Ever wondered about this, after seeing your wallet getting thicker and thicker, and not because of having too much paper inside? Well, it could be very possible that you went a bit overboard and ended up with just too many credit cards, while, in fact, you needed just a few of them.
But still, how many is too many? Obviously, the answer varies from person to person. And in order to help you figure out if you own too many credit cards, we’ve put together a shortlist of indications that it might be the moment to reconsider your options and slow down.
You can’t keep up with the annual fees
There’s no secret that credit card fees can add some serious bucks per year, in terms of fees, and can reach up to a few thousands of dollars. Sure, you can call issuers and ask for retention offers, but this doesn’t guarantee anything, especially if you have already received such offers.
If these fees become very difficult to cover and you can’t get any retentions, maybe it’s time to think about reducing your number of cards.
Some of your cards have balances, while those with none make you spend
We can’t stress enough how important is to avoid carrying a balance on your card, especially on your travel rewards cards. Why? Because these cards usually involve higher interest rates, in contrast with non-rewards credit cards.
If you’ve reached that point in which you’re consistently charging more than you can pay off when the bills are due, you should start taking a closer look at your budget and begin reducing credit card usage. No, don’t quit all the miles and points cards all of a sudden, but it’s way better to have less credit available on your hands if you have a tendency of overspending.
Your inactive cards are being closed
And finally, let’s not forget about those moments when you receive notifications from banks about your accounts being closed. If this is not a sign that you have too many credit cards, then we really don’t know what could convince you.
If you are not aware of this, you should know that a card closure due to inactivity can take your credit score down, especially if you had it for a while and it was boosting your overall account age. At the same time, this will also take your credit utilization up, which leads to an even more negative impact on your credit score.
To wrap it up, if any of the situations above sound familiar, then it may be the moment to stop getting any new credit cards and even close some of the ones you’ve been completely ignoring lately!