Having a credit card can be a total game changer. Not only can they help build credit and score you thousands of dollars in perks like free flights, vacations and cash back, but they can offer piece of mind with valuable purchase protections.
But what is the ideal number of credit cards to have in your wallet — and why?
That’s what we — Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson, hosts of HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast — asked Brian Kelly, best known as “The Points Guy,” when he dropped by our studio to talk about how to nab the best credit card perks.
Listen to the full episode below:
“I have 30, and that’s extreme,” Kelly told us. “But look, I think the average person who spends smartly on credit cards, I mean, five is a minimum.”
Five might seem like a lot to many of us, but Kelly explained that having different cards will offer different incentives and benefits, and he personally is all about maximizing rewards.
“You, today, can get at least $1,000 in value from getting a credit card. And that’s just straight up in the points,” he said. “It’s a bonanza out there.” He noted that some cards have extra special perks like early access to Taylor Swift tickets.
However, the biggest reason to have multiple cards is how it will affect your credit score.
“Your FICO score is going to be the score that determines your mortgage rate, determines your car rental rate, even your insurance. You want to have a good credit score,” Kelly explained, adding that there are two major factors to your increasing your score.
“Number one is just paying your bills on time. So no matter what, even if you can’t pay it in full, you always pay every single bill on time,” he said. “You have to — even if it’s just a minimum payment. Just promise me that, because that’s 40% of your score right there.”
The next biggest factor is your debt-to-credit ratio.
“If you have one single credit card — let’s say it’s a $10,000 limit — if you have $5,000 on that card, you’re using 50% of your credit, which is not great when [the credit agencies] report your balances,” Kelly said.
Instead, you want to have a ton of available credit and to be using a small amount of it, so your debt-to-credit ratio is low.
“Say you have five credit cards with, let’s say, $100,000 in credit [in total]. You’ve got $5,000 that you’re every month paying on and off, you’re only using 5% [of your total credit] and then your score shoots up,” Kelly told us. “Paying your bills on time and getting a large debt-to-credit ratio, that’s how you immediately [get your score to] go up.”
When this happens, Kelly says people have an “aha moment” that their score is rising and their interest rate is decreasing.
“So by getting new credit cards [with] sign-up bonuses, which can be multiple thousands of dollars a year in value, plus the perks — potentially thousands in value — plus, your credit score is going up and your lifelong mortgage rate’s down,” he said. “That is winning.”
Of course, the optimum number of credit cards — if any — is different for everyone, and it depends on your own personal finances and needs. Kelly was very clear that not everyone should immediately rush out to nab a slew of new cards.
“Do not get a credit card if you are not comfortable with how you will use that new line of credit,” he advised. “To play the points game and to really reap the rewards, you cannot be paying even a small portion of 20-plus percent interest. You will negate the value of all those points. You’ll get in financial quicksand.”
This is especially important considering Americans collectively owe over $1 trillion on their credit cards, and exorbitant interest rates on cards can quickly push a user into deep debt — and keep them there.
“Much of the advice I give today is for people who will get a credit card ― not spend outside their means, not accrue and spend needlessly, because all of a sudden, if you’re depleting your income trying to get points, you’re losing the plot, right?” Kelly said. “So this is for people who have expenses in their life anyway, can put it on a credit card, earn valuable points, and you pay it off in full every month as if you had used cash.”
We also chatted about one of the biggest credit card perks you might not even know you have, how to maximize your points for hotel stays, and which cards will make you feel like royalty at the airport.
Listen to the full episode above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Make sure to subscribe to “Am I Doing It Wrong?” on whatever podcast platform you prefer so you don’t miss a single episode, including our investigations of the ins and outs of tipping, how to apologize or vanquish your credit card debt, how to find love online or overcome anxiety, tips for online shopping, taking care of your teeth and pooping like a pro, secrets to booking and staying in a hotel, how to deal with an angry person, cooking tips from celebrity chef Jet Tila, shocking laundry secrets, the tips and tricks for cleaner dishes, getting your best workout and more.
For more from Brian Kelly, visit The Points Guy.
Need some help with something you’ve been doing wrong? Email us at [email protected], and we might explore the topic in an upcoming episode.