Is there a ‘magic number’ where credit cards are concerned? Is one credit card enough to carry in your wallet? Are five cards too many? If you’re not entirely sure how many cards you can or should carry, you’re not alone. Most people are unaware or how many cards they ought to hold or whether they should use credit cards at all.

How many cards is too many?

These days, it’s not exactly easy to move through this world without at least one credit card. Carrying sums of cash can be cumbersome and risky. A credit card makes checkouts easy and may even be required at some points of purchase. For this reason, it makes sense for most adults to carry at least one credit card. Forbes magazine notes that the average adult carries three cards at any one time.

Having an excess of credit cards can actually hurt your credit score. What’s weirder is that having too few cards can do more or less the same thing to your Experian, Transunion and Equifax ratings.The number of credit cards you carry may not be as important as the way you use credit, the timeliness of your bill payments and the overall length of your personal credit history. When combined, those three factors can weigh in at a whopping 80 percent of your credit score. At the same time, it is typical of most ultra-high scorers to have had the same card for a long time and to seldom apply for new cards.

To fee or not to fee

Credit cards that are issued without an annual fee are a good way to go for many consumers. These cards don’t always demand a high credit score and may even be available to persons with only fair credit.

Credit One offers a couple of cards that may be right for people with less than perfect credit. The Credit One Platinum Visa is one of them. With a fairly high APR for people with fair credit, it’s still a pretty good deal for someone who can’t get a credit card anywhere else. One good thing about this card is that a consumer can improve their credit rating by paying off their Credit One balance every month. Another is the helpful credit tracking feature that comes with this card at no additional cost. This card may be offered with no annual fees to persons with excellent credit scores. Everyone else may expect to pay up to $99 in annual fees.

Cash back is a nice option

Credit one also offers a Platinum One Visa Cash Back credit card that may or may not come with zero annual fee, depending on credit scores. Again, flexible payment dates are a feature that credit conscious consumers appreciate. This card also offers free periodic credit reviews that may increase your credit limit considerably.

When it comes to credit cards, the magic number is up to you. Only you can determine the personal spending habits and payment patterns that work for you.

Katherine Buckley shares her personal finance tips and tricks with an online audience through her articles. Kath works as a personal finance consultant and is Mommy to 2 gorgeous daughters!

Categories: Credit Cards