Any reason to keep different "types" of credit cards?

[Danmar]

Generally I would be in 100% agreement--however, when I was at a Canadian Costco, several weeks ago, I learned they ONLY take a Mastercard. They do not care whose MC it is but no VISA/AMEX
Nwsteve

Yes, only reason we have a MC. They used to only take AMEX. If these stores keep jumping between cards like this we will have to have one of each card.

 

[audreyh1]

If I ever have to use Costco in Canada I guess I can use a debit card, or cash.

 

[misshathaway]

I have a PenFed one that pays 5% on groceries and I think 3% on gas. That's all I use it for. I got it at least 5 years ago. Not sure if that offer still holds. Statements make it very easy to record purchases for budgeting. Then I have another one for everything else. Have had breaches a few times so I think it makes sense to have 2 in case one is unuseable b/c of a breach.

 

[Amethyst]

It is actually 5% on gas and 3% at grocery stores. Penfed devalued the points a few years ago, so it now takes almost 6,000 points to get $50; but we still use it for gas.

I've opened so many cards to get incentives, I had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of them. I refuse to pay an annual fee, so have had to cancel some cards after a year, which does impact the credit score a little bit.

I have a PenFed one that pays 5% on groceries and I think 3% on gas. That's all I use it for. I got it at least 5 years ago. Not sure if that offer still holds. Statements make it very easy to record purchases for budgeting. Then I have another one for everything else. Have had breaches a few times so I think it makes sense to have 2 in case one is unuseable b/c of a breach.

 

[RonBoyd]

... or there can be a problem that can cause the card not to be able to be used (you lose the card, for example). So, it makes sense to have a back up.

Excellent point. Twice, I have had to report an unauthorized charge on a card when we were "on the road." Yes, the card was replaced quite quickly (overnight) but both times we were nowhere close to being able to receive it.

I shudder to think of being far from home and only having a single "dead" credit card.

 

[athena53]

I shudder to think of being far from home and only having a single "dead" credit card.

It's not just data breaches/fraud that can cause that. We had one card cut off as soon as we got to Russia years ago; a couple of years ago my card was rejected in London. We just pulled out another card. I know you can contact the bank and tell them yes, you ARE in London, but this was easier.

 

[mpeirce]

Lots of good discussion, thanks.

Confirmed my new opinion that having just Visa cards is adequate these days.

 

[Koolau]

Yup. Always need at least one back-up card in case real (or Credit-Card-Company imagined) fraud freezes one of your cards.

Just got our replacement for the Costco Card and have not yet found out what the limit is (huge on the old Amex). Also, just got a Visa at Sams (don't ask why both Sams and Costco - long story). It has been a PAIN. They got the wrong address on the application and tried to charge us because of a late payment we could not make. Spent two hours on phone AND at Sams trying to get it straightened out. Still not sure we are "square" with them. They are difficult (although pleasant) to deal with. Very low (less than $2k) on this card which is probably okay.

As our credit score bounces between 815 and 825, not too worried about affecting our score with loss of Amex or picking up low-max additional Visa. Still, I wonder how we will deal with the "complexities" of extra cards, extra hassles, etc. as we slip into senility or worse. Recent hassles of changing health insurance strained my remaining brain cells. I wonder if we reach 80 if we would be able to handle such a (in this case) forced change.

I would like to simplify my life, not complicate it further at this point. Still, one needs access to credit in this age and one must adapt to the situation. Just wondering how much longer I will remain "adaptable." YMMV

 

[RockyMtn]

I've been approved for several new CCs after retiring. No problem.

Signed up on Costco.com for the new Visa yesterday. Been retired since 2009. Was approved in 11 seconds!

 

[euro]

Generally I would be in 100% agreement--however, when I was at a Canadian Costco, several weeks ago, I learned they ONLY take a Mastercard. They do not care whose MC it is but no VISA/AMEX
Nwsteve

I ran into that at a grocery store in Vancouver last year too. Took only MC, not Visa. So I keep one Visa and one MC active. The least useful in the regard is Amex - I know plenty of places (even some in the US, but many, many overseas) that won't accept Amex, but I have yet to come across a place that only takes Amex and not Visa or MC. The one exception being Costco in the US, but that's now gone too.

 

[Lsbcal]

Here is a use for that old AMEX card:

Some apps require a credit card to be on file. We recently used Uber for the first time and I put our AMEX card down for that account. I did not want our primary Visa cards to be on file with them.

 

[RonBoyd]

Confirmed my new opinion that having just Visa cards is adequate these days.

??

Here is another example: We were in a Safeway store in Pacifica (California) a couple months ago. When we checked out, our Capital One Visa card was declined. What a surprise! This card has a fairly high 5 figure limit and has always been paid in full each month. No problem, I simply pulled out a Citi MasterCard... it too was declined. Panic was starting to set in as many scenarios rumbled around in my mind -- visions of drained accounts and such. Okay, lets try American Express. That was accepted. (The total was around $80, BTW)

A couple hours later, I received a phone call from Capital One asking to confirm my last three charges. (This is a common occurrence since we travel quite a bit and my purchases have no logical explanation -- in their opinion.) Anyway, this Safeway charge was among the questionable transactions. I told the operator that one was not authorized. She said there was no problem since it had been declined by the bank. When I asked why, she explained that particular Safeway store was one of those in which (alleged) employees had attached a device that captures CC data. Apparently, AMEX was just not up to speed.

Anyway, having multiple cards would not have changed things but it did give piece of mind that at least we still had access to funds... at least, for that moment.

 

[mpeirce]

>> Confirmed my new opinion that having just Visa cards is adequate these days.

??

Here is another example: We were in a Safeway store in Pacifica (California) a couple months ago. When we checked out, our Capital One Visa card was declined. What a surprise! This card has a fairly high 5 figure limit and has always been paid in full each month. No problem, I simply pulled out a Citi MasterCard... it too was declined. Panic was starting to set in as many scenarios rumbled around in my mind -- visions of drained accounts and such. Okay, lets try American Express. That was accepted. (The total was around $80, BTW)

...

Anyway, having multiple cards would not have changed things but it did give piece of mind that at least we still had access to funds... at least, for that moment.

I'm not sure I follow you. It's an example of what exactly?

All I can figure is that having a "large" number of cards with you provides "piece of mind" that when your cards are declined you can keep handing over another one to see if it works.

I've never carried more than 2 credit cards with me ever - I like to keep a slim wallet. Switching to having 2 visa cards rather than a Visa and a AmEx isn't going to prevent the situation you mention.

My comment above ("having just Visa cards is adequate these days") simply refers to relying on Visa cards rather than a mix of AmEx, MC, and Visa. I see no real reason to worry about it.

 

[easysurfer]

I mostly use my Discover card. Reasons are that I find their website and statements easy to read and am happy with their cashback bonus for everything except Amazon. But I don't use Discover exclusively because some places don't take Discover. Also, the Visa card I used when Amazon shopping pays better Amazon cash back rewards. Gotta follow them rewards .

 

[Big_Hitter]

I'm down to just amex and visa - been with amex since 82

 

[RonBoyd]

>>I'm not sure I follow you. It's an example of what exactly?

Yeah, I should have mentioned that the Visa card was placed on "Hold" until after the phone call. Now, had I been in a "out of service" area, I would have missed the call and would have had the same experience the next time I tried to use the card.

I have since changed this procedure to an e-mail and a text message notification. (We have used that twice since and I like it a lot better.) This way if I "miss the call," I have a saved copy that I can respond to.

But, in any event, I was just sayin.

 

[audreyh1]

??

Here is another example: We were in a Safeway store in Pacifica (California) a couple months ago. When we checked out, our Capital One Visa card was declined. What a surprise! This card has a fairly high 5 figure limit and has always been paid in full each month. No problem, I simply pulled out a Citi MasterCard... it too was declined. Panic was starting to set in as many scenarios rumbled around in my mind -- visions of drained accounts and such. Okay, lets try American Express. That was accepted. (The total was around $80, BTW)

A couple hours later, I received a phone call from Capital One asking to confirm my last three charges. (This is a common occurrence since we travel quite a bit and my purchases have no logical explanation -- in their opinion.) Anyway, this Safeway charge was among the questionable transactions. I told the operator that one was not authorized. She said there was no problem since it had been declined by the bank. When I asked why, she explained that particular Safeway store was one of those in which (alleged) employees had attached a device that captures CC data. Apparently, AMEX was just not up to speed.

Anyway, having multiple cards would not have changed things but it did give piece of mind that at least we still had access to funds... at least, for that moment.

wow!

 

[mickj]

I pared ours down awhile ago and will be again. Too much available credit can be bad for your score if you care about that. I no longer see a need for our Fidelity Amex, which apparently will go away anyway. Will keep the Fidelity Visa and Marriott Visa (our oldest). Will cancel the Chase Sapphire; we prefer the straight cash back from Fidelity and will also get rid of one more annual fee.

I don't believe too much credit can hurt your score. It is much more about your credit utilization.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[RonBoyd]

I don't believe too much credit can hurt your score. It is much more about your credit utilization.

Yeah, singing to the choir:

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