I hear that have to many credit cards hurts your score. I also hear that having to few hurts your score So..whats the "correct" number of cards to have? Im rebuilding post ch.7 I've got the orchard, cap 1 and first premier unsecured cards. Im wondering if I need to have a 4th one and if so, what should it be? Right now my scores in low 600's (610 to 629) thanks!
Hell, who knows I hear 2 to 3 alot I have 13 and scores above 700 all the way around go figure........
I don't think there really is an optimum number of CC's to have. I've seen reports with 15 or more open credit lines scoring in the high 700's. The "credit gurus" say you should close inactive accounts. This is really bad advice as the accounts that are 5 and 10 plus years old are the ones that give the highest scores. The real question then is what is the optimum number of CC's on which to carry small balances? In answer to this question, I would say 3 to 4. But, if you get a new car loan or mortgage, trim it back a little, so you have no more than 4 to 5 active accounts. Also, applying for too many cards will lower your score on a temporary basis. I'd open three secured lines that can be converted to regular cards and then build slowly from there. Lastly, I think the scoring models like it better when you leave small rolling balances on your accounts vs. paying them off completely each month.
