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14% of Americans Carry 10 or More Credit Cards!
By JLP | February 21, 2007
I promise this will be my last credit-related post for a while.
Read this interesting article I found over on MSN. The article, which profiles a recent study done by Experian, also links to the Experian National Score Index. Some interesting tidbits from the MSN article:
- 51% of Americans who have established credit own two credit cards, up from 49% in 2004.
- The average American holds four credit cards, up from 3.2 in 2004.
- The average credit score nationally dropped to 674, from 678 in 2004.
- The average score for those who use at least 50% of their credit rose to 645 from 631 in 2004.
- Fewer Americans — 14% — are using 50% or more of their available credit than in 2004, when 16% did. These high users have credit scores about 30 points below the national average.
We have two but don’t use them. I can’t imagine trying to keep up with 10 credit card bills!
Topics: Credit, Credit Cards | 14 Comments »
February 21st, 2007 at 8:42 pm
I take a different approach than you, JLP. I never write checks and only use cash for the smallest purchases–everything goes on a card. I get the float and pay them off in full each month. Plus, Discover gives me a bunch of cash back. It simplifies my life.
February 21st, 2007 at 8:55 pm
THC,
Where ya been?
I use our debit card for everything. I love it.
All our bills are on automatic.
I’m sure I could get some kind of cash back but I don’t want to mess with it.
How ’bout those Jayhawks?
February 21st, 2007 at 10:26 pm
We have two. Well, actually, he and I have one, and I have one he doesn’t have. I use *mine* for all our regular expenses, and his catches recurring payments and is sort of a back-up method otherwise. He’s a big fan of debiting, but I hate it with a fiery passion, for lots of reasons I discussed last December, probably.
February 21st, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I love credit cards. Debit cards, in my book, are worthless. The biggest reason they are bad is the lack of rewards and they aren’t protected lawfully like credit cards. Credit cards have federal regulations to protect consumers…we are still waiting for the whole debit card protection thing to happen…
February 21st, 2007 at 11:23 pm
JLP: My life has undergone a few changes and I’m very busy. A year ago I left Merrill Lynch to run the financial planning department for a Registered Investment Advisor with about $500mm under management. I’m lovin’ it but don’t have much time for blogging.
There are days when I use a credit card 4 or 5 times and rack up hundreds of dollars in charges. Since much of it is business related, I submit an expense report and get a check back long before I even see the credit card bill. It’s great float/cash flow.
Go Jayhawks! We got to see them whip Florida in Las Vegas last November. One of the best games I’ve ever seen!
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:35 am
to THC .. 500mill that’s pretty big … hopefully one day i’ll catch up to that, at the moment my client portfolio funds under management is about $50 million … one day .. one day hehehe
Oh and credit cards can be a great cashflow management tool, especially in australia where you can park all your cash in a mortgage offset account and systematically reduce the interest payable on your loan each month whilst utilising the interest free period on your credit card excellent stuff.
Only effective if you’ve totally paid out all your credit card debts though … you have been warned hehe
February 22nd, 2007 at 7:52 am
I have 6 credit cards … 5 personal and 1 corporate card.
I started out with one card, but when I found out I was in over my head, I got a new card and did a balance transfer to take advantage of the 1-year 0% APR.
The other three credit cards I only got because of their incentives. My Amazon card saved me $30 on a $70 purchase … well worth it in my opinion (never used again after this). The forth/fifth card I have is for Best Buy & Circuit City … last I used them was > 3 years ago.
I think this is good “fewer Americans — 14% — are using 50% or more of their available credit than in 2004″ … I’m actually surprised, I would have thought that more American’s use 50%+ of their credit.
February 22nd, 2007 at 8:38 am
Only 3 CC’s: AMEX, VISA, & Corp Card. Wife carries same. Never carry a balance. Love the rewards – have flown Business Class to Europe several times paid for with CC rewards.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:13 pm
I have two cards myself, one I use for some fixed purchases (I want to keep a little bit of money on it at all times, but nothing that I can’t pay off in one go) and a second card for everything else.
This second card is special as well. When I first got the card it didn’t offer any credit, I could charge however much I want on the card, but I had to pay it 100% at the end of the month. I’ve had it for three years now, and I’ve turned down offers to actually have credit on this card because it works better as it is.
Why would I want a card with no limit and no credit, well think of it this way. My emergency money is saved outside of my checking account, some of it takes a few business days to get to. If I need to use that money RIGHT now, I can put it on this card without cracking up debt.
It’s also convenient for trips, I can charge my expenses to the card and if it gets lost/stolen I don’t have to worry about having my bank account drained like with a debit card, and with a phone call it will be taken care of.
And, because I have to pay it off, I don’t throw it around. Every time I use that card it has to be after a lot of thought.
February 22nd, 2007 at 2:48 pm
We have a card through our credit union that we use for internet purchases and auto-debits, and another card with some bells and whistles that we use for travel. That’s it.
We use our debit card for most daily purchases, except for gas, where we use cash; there are several gas stations in our area that have lower prices for cash than credit/debit.
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:34 am
Let’s see… I’ve got:
- 1 Corporate AMEX (requirement for exp. account)
- 1 Hilton AMEX (haven’t paid for hotel vacations in many, many years)
- 1 American Airlines Advantage MasterCard (I rarely pay for airfare when flying for pleasure, too)
- 1 MasterCard debit card–strictly ATM use
- 1 Citibank Visa–never use this, exists solely so that the wife has a credit card in her name for credit report purposes
- 1 Lowe’s consumer credit card–paying off a 20K+ purchase at 0%
- 1 Chase Visa that I’ve been planning to cancel for a couple of years … but keep forgetting
=====================
TOTAL: 7
Wow! I guess I can see how 10 may be average then. At first I was baffled at the number: I really carry 3 credit cards in my wallet, plus the ATM/Debit card.
February 23rd, 2007 at 7:10 am
Its always nice to have some credit cards, 2 or 3 generally . You always have the feeling of being able to spend with more purchasing power at your disposal. Its more the case of ease of not carrying csah everytime you step out. I own 4 of them for different uses. And you can always play mix and match between with their payment schedules with multiple cards. Its not about how many you own, its about how well you can manage them.
February 24th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Sad but true… I only have 3, but my parents at one point I think had more than 20-
February 28th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
10 or more credit cards? I can’t believe a credit card issuer would even approve someone with that many open lines of credit!
I don’t see how anyone could possibly need 10 credit cards. And if they did, they’re obviously deep in debt already when they apply for card #8 and #9 and #10. Who would approve someone in that situation?