Anybody here only have one credit card? If so what is your credit score?

[brett]

I cancelled and Amex travel card last month. I was not willing to pay for the card until we start traveling internationally again. Earlier in the year I dropped another premium card.

I noticed that our credit score dropped from 850 to 832. Not that we could really care.

We are in the process of re-evaluating our premium credit cards because there have been changes in benefits and sign up bonus offers.

We are always careful to have at least one card that does not charge the hidden 2-3 percent service fee on FX transactions.

[jr6035]

One card. 780-790. But we have no mortgage or any other debt.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jr6035 One card. 780-790. But we have no mortgage or any other debt.

SWAG (and remember, I'm no expert) you could raise score above 800 just by upping your credit limit on your one card. That way, your % credit "used" would actually go down, even though, numerically, your EOM bill would be the same. You'll take a brief hit by asking for more credit, but make it up a few months later. OR, if you really want to go the distance, you could start sending the CC co. a check "mid month" for enough to more than cover whatever you think you will have charged by the time they figure your bill. I'm WAY to lazy to do the later and have done the former on all my cards - well, not quite true. All the other cards have done it FOR me before I had to ask IIRC. YMMV

[Sunset]

When I cancelled 3 cards last year, my score went down about 20 points, and in 3 months it was back up.

I only have 5 cards now.

[RobbieB]

I have no idea what my credit score is. Must be OK as I keep getting new card offers.

[harley]

Not sure. 15, maybe 20. About half and half store cards and real CCs. One Discover for 90% of purchases, but use another 4 or 5 fairly regularly for specific purposes. CL is also well over 6 figures, and CR tends to be a bit above 800. It dropped a bit recently when we refi'd, but it's on it's way back now. Tales me about an hour while watching tv to check and pay them all once a month, and alerts on the main ones would tell me if anything untoward was happening.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau SWAG (and remember, I'm no expert) you could raise score above 800 just by upping your credit limit on your one card. That way, your % credit "used" would actually go down, even though, numerically, your EOM bill would be the same. You'll take a brief hit by asking for more credit, but make it up a few months later. OR, if you really want to go the distance, you could start sending the CC co. a check "mid month" for enough to more than cover whatever you think you will have charged by the time they figure your bill. I'm WAY to lazy to do the later and have done the former on all my cards - well, not quite true. All the other cards have done it FOR me before I had to ask IIRC. YMMV

I just have the credit card cycle end 4 days into the new month and payoff the balances at the end of each month. This way there are typically minimum amounts which are sent to the credit places, which is better than no balance.
One is still only making one payment on each card at the same day every month, which I do online.
Not too difficult.

[audreyh1]

I’m getting ready to drop PenFed entirely including their credit card.

4% on the Costco Citi card is good enough for gas.

[523HRR]

3 cards - $25K limit for each. Not really necessary as never carry a balance. But keep the lines just in case of catastrophe. FICO hovers at ~830 every month.

PSA: For couples, when your credit cards are issued under one primary credit file, if the primary spouse passes, the card company will cancel BOTH cards. Went through this with my mom who had two cards, both issued under my dad's credit file. When my dad died, and we notified the card company of his death, they immediately cancelled her card as well - their policy, no debate. So we held off notifying the second card company until she could get another card issued under her name alone. Otherwise, she would have been left without a credit card at an already stressful time. Lesson learned: make sure your credit card is issued under your own credit file, not your spouse's, if possible.

[rodi]

Wondering if the OP got the answers he/she wanted? Usually when a question is asked the poster comes back to comment.

[Jeffman52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CindyBlue I have only one. My credit score, last I looked, was well over 800.

+1 MY wife and I have one card and over 800 credit score. We also still have a mortgage so that could be supporting the credit score.

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi Wondering if the OP got the answers he/she wanted? Usually when a question is asked the poster comes back to comment.

Yes I did. Thanks everyone.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FANOFJESUS Yes I did. Thanks everyone.

What was the question (see my post #50)? What answers did you get?


-ERD50

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 What was the question (see my post #50)? What answers did you get? -ERD50

I love to keep my accounts super simple. I thought about going to one credit card for this reason. Several folks here did so and have a good credit score.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FANOFJESUS I love to keep my accounts super simple. I thought about going to one credit card for this reason. Several folks here did so and have a good credit score.

OK, thanks. The question was a little cryptic without the background of wanting to get down to one card (versus going from none to one).

I also like simple, and have consolidated as many accounts as I felt comfortable with (I still want money at two places, in case one gets hacked or other disaster and goes off-line for a while). And for a similar reason, I keep more than one card, but that's just my preference. One card is certainly an option.

-ERD50

[bada bing]

Just as an observation, not a recommendation:
You can keep a credit card active with no obligation to carry it or regularly use it. Most card issuers will keep an account open with one charge every 6 months to one year. The reason I have chosen to do this is redundancy. You never know when a card will be part of a security breach and require waiting for a new card to be issued. In the 2008 market meltdown, I had several card limits slashed and I know several people that had excellent credit histories get card accounts cancelled by panicked banks. A couple of open but zero balance credit card accounts are good for a FICO scoring bump. The effort to check an unused account once a month online is pretty minimal for the benefits IME, especially if you have them opened already.

[martyp]

I used to have only one credit card until I had my card number stolen while on a trip to Miami Beach. I couldn't visit a friend because I couldn't rent a car. I was worried I wouldn't be able to board the plane home. I was able to withdraw cash from my bank using my drivers license and they eventually sent me a new card to my hotel after mistakenly sending a new card to my home in CA.

I got a 2nd card from my credit union and now carry both cards with me when I travel.

[Sunset]

When I travel, I bring at least 3 credit cards.

I leave one on the ship/hotel and carry one in my wallet and one in another pocket buttoned/zipped shut.

[WestUniversity]

Like many others have said, we have more than one, primarily because of travel. Several times we’ve had our cards hacked on vacation and needed at least one backup card. My score is well over 800. We have zero balances on any of them other than charges for the current month which are routinely paid off…

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WestUniversity Like many others have said, we have more than one, primarily because of travel. Several times we’ve had our cards hacked on vacation and needed at least one backup card. My score is well over 800. We have zero balances on any of them other than charges for the current month which are routinely paid off…

I guess I see no other advantage to only one card than "simplicity" and whatever that implies while there are several advantages to multiples (different cash-backs for different cards, lost or hacked numbers leading to needing a new number, off-the-wall need for a higher limit - short term, hopefully, ability to play the credit-raters silly little game of % of credit used - without a huge amount of credit on just one card - which you may not ever get, VERY occasional "we don't take that card", having a card you only use for, say, paying monthly charges like a cell phone or other bill while you travel, etc.).