly charges waived and the interest rate lowered. Of course one should never use a card's interest rate.

[eyesroll]

10. I've only had one "real" one for the last 10 years...

Just a standard Visa. I put just about everything on the card (because I rarely carry cash and never have my checkbook), and pay it off in full each month, so, actually, with the very, very tiny amount of interest my checking-account earns during the grace period, I come out ahead by using the credit card (it's fee-free).

My ATM card has a MasterCard logo, and now I also have a corporate AMEX card for work.

You'll be fine.

[zoidberg]

11. I have four

1. American Express Blue - Low interest rates (99% of the time I pay them off) and decent cash back. I use that most of the time, but as the commercials say, not everyone accepts American Express.

2. Visa Amazon.com card - Gives you gift certificates for Amazon.com. It comes to a 1% rebate on purchases; 3% when you buy from Amazon.com. I shop at Amazon all the time, so it might as well be cash.

3. MBNA MasterCard Alumni Association - A percentage goes to my alumni association. I hardly ever use it, but it's cool to have.

4. Discover Card - I haven't used it in over a year. I should probably cancel.

I also have a debit card and a couple store credit cards that I never use (except Best Buy when I make a major purchase.) I don't spend any more with four cards than I do with one, so I don't see what the big deal is. I buy everything I can with credit cards because of a)the rewards and b) I can easily keep track of all my purchases to help stay within a budget.

[TrogL]

12. and here's how everybody else does it

note: parody - not to be taken seriously

As a student, you automatically get signed up for half a dozen cards, presumably without signing anything. The school announces, on the second day of classes, that to keep their accreditation they have to rewrite the curricula from scratch, all your old textbooks are useless and you have to buy all new ones only from the campus bookstore (so the school gets its kickback) which only accepts credit, not cash.

Your landlord, discovering that students seem to be able to absorb a tuition hike without a murmur, decides that a rent increase must be in order. This eats up all your available cash, so everything else has to go on the credit cards.

You want to move to cheaper accomodation but to hire a moving van, you need a valid credit card and your old one is maxed out, so you sign up for another one. The moving van company puts a $500 charge on your account to rent a $19.95 van and conveniently forgets to void it when you return the van.

As a course requirement, you have to attend an out-of-town convention. The hotel will only give you a room if you have a valid credit card (your first two are maxed out) so you have to get another one. The hotel racks up a whole bunch of hidden charges, which maxes out this card.

All three cards are now screaming for payments, so you get another card and do a reconcilization of the first three cards to this one and send cancellation notices to the other companies. They ignore this, decide that you are a good customer for having paid off your cards and promote you to Gold cards, immediately dinging you $29.95 for the privilege.

A friend, thinking he is buying you a Christmas present, signs you up for Columbia Music House CD, DVD and VHS. You get a legal notice in the mail from each division, threatening legal action if you don't immediately pay for 12 items from each. They ignore the fact that you haven't signed a contract nor have you received any product. A lawyer will not help you unless you have a $10,000 retainer.

When you graduate, you discover that despite the schools assurance that IT was the up and coming field, all IT jobs have been shipped to India. You do not qualify for welfare because you still have credit. No non-IT firm will hire you because you are overqualified and they figure they will lose you to the first IT firm that is hiring. To make ends meet, you work at McDonalds. Student Finance says you are working, thus it's time to pay back your student loan.

Time for another credit card.

parody ends

[kengineer]

14. None

While One is useful for making payments, my bankcard is serving that purpose more and more these days. The only justification to continue to have an extra card would be to prevent having to put your bank acount number out on the internet.

The concept of giving money for interest is pure oppression. You tell poorish people they can "have money now." in advertisement after advertisement Boy, it's sad.

[Japhy_Ryder]

15. loans

having more than one card can help you when you apply for loans, so long as you make your payments on time and don't rack up large debt. Banks like to see that you can manage a couple of credit cards well, make your payments and be responsible. That helps you secure lines of credit for mortgages and car loans at the lowest percentage rates.

[phgnome]

16. cut mine up

because I started taking cash advances on one to pay another. Caused myself lots of grief. Never again. I work only on debit cards now and I don't buy as much useless shit.

I hate credit cards -- I haven't had one for about 10 years and have gotten by just fine. I've become more responsible and I actually have money now instead of always owing to one or the other. It's a really nice feeling. I have my cash flow in order and I can pretty much buy anything reasonable that I want. I'll never get another credit card ever again.

[tsipple]

17. Some Advice on Establishing Credit

Establishing a good credit history is helpful so that, when the time comes, you'll be able to get a mortgage easily and less expensively. So carrying one credit card is a good idea I think, as long as you pay your balance off every month. Some credit cards (like Discover) offer a system which will automatically pay your entire balance from your bank account every month. That's a good program to sign up for. Then just subtract each purchase from your check register, and write a little "CC" symbol to indicate it's through your credit card.

Most people don't know that you can ask the credit card company to reduce your credit limit and to decline purchases over the limit. (Make sure you ask for both if you want them.) My first credit card had a $300 limit. These days you'll probably want $500 or $1000, in case you need an emergency plane ticket, but that's plenty.

[nedlogg]

18. Somehow, over the years I have accumulated several . . .

but use only one.

And I always pay off the entire balance each month.

The best advice I can give when it comes to credit cards is to think of them as a convenient way of not needing to carry a lot of cash. If you find yourself carrying a balance, it's time to readjust your monthly budget.

In other words, live within your means. The peace of mind that comes with having no debt is worth far more than the goods or services you can buy.

[jmm]

19. I've never had more than 2 major cards at once.

I got ten Reece’s peanut butter cups and an 8 CD carrier case for applying for my first card. I got my second card through my bank. It had a lower limit and better rate. I kept the first one but only used it for emergencies. At one time I had as many as three store credit cards but now I'm down to one. I got them all so I could get discounts on my first purchase.

I once met someone who by her sophomore year in college had 28 major cards. This didn't even include store cards. She didn't think it was a big deal because she had only activated about 8 or 9 of them. Yeah having a bunch of cards can lead to problems but I can understand why someone would want a few. Discipline is the key. An irresponsible person could potentially get into more trouble with one card than a responsible person could with more than one.

edited for clarity

[wetbandit2003]

20. Everyone should have one credit card.

You need one credit card and keep a very small balance on it to
establish yourself a line of credit. Also, Its hard to rent a hotel room at a decent hotel or rent a car unless you have a credit card.

The best credit card deals are Usually given by your local major banks
like AMSOUTH or SOUTH TRUST Bank...IF you have Auto insurance through USAA, They have a killer deal on their VISA cards.
:bounce: