Will Having More Than One Credit Card Help or Damage My Credit Score?
In perusing Yahoo questions doing research for an interesting Blog article, I noted several questions from 18 & 19 year olds anxious to establish credit but wanting to “get it right.” Several people asked the same question, “Is it better to have several credit cards rather than just one?”
The answer is a resounding YES it is better to have two or three - provided you are disciplined enough to handle it.
The reason it’s better is because you have more companies contributing to your credit report. Of course that works both ways. If you are not a responsible person and pay just the minimum amount each month, or max your cards to the limit, or pay late regardless of the reason, your credit score will be damaged. But of course you already know that - right?
To increase your credit score and get the maximum benefit with a credit card keep your credit usage to around 30% of your credit limit. Whenever possible pay your credit card in full each month. If that’s not possible double or triple the payment they request. In other words if they only want $20 minimum you should pay $40 to $60 to keep the total amount owed as low as possible.
Finally. Keep your credit clean! A person in their 50’s can have a few negative things on their credit and still be OK. This is because they have a LOT of history on their report. And if the good outweighs the bad then they can usually be alright. But when you are just starting out you don’t have much good credit to cancel the bad. So every bad thing hits your score a lot harder. So keep your credit clean and don’t go crazy with the credit cards! Use them to BUILD credit, not buy toys you don’t need with money you don’t have!
Good luck to you!
