Do You Have Too Many Credit Cards?

Whether for personal use, rewards, business or simply variety, having more than one credit card is a choice that many people make.

Choice, benefits and convenience are some of the main reasons people choose to have different card options, but this trend could end up costing more than you think.

In Australia there are close to 14 million of credit cards in use, with most adults having at least one in their name.

Unfortunately there is a credit card debt to match, with the Reserve Bank of Australia reporting the total owed at over $49.3 billion, or over $3000 per credit card.

As more people choose business credit cards or try to take advantage of as many low interest and reward options as possible, the card situation is getting further out of hand.

People with just two credit cards could end up owing $6000 or more, and the amount of debt is likely to increase with the number of cards.

That is why it is important to revise card choices regularly by looking at statements, considering overall debt or asking a few basic questions like the ones below.

Multiple Credit Card Use

Paying by card can make things more convenient but there are times when the choice is harder than it should be and people end up struggling to decide which card to use or pay off first.

On the other hand, some people find that using more than one credit card works well for them and may not have significant card debts to worry about.

When trying to decide if you have too many credit cards to maintain, asking questions about card use could help. These may include:

• How often does each card get used?
• Is one card used more than the rest?
• How much debt is on each card?
• How much interest is being accumulated for each card?
• How much is paid in annual fees?
• Are reward programs paying off?

From there it may be easier to tell what cards are working well and what ones could be ditched, especially if they are costing a lot to maintain.

If none of the current cards are exactly what you want, it may be time to consider trading them all in for a balance transfer offer to a more appealing card.

No matter what kind of cardholder you are, it is always good to review the choices you have available and how much it could be costing you so that you can find a way to make cards work for you in every situation.

Figuring out whether your credit card choices are working for or against you is a great way to start improving the situation so that debt is less of an issue and card convenience is at its highest.