Even though it’s possible that having many credit cards could have a favorable or negative effect on your credit score, the Select experts believe that having more than one credit card is a good idea.
Applying for a second credit card is a good idea if you can pay off your first credit card in full each month and maintain a low balance. Why You Should Have More Than One Credit Card read below.
Use your awards to their fullest potential.
Benefits in the form of bonuses are common on credit cards. Some credit cards let customers earn cash back on their purchases, while others let them earn points toward free trips.
Having a separate credit card for each category of expenditure allows you to make credit cards work for you, no matter what your goal is. Finding the best credit card combination for your spending habits begins with analyzing where you spend the majority of your money. A new credit card application can be made more likely by doing this.
Increase the credit card’s maximum purchase amount.
As you add more credit cards to your portfolio, your credit limit will rise accordingly. Taking into account how much credit you’re actually using in relation to how much you have available is an important part of figuring out your credit utilization rate. To improve your utilization rate, you’ll need a higher credit limit as well as a smaller balance.
In order to maintain a moderate level of credit use, you must maintain modest balances on your credit cards in order to avoid increasing your overall credit limit through the usage of several credit cards. After the duration of your credit history, this is the second most important component in determining your FICO score.
You should have some wiggle room when it comes to how much debt you take on.
If you can believe it, holding several different credit cards will help your credit score significantly. In fact, getting a new credit card will likely raise your overall score rather than lower it.
Because of this, here’s why:
Having a slew of credit cards can help you raise your credit score if you make a good living and pay your bills on time. Credit cards can be quite damaging to your credit history and score if you use them carelessly or are unlucky. If you’ve got a lot of disposable income, using several credit cards can really help you improve your credit score. What’s known as your debt utilization ratio is a major factor in this.
You have one credit card with a $3,000 cap and you charge $2,700 on average every month. There is a 90 percent chance that you will run out of credit if you charge that much money ($2,700). Then let’s say that you do this quite frequently. Even if you’ve been paying off the $2,700 in whole and on time every month, this could hurt your credit score.
A greater risk to a lender than having only one credit card and using 90% of the available credit has three credit cards but never uses more than 30% across all three cards. That’s how credit scores work. Having three credit cards makes you a better credit risk because of the way credit ratings are created and lenders view you as such. Despite paying the minimum payment each month, your credit card issuer may still send a balance report to the credit reporting agencies towards the conclusion of your billing cycle, which is when you’ll have the most debt on your account. As a result, credit rating companies presume you are close to exhausting the available credit on your credit cards each month, even though you may not be aware of this.
Maintain some financial flexibility
With multiple credit cards, you’ll be able to pay for everything from everyday necessities to unforeseen expenses.
If you have two credit cards, you can avoid a large debt negatively affecting your credit score by using both of them at the same time. When paying for a large transaction, such as medical bills, you can save money by using two separate credit cards instead of just one.
To maintain a low utilization rate and an excellent credit score, it is recommended that you keep your overall credit limit as high as possible. If you can’t pay off the sums on both of your credit cards before interest begins accruing, you could find yourself in serious financial trouble.
Conclusion
When it comes to credit cards, people who know how to make the most of them have found a method to make their credit cards work for them. Consider acquiring a second credit card if you can make your payments on time and in full so that you can benefit from the numerous spending benefits, a greater credit limit, and the possible credit score boost that this could give.
