How many credit cards should I have?

If you’re wondering how many credit cards you should have, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But your number depends on your situation and goals. 

In general, you might look at whether having a single card—or several cards—helps you build credit, manage your finances and take advantage of perks and rewards. 

What you’ll learn:

• Having a credit card can help you build credit if you use it responsibly, like making payments on time every month.

• According to Experian, the average American has around four credit card accounts. But that may not be what works for you.

• Having multiple credit cards could affect important credit scoring factors, including utilization ratio and credit age.

• Having multiple credit cards could mean more buying power and benefits, but it also means more bills to manage and opportunities to overspend.

When you use credit responsibly, it could be a good thing to have more than one credit card. Multiple cards can give you more available credit. It can also mean more spending flexibility. And if you manage multiple credit accounts well, lenders may see you as less of a risk and offer their best borrowing options and terms. 

While it can be good to have multiple cards, it ultimately comes down to how you manage them. For example, having more than one card means keeping track of more than one bill every month.

Multiple credit cards can have either a positive or negative impact on your credit. That’s because they affect these factors FICO® uses to calculate credit scores:

• Payment history: Payment history can show how reliable a consumer is when it comes to repaying debt and can play a major role in lending decisions. Information about payment history is included in credit reports. 

• Credit utilization ratio: This is a measure of how much of your available credit you’ve used versus how much you have. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recommends keeping your credit utilization ratio below 30%. Adding a new line of credit can decrease the ratio if you maintain the same spending habits. 

• Credit age: The CFPB says that having a higher credit age can help your scores. Opening a new credit card may bring down the average age of your credit accounts. 

• Applications for new credit: Applying for new credit can trigger a hard inquiry. A single hard inquiry generally won’t have a big impact on your credit. But too many hard inquiries may hurt your scores.

Here are some factors to consider when applying for multiple cards:

The benefits of having multiple credit cards and using them responsibly can include:

• Increased buying power: Having more credit available can increase your spending power. This can be especially helpful in a financial emergency.

• Maximized benefits across multiple cards: There are many types of credit cards, such as travel rewards cards and cash back cards. Some cards may even offer temporary 0% APR intro rates.

• Backup cards: Having more than one credit card gives you options when a card is damaged, lost or stolen.

The potential disadvantages of having multiple credit cards can include:

• More accounts to manage: Having multiple payment due dates and credit card balances to track might make it more likely for you to miss payments or pay late. And that can hurt your credit scores. 

• Overspending: With more than one credit card, it may be tempting to overspend. But creating a budget and spending only what you know you can pay off each month can help keep your credit card spending in check. 

• Additional fees: Some credit cards charge annual fees. Having multiple cards with these fees could add up. It may help to consider whether the rewards and benefits balance out the fees.

Want to know more? Here’s additional information about having multiple credit cards:

There’s a lot to think about when deciding how many credit cards you should have. At the end of the day, the right number of credit cards is an individual decision. Before opening a new credit card account, it could help to do some research and consider what’s best for your spending habits and financial situation.

Whether your idea of a good time is getting out on the town, traveling the world or staying in, you can  compare cards from Capital One to find one that fits your lifestyle.

• See if you’re pre-approved for rewards cards, with no harm to your credit score. 

• Explore travel and miles rewards credit cards with unlimited miles you can actually use. 

• Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day, with a cash rewards credit card.

• Earn unlimited cash back, whether you’re going out or staying in, with a dining and entertainment credit card.