5 ms·

You are aware that 20+ is actually the magical number of accounts that you're supposed to have in your credit file to have the best credit score? This is not e

by cnst 5y ago

You are aware that 20+ is actually the magical number of accounts that you're supposed to have in your credit file to have the best credit score? This is not even about credit cards. Debit counts, too. Say you have two bank accounts, an HSA account, one premium card, one business credit card, one everyday card, one… Oops, out of slots already! It sounds like you're really happy with Apple products, and will simply change your life around them, instead of demanding something better. 6+ cards is probably already the average for many people.

thereddaikon 5y ago
Says who? I have great with only one credit card. The key to good credit isn't some esoteric process to game the system. Its having a good and long credit history.
dagmx 5y ago
I don't think you're meant to have 20+ credit cards though? I'm struggling to think of anyone I know with 6+ active cards they use for payment. I'd hazard most people have two or three cards tops.
- cnst 5y ago
  That's the whole point — I can add the ones I rarely use to Android Pay still. For example, I have 11 Chase credit cards, and all of them are in Google Pay on Android. I almost never use the hotel ones; they simply provide other benefits for the annual fee, like the free hotel night for each annual fee renewal. But sometimes they do run bonus spend promotions, that's where once every year I can simply use those cards through Android/Google Pay on Android without having to worry about finding the physical card that I only use once a year.
  - marcellus23 5y ago
    I think what you're missing is that people, in general, don't do that kind of point chasing.
    - cnst 5y ago
      But the average is already what the limit on iPhone is. This means anyone even slightly above average is already out. Imagine if you weren't allowed to wear tall jeans just because you're above average. That's what Apple does on the technology front.
airstrike 5y ago
But do you really need to add all of those 20 cards to your digital wallet? Just carry the cards with you if you care so much about min-maxing the credit score game.
- lapetitejort 5y ago
  If you're actively using you cards (churning [0]) then yes. The point of tap to pay is to prevent carrying all the cards, thus lightening your daily carry. [0]: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-credit-card-churning/ https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-credit-c...
  - FireBeyond 5y ago
    So Apple and other manufacturers should optimize - and components should cost more - for the use case of _churning_, versus more everyday use? People carrying all those cards to churn or min-max their rewards are already paying with the inconvenience of managing all those accounts.
    - cnst 5y ago
      What inconvenience? All the Chase credits cards show up under a single login; you can pretty much simply login once a month a pay all 9 or 11 of them at once. Or setup auto-pay. Or change the due-date to be the exact same date for all of them, so you only have to login and pay exactly once a month. I have all 11 of Chase credit cards in Google Pay. If I switch phones, they're already available for verification on the new phone, you don't have to type the whole number anymore. I keep all but 3 to 5 credit cards in a sock drawer; but I can still use any one of them 20 at any time thanks to Google Pay. When I need to use any one of my 20 cards to make a purchase, simply scroll through and select, based on picture and/or description. If vendor doesn't accept contactless, simply use one of the 5 physical cards I do carry. The only inconvenience is that it doesn't work on iPhone, and that's one of the reasons I don't use iPhone as a primary phone, because so many things don't work there.
- cnst 5y ago
jandrewrogers 5y ago
I have the best credit score possible and only 2 credit card accounts. Empirically, there is no relationship between having large numbers of credit cards and having the best credit score.
avianlyric 5y ago
You do realise that the common understanding of a “credit score” is complete bollocks right? There's no single magic number thats your credit score, other than the one credit reference agencies provide, which no bank worth their salt uses, making that number meaningless. Banks buy credit files from reference agencies, which contain hundreds of different data points for each individual. Then the bank use their own internal models to calculate credit risk, or identify customers they like. That model will be different at every bank, and for every class of product they sell. If this wasn’t true, then there would be no differentiation between lenders, other than interest rate. Leaders use their own secret sauce models to help them identify and classify specific groups of individuals that meet their risk appetite. And they won’t just be optimising for repayment or profit, they’ll also be looking to ensure their loan book is highly diverse. Ensuring they’re not overexposed to big events (like, say, a global pandemic), which might disproportionately impact a subset of customers (such as people working in hospitality). So the idea that 20 cards is some magic number for a good “credit score” is just crap. And grossly underestimates both the diversity and complexity of credit decisioning.
- cnst 5y ago
  Well, yeah, but it's 20 accounts over a period of 7 to 10 years, which represents 2 accounts per year. That basically represents the idea customer for a bank.

by cnst 5y ago

thereddaikon 5y ago

Says who? I have great with only one credit card. The key to good credit isn't some esoteric process to game the system. Its having a good and long credit history.

dagmx 5y ago

I don't think you're meant to have 20+ credit cards though? I'm struggling to think of anyone I know with 6+ active cards they use for payment. I'd hazard most people have two or three cards tops.

cnst 5y ago
That's the whole point — I can add the ones I rarely use to Android Pay still. For example, I have 11 Chase credit cards, and all of them are in Google Pay on Android. I almost never use the hotel ones; they simply provide other benefits for the annual fee, like the free hotel night for each annual fee renewal. But sometimes they do run bonus spend promotions, that's where once every year I can simply use those cards through Android/Google Pay on Android without having to worry about finding the physical card that I only use once a year.
- marcellus23 5y ago
  I think what you're missing is that people, in general, don't do that kind of point chasing.
  - cnst 5y ago
    But the average is already what the limit on iPhone is. This means anyone even slightly above average is already out. Imagine if you weren't allowed to wear tall jeans just because you're above average. That's what Apple does on the technology front.

airstrike 5y ago

But do you really need to add all of those 20 cards to your digital wallet? Just carry the cards with you if you care so much about min-maxing the credit score game.

lapetitejort 5y ago
If you're actively using you cards (churning [0]) then yes. The point of tap to pay is to prevent carrying all the cards, thus lightening your daily carry. [0]: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-credit-card-churning/ https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-credit-c...
- FireBeyond 5y ago
  So Apple and other manufacturers should optimize - and components should cost more - for the use case of _churning_, versus more everyday use? People carrying all those cards to churn or min-max their rewards are already paying with the inconvenience of managing all those accounts.
  - cnst 5y ago
    What inconvenience? All the Chase credits cards show up under a single login; you can pretty much simply login once a month a pay all 9 or 11 of them at once. Or setup auto-pay. Or change the due-date to be the exact same date for all of them, so you only have to login and pay exactly once a month. I have all 11 of Chase credit cards in Google Pay. If I switch phones, they're already available for verification on the new phone, you don't have to type the whole number anymore. I keep all but 3 to 5 credit cards in a sock drawer; but I can still use any one of them 20 at any time thanks to Google Pay. When I need to use any one of my 20 cards to make a purchase, simply scroll through and select, based on picture and/or description. If vendor doesn't accept contactless, simply use one of the 5 physical cards I do carry. The only inconvenience is that it doesn't work on iPhone, and that's one of the reasons I don't use iPhone as a primary phone, because so many things don't work there.
cnst 5y ago

jandrewrogers 5y ago

I have the best credit score possible and only 2 credit card accounts. Empirically, there is no relationship between having large numbers of credit cards and having the best credit score.

avianlyric 5y ago

You do realise that the common understanding of a “credit score” is complete bollocks right? There's no single magic number thats your credit score, other than the one credit reference agencies provide, which no bank worth their salt uses, making that number meaningless. Banks buy credit files from reference agencies, which contain hundreds of different data points for each individual. Then the bank use their own internal models to calculate credit risk, or identify customers they like. That model will be different at every bank, and for every class of product they sell. If this wasn’t true, then there would be no differentiation between lenders, other than interest rate. Leaders use their own secret sauce models to help them identify and classify specific groups of individuals that meet their risk appetite. And they won’t just be optimising for repayment or profit, they’ll also be looking to ensure their loan book is highly diverse. Ensuring they’re not overexposed to big events (like, say, a global pandemic), which might disproportionately impact a subset of customers (such as people working in hospitality). So the idea that 20 cards is some magic number for a good “credit score” is just crap. And grossly underestimates both the diversity and complexity of credit decisioning.

cnst 5y ago
Well, yeah, but it's 20 accounts over a period of 7 to 10 years, which represents 2 accounts per year. That basically represents the idea customer for a bank.