Poll: How Many Credit/Debit Cards in the Wallet/Purse?

[justplainbll]

No room in my wallet for all of my credit cards. Keep them in a brick held together by an Andy Boy broccoli rubber band.
We have a couple of debit cards but neither carry nor use them.

[Amethyst]

We use one credit card for gas (Penfed) and another for all other purchases. Both give cash-back points, and neither one has a fee. I never use cash except for office donations. Have never owned a debit card. Only use checks when necessary, as for estimated tax payments.

However, we have quite a few open credit card accounts - some were opened just to get the incentive bennies ($$). If we close the newer ones once the bennies have been gained, will that affect our credit rating up or down?

Amethyst

[justplainbll]

Years back I had a store credit card with Wallachs. I ordered 3 Silver Trumpeter suits for about $1,400. When I came in to pick up the altered suits, they had the suits ready but told me my credit card was no good. I told them they could keep the suits. Five or six years later Wallachs got what they deserved; they went bankrupt .

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords I carry a blank check, too, although that's a 1970s habit that probably needs to stop.

Back in the early 1980s I carried a blank check with me. At some point, probably after I got my first credit card in late 1985, I stopped carrying the blank check.

[Buckeye]

Penfed Visa, Costco Amex, credit union debit Mastercard, HSA debit Visa.

[Nemo2]

1 (Rewards) Visa card, used for almost every purchase and paid in full monthly.

(Have never used a debit card and can't envision ever doing so.)

[JohnDoe]

I carry 2 plus a debit card. It depends on which one is offering the best return at the time I need to use one.

I only open cards now for BIG bonuses. A few years ago I cashed in $1000 for opening an AMEX card(s). Now Southwest is offering $833 in fares for opening one of their cards ($1666 for 2 cards).

Open, get reward, cancel, repeat.

[Meadbh]

Total of 4 cards: two credit, two debit.

In 2007 my personal credit card was denied in Paris, France because spending money in Paris was considered "unusual activity" (?!), and in 2009 it was denied in Saudi Arabia for the same reason (despite the fact that I had informed the bank where I was going). At that time I only had a personal credit card.

That's why I now have two credit cards, one for personal, one for business use. They are both with the same institution and are linked to the same airline rewards program. I also carry two debit/ATM cards, one personal, one business, from the same bank....which is a different one from the credit cards.

I visit the ATM periodically to top up cash but never have more than $200. When abroad, I use the ATM cards to get foreign cash, and use my credit cards provided that there is no extra charge to do so. I did have my credit card scammed in Brazil in 1997, but newer cards have Chip technology so I am not worried about that.

I have not used travellers' cheques in the last 30 years. They are antiquated, you have already spent the money on the travellers' cheques before buying anything, and you can lose them too! I do as much banking online as it is possible to do. I never carry my chequebook with me unless I know I have no option but to use it.

[martyp]

1 credit card and 2 debit cards (my checking & joint checking). If I am traveling I only bring the credit card.

[FIREd]

2 credit cards (Visa and MasterCard) and one ATM/debit card.

[veremchuka]

1 VISA cash back rewards, I use it for virtually everything I buy, I pay the bill in full each month. Why do so many people have so many different cards? A rhetorical question.

[Badger]

2 - used to have 1 but then Costco AmEx membership card made sense to eliminate writting checks all the time and have them do the annual accounting. The other is MC from B of AM. That will be tossed out as soon as I cash in the milage for a couple of airline tickets. Don't like those folks and they have screwed with me too much. I won't do business with them or their buddies Merrill Lynch (another company to avoid big time).

Cheers!

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by veremchuka 1 VISA cash back rewards, I use it for virtually everything I buy, I pay the bill in full each month. Why do so many people have so many different cards? A rhetorical question.

Rhetorical (*snort*).

For the affinity rewards!

[RE2Boys]

A Discover, a Visa, and the debit card from my local bank to get cash. Used to travel with lots of cash but lately only about $200. When on the road, use credit for just about everything, even Mickie D's. Two credit cards incase one gets lost or compromised, play the cash back reward games depending which is giving a better percentage back for the type of purchase.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by veremchuka Why do so many people have so many different cards?

I only carry two, but I have many more at home left over from my stoozing days.

[Nodak]

Two credit cards, Mastercard and Amex and one local bank debit card.

[OldGuy]

Two credit cards (one for "almost everything" and one backup), AMEX only for Costco, and USAA's debit card (they refund all ATM service charges up to $15/cycle, and we only use it to get cash) that we've used all over the place.
The former &mploy&r's (no names, but think very recent $2B hedging screw-up) two (yep!) T&E cards, which, mysteriously, they forgot to take back & have actually kept open for a decade, sit at home unused as real backup.

[HillCountry]

Thanks for this thread. I took out 3 cards that are not for day to day use. Now I have 7 cards in the wallet -

fidelity 529 master card for everyday use
costco/amex card
atm/master card for personal
atm/master card for biz
capital one spark visa for biz
amex biz lowes
& master card for hsa

[Walt34]

Three credit cards (two Visa, on MC) at different institutions. One Visa is with the credit union and I've had that for going on 30 years, my Sears card opened in 1972 morphed into a MC, and we have a Visa card with a local bank where we initially just opened a checking account because they have ATM's all over the place.

No debit cards, don't want one.

[Sarah in SC]

When traveling out of the country, I like to carry debit cards from two banks, plus credit cards from two banks. That way I'm covered if a network is down.
And one of each is from a bank that refunds foreign transaction fees, making those my preferred choices. I notify all of them before leaving. And I keep track of what transactions posts by using Mint.com. If fraudulent activity shows up, I could nip it in the bud and close the account without impacting the others.