How many credit cards should you have? For some people, zero

Find your number

There's no single right number of credit cards. The right count depends on whether you can pay every statement in full, how much savings you have behind you, what you want from rewards, and how much time you'll put into managing cards each month. Start at the top of the table and move down a row only once you already meet what that row needs first.

Most of the damage comes from a balance you can't pay off or a card you forgot about, not from the number of cards. Ten cards paid in full every month, each worth its fee, will usually cost you less than one card carrying a balance.

When zero is the right number

Some popular debt-free programs tell people never to use credit cards. That's too strong as a rule for everyone, but it is the right call for some people, at least for a while. Hold off on credit cards, or put away the ones you have, if any of these describe you:

• You carry a balance from month to month. Interest on an unpaid balance almost always costs more than the card pays in rewards, and it keeps growing while you try to catch up.
• You use cards to cover everyday costs because the paycheck runs out first. That's a cash-flow problem, and a card makes it more expensive.
• You have little or no savings. Without a cushion, the next car repair or medical bill goes on the card and stays there.
• You avoid opening your statements because you're afraid of what's in them.

Putting a card away isn't the same as closing it. Closing a card doesn't erase what you owe, and it can lower your score. Zero doesn't have to be forever. Once your income covers your spending, you've built some savings and you've stopped carrying a balance, a card can start working for you instead of against you. If the paycheck tends to run out before the month does, start by working out what's safe to spend until payday.

The case for one or two cards

Pay the full statement balance by the due date, every month, and a credit card is safe to use. Most cards give you a grace period, the time between the end of the billing cycle and the due date. If you aren't carrying a balance and you pay in full by the due date, you can avoid interest on new purchases. Miss a full payment and you may lose the grace period for that month and the next, as the CFPB explains in its page on credit card grace periods (consumerfinance.gov). Follow that rule with no-annual-fee cards and one or two cards give you a credit history, better fraud protection and simple rewards without costing you anything.

A credit history

On-time payments and a low balance compared with your limit build your credit history. A stronger score can lower the rate you're offered on a mortgage or car loan later, and on a loan that size even a small difference in rate adds up to a lot of interest.

Better fraud protection than debit

In the U.S., if someone uses a lost or stolen credit card before you report it, the most you'll owe is $50. If only the card number is stolen, you generally owe nothing. Many card agreements go further and promise zero liability. These points come from the CFPB's page on unauthorized credit card charges (consumerfinance.gov).

A debit card spends your own checking account, and the protection is weaker. Report a lost card within two business days of noticing it's missing and you owe at most $50. Report it later and you could owe up to $500. If you don't report an unauthorized charge within 60 days after your bank sends the statement showing it, you could owe the full amount of any charges made after those 60 days, according to the CFPB's guide to unauthorized bank transactions (consumerfinance.gov). With a credit card, the money at risk while a dispute is sorted out is the bank's, not yours.

Simple rewards

Even a basic card pays something back on spending you were doing anyway. If you only want one or two cards, keep them simple: no annual fee, and cash back rather than travel points that take effort to redeem.

Three to five cards to cover your main categories

Once one or two cards run smoothly, a few more let you earn a higher rate where most of your money goes: groceries, dining, gas and travel, plus streaming, phone and utilities. At this size, cash back is usually still the better fit. The biggest wins in travel points come from welcome bonuses, and chasing them one after another quickly pushes you past five cards.

A cash-back setup at this size usually gives each card one job:

• A food card that pays a higher rate at grocery stores and restaurants.
• A catch-all card with a flat rate on everything, for whatever doesn't fit elsewhere. It will probably be your most-used card, so choose it carefully.
• A rotating-category card that pays a high rate in categories that change each quarter. Many require you to activate the categories each quarter.
• A choose-your-category card, where you pick the bonus categories yourself, such as utilities or your phone bill.
• A store card, if you spend heavily with one retailer.

Card terms change often, so check each issuer's current rates and fees before you apply. Each application usually means a hard inquiry, and the CFPB notes in its page on credit inquiries (consumerfinance.gov) that most scoring models look at how recently and how often you apply. Space applications out rather than opening several at once.

Six to 10 or more cards, for travel

Six to nine cards for hotel and airline perks

Past five cards, most people are collecting travel points and adding what card enthusiasts call keeper cards: hotel and airline cards held for their perks rather than everyday spending. Perks can include a free night certificate each year, free checked bags or priority boarding. Annual fees on these cards can run from under $100 to several hundred dollars.

Every keeper card faces the same test each year: will you use the perks for more than the fee? A free night is worth something only if you'd have booked that hotel anyway. When the answer changes, ask about a no-fee version or close the card. Closing a card reduces your available credit, which can raise your credit utilization and lower your score, according to the CFPB's answer on closing a credit card (consumerfinance.gov).

10 or more cards for welcome bonuses

People with 10, 20 or more cards are often chasing welcome bonuses, which can be worth far more than everyday rewards. Take a hypothetical offer of 100,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first few months. That works out to 20 points per dollar, many times what any card pays on normal spending.

Be realistic about the costs. Points seldom make travel completely free, because award flights usually still come with taxes and fees paid in cash. Finding award seats takes flexible dates and research. Points can lose value if a program raises its award prices while you wait. Every new application is another hard inquiry. And the bonus spending has to come from money you'd spend anyway. Buying things just to reach a threshold is how this hobby turns into debt.

If that sounds like a puzzle you'd enjoy, the travel savings can be large. If it sounds like a chore, stop at five.

How many credit cards should a couple have?

Credit scores stay individual when you're a couple. They're calculated from each person's own history, so a partner's low score won't lower yours. If you apply for a loan together, though, lenders look at both, according to the CFPB's answer on how a spouse's credit affects yours (consumerfinance.gov). That makes it worth each of you building a history of your own before a mortgage application.

An authorized user generally isn't obligated to pay the debt, per the CFPB's answer on authorized user liability (consumerfinance.gov), and a CFPB research report on credit histories (files.consumerfinance.gov) explains that once someone is added, the account's whole history is reflected on their record, though newer scoring models may give it less weight than an account in your own name. A joint card account is different. It affects both of your scores, as the CFPB explains on joint credit card accounts (consumerfinance.gov), and both of you are responsible for the balance. Not every issuer offers joint cards, so check before you plan around one.

On rewards, two people can each apply for their own cards and earn their own welcome bonuses. That doubles the bookkeeping too: more due dates, more annual fees and more cards to remember. Agree how many cards the household will carry before either of you applies, and keep one shared list of every card, who holds it and when its annual fee posts. If you haven't settled how your bank accounts are set up yet, start with joint vs separate accounts.

Your cards in one view

Each card you add is another balance and another due date in another app. Miyo puts the balances from your linked cards in one place.

Common questions