4 ms·

Is having 5 cards at one bank something a lot of people do? I have less (consumer financial) accounts than that spread across multiple institutions, never mind

Is having 5 cards at one bank something a lot of people do? I have less (consumer financial) accounts than that spread across multiple institutions, never mind credit cards.

ic4l 6y ago
I opened my 5 cards across the span of 13 years, and was advised to have more credit cards as only having 1 was negatively impacting my credit score. According to Experian the average American has 4 credit cards. Also chase incentivizes you to open up more than one card with their signup bonuses.
- maxerickson 6y ago
  Yeah, I've been banking for 25+ years, so that isn't really what I was asking about. My main credit card has all sorts of incentives to open more lines that I don't pay any attention to.
- lupire 6y ago
  > only having 1 was negatively impacting my credit score. Is this a real thing? I've always had 1 card and highest credit score. Having multiple cards seems like a risk of taking on excess debt.
  - leetcrew 6y ago
    your credit score benefits from having a history of managing more than one line of credit. it's debatable how much opening a bunch of credit cards helps with this (in the short term, it actually hurts). ideally you would have a mix of credit cards, a mortgage, and some other type of debt, all of which paid off on time. it's only a moderate impact factor though. having an extremely long history of on-time payments and low overall utilization can still get you an excellent credit score. it just takes longer.
  - DaveExeter 6y ago
    You should have at least 2 credit cards, and not both with the same bank, of course. I had two credit cards with Chase (and an Amex with BoA) when Chase decided that I had died. If it wasn't for the Amex, I would have had some big problems!
  - 13of40 6y ago
    I have no debt except for one credit card that I pay off every month, and I've been in that state for years, but my credit score won't go past the mid 700s. I actually tried prepaying my credit card one month so that my debt to credit ratio would be zero, but that made my score drop. It's called a "thin file", meaning they don't have enough data to tell if I'm a risk.
leetcrew 6y ago
five cards with one bank would be pretty uncommon, not sure why you would do this. but there are certain combinations of credit cards from the same bank that have a synergistic effect with rewards/benefits. for example, assembling the "chase trifecta" is a goal for many credit card optimizers.[0] I don't do anything that complicated myself, but I do have several cashback cards with different rewards categories to maximize my overall cashback rate. I don't particularly care which bank issues the card; I just decide based on signup bonus + rewards. I don't actually have any use for credit (lol) so I sign up for at least one new card every year. I just keep my credit score high enough that I don't get denied for new cards. [0] https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-card-trifecta/ https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-card-trifecta/
- ValentineC 6y ago
  > for example, assembling the "chase trifecta" is a goal for many credit card optimizers.[0] There's been some talk over the years that The Points Guy (who's often considered a shill in credit card churning communities) pushes Chase cards so hard because they offer him the best kickbacks.
  - leetcrew 6y ago
    perhaps a poor choice of link. it's just the first example I thought of where the combo of cards is better than the sum of its parts, which kinda depends on them all being from the same issuer.
Arainach 6y ago
Yes, when banks offer cards that work together. Chase absolutely does. Here's how it works for Chase: Their various products (Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire, Sapphire Preserved, Sapphire Reserve, Business Ink, and maybe a few others) all generate the same currency (Ultimate Rewards) but do so in different ways: * The Freedom offers 5% (5 points per dollar) on a rotating set of categories that change each quarter. For instance, right now the categories are Gas Stations and Home Improvement stores, so put those purchases on that card (there's no annual fee), and 1% on everything else * The Sapphire Reserve offers 3% on dining, travel and 1% on everything else. It ALSO allows you to redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5x the value. It has plenty of other perks and a significant annual fee, so whether it's worth it depends on your lifestyle, but for many people it is. * The Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5% on all other purchases, so it's a good fallback. No annual fee so no problem keeping it around. The other cards have their own quirks as well. The point is that you can accumulate reward points on the various cards depending on the category of the purchase and them consolidate them all into one card (the Sapphire Reserve) for maximum value. People who are truly dedicated will go even further and point out that technically, for optimum value, you shouldn't just redeem the UR points for cash/travel purchases and should instead transfer them as airline miles to various partners, but I've never found it worth it personally, as while I enjoy travelling my tier of travel is strictly coach to a variety of locations, not trying to save up 3 years of points for a first class flight to Dubai.
- maxerickson 6y ago
  But do a lot of people do this? What are the spending requirements for the game to be worth it in money terms? And then there is the part where the game turns into work (I see keeping track of the several accounts mentioned above as a chore).
  - ac29 6y ago
    The sapphire reserve has an annual fee of $550. Its not a card that makes sense for most people in my opinion, but if you can use its benefits (primarily travel benefits), it might pay for itself.
  - 6y ago
toast0 6y ago
I wouldn't likely have 5 cards at one institution on purpose, but I do have at least that many cards. I have a few affinity cards and they ocassionally switch banks, so it's possible I'd end up with several at one bank though. The only one with an annual fee generally provides benefits of value beyond the fee, the others at least provided some value when I got them, and there's not much negative to having them, so I only close accounts if the bank is annoying (like Chase; not doing business with them again if I have a choice). Although I did close one last year because I was tired of remembering to use it once a year to keep it active.

Is having 5 cards at one bank something a lot of people do? I have less (consumer financial) accounts than that spread across multiple institutions, never mind credit cards.

ic4l 6y ago

I opened my 5 cards across the span of 13 years, and was advised to have more credit cards as only having 1 was negatively impacting my credit score. According to Experian the average American has 4 credit cards. Also chase incentivizes you to open up more than one card with their signup bonuses.

maxerickson 6y ago
Yeah, I've been banking for 25+ years, so that isn't really what I was asking about. My main credit card has all sorts of incentives to open more lines that I don't pay any attention to.
lupire 6y ago
> only having 1 was negatively impacting my credit score. Is this a real thing? I've always had 1 card and highest credit score. Having multiple cards seems like a risk of taking on excess debt.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  your credit score benefits from having a history of managing more than one line of credit. it's debatable how much opening a bunch of credit cards helps with this (in the short term, it actually hurts). ideally you would have a mix of credit cards, a mortgage, and some other type of debt, all of which paid off on time. it's only a moderate impact factor though. having an extremely long history of on-time payments and low overall utilization can still get you an excellent credit score. it just takes longer.
- DaveExeter 6y ago
  You should have at least 2 credit cards, and not both with the same bank, of course. I had two credit cards with Chase (and an Amex with BoA) when Chase decided that I had died. If it wasn't for the Amex, I would have had some big problems!
- 13of40 6y ago
  I have no debt except for one credit card that I pay off every month, and I've been in that state for years, but my credit score won't go past the mid 700s. I actually tried prepaying my credit card one month so that my debt to credit ratio would be zero, but that made my score drop. It's called a "thin file", meaning they don't have enough data to tell if I'm a risk.

leetcrew 6y ago

five cards with one bank would be pretty uncommon, not sure why you would do this. but there are certain combinations of credit cards from the same bank that have a synergistic effect with rewards/benefits. for example, assembling the "chase trifecta" is a goal for many credit card optimizers.[0] I don't do anything that complicated myself, but I do have several cashback cards with different rewards categories to maximize my overall cashback rate. I don't particularly care which bank issues the card; I just decide based on signup bonus + rewards. I don't actually have any use for credit (lol) so I sign up for at least one new card every year. I just keep my credit score high enough that I don't get denied for new cards. [0] https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-card-trifecta/ https://thepointsguy.com/guide/chase-card-trifecta/

ValentineC 6y ago
> for example, assembling the "chase trifecta" is a goal for many credit card optimizers.[0] There's been some talk over the years that The Points Guy (who's often considered a shill in credit card churning communities) pushes Chase cards so hard because they offer him the best kickbacks.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  perhaps a poor choice of link. it's just the first example I thought of where the combo of cards is better than the sum of its parts, which kinda depends on them all being from the same issuer.

Arainach 6y ago

Yes, when banks offer cards that work together. Chase absolutely does. Here's how it works for Chase: Their various products (Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire, Sapphire Preserved, Sapphire Reserve, Business Ink, and maybe a few others) all generate the same currency (Ultimate Rewards) but do so in different ways: * The Freedom offers 5% (5 points per dollar) on a rotating set of categories that change each quarter. For instance, right now the categories are Gas Stations and Home Improvement stores, so put those purchases on that card (there's no annual fee), and 1% on everything else * The Sapphire Reserve offers 3% on dining, travel and 1% on everything else. It ALSO allows you to redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5x the value. It has plenty of other perks and a significant annual fee, so whether it's worth it depends on your lifestyle, but for many people it is. * The Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5% on all other purchases, so it's a good fallback. No annual fee so no problem keeping it around. The other cards have their own quirks as well. The point is that you can accumulate reward points on the various cards depending on the category of the purchase and them consolidate them all into one card (the Sapphire Reserve) for maximum value. People who are truly dedicated will go even further and point out that technically, for optimum value, you shouldn't just redeem the UR points for cash/travel purchases and should instead transfer them as airline miles to various partners, but I've never found it worth it personally, as while I enjoy travelling my tier of travel is strictly coach to a variety of locations, not trying to save up 3 years of points for a first class flight to Dubai.

maxerickson 6y ago
But do a lot of people do this? What are the spending requirements for the game to be worth it in money terms? And then there is the part where the game turns into work (I see keeping track of the several accounts mentioned above as a chore).
- ac29 6y ago
  The sapphire reserve has an annual fee of $550. Its not a card that makes sense for most people in my opinion, but if you can use its benefits (primarily travel benefits), it might pay for itself.
- 6y ago

toast0 6y ago

I wouldn't likely have 5 cards at one institution on purpose, but I do have at least that many cards. I have a few affinity cards and they ocassionally switch banks, so it's possible I'd end up with several at one bank though. The only one with an annual fee generally provides benefits of value beyond the fee, the others at least provided some value when I got them, and there's not much negative to having them, so I only close accounts if the bank is annoying (like Chase; not doing business with them again if I have a choice). Although I did close one last year because I was tired of remembering to use it once a year to keep it active.