The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Advertiser disclosure
The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Senitra is a credit cards expert and TPG contributor. Senitra spent seven years working in marketing, has been a freelance writer for numerous websites and worked as a full-time reporter and editor for several daily and weekly newspapers in Texas, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She has been quoted on her credit card expertise in MarketWatch, Consumer Reports and Kiplinger.
December 9, 2022 • 7 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
Managing multiple travel rewards cards can lead to high cumulative annual fees, which may outweigh the benefits if not carefully tracked.
Missing payment due dates becomes more likely as the number of cards increases, potentially resulting in late fees or negative credit impacts.
Frequent denials for new card applications may indicate you have reached issuer-imposed limits or appear overextended to lenders.
Allowing cards to remain inactive can result in account closures, which may negatively affect your credit score.
What to consider
Retention offers for annual fees are not guaranteed and may be unavailable if previously used.
Carrying balances on rewards cards can be costly due to higher interest rates compared to non-rewards cards.
Card inactivity can lead to closures without notice, impacting your credit utilization and average account age.
What you'll miss from the article
Tips for evaluating your personal card portfolio and deciding when to pause or reduce your credit card holdings.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
If you’re like me when it comes to travel rewards, you want all the points and miles you can get. You sign up for all of the latest airline and hotel program promotions, use online shopping portals, take surveys, participate in dining programs and frequently open new credit cards.
However, it’s important not to get in over your head, especially with too many credit cards. Five cards might be too many for one person, while another may manage just fine with 20. Here are some indications that it might be time to slow down and reassess.
You have trouble paying the annual fees
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Card annual fees can quickly add up to thousands of dollars per year. Let’s say you have The Platinum Card® from American Express ($695 annual fee; see rates and fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550), Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card ($395), Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card ($450 annual fee; see rates and fees) and a Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card ($650 annual fee; see rates and fees) in your wallet. Those fees add up to around $2,700 a year. Tack on a few other cards with fees under $100 a year, and you’re easily approaching $3,000. That’s no small chunk of change.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Yes, you can call the banks and ask for retention offers, but it is not a guarantee of success, especially if they see you’ve already received a retention offer in the previous year.
If these fees are a hardship and your retention offer attempts are unsuccessful, it’s time to consider paring down your card count.
Even if you feel you can afford the annual fees, it can still be a good exercise to add up all of your annual fees, analyze whether you use the card and loyalty program to get enough value from the fee and consider if there are other ways you might instead use that money — like to save up for a down payment on a home, your kid’s college fund or your retirement – or to make charitable donations.
Looking at the total can be eye-opening, as your annual fees probably don’t all come due at the same time, and it can be easy to see it as just a few hundred dollars here and there.
When you have a lot of credit cards, all of the due dates are unlikely to be the same unless you take steps to change all of the dates with the banks. Life happens, and it can sometimes be challenging to stay organized.
Setting up autopay can help prevent late fees and interest charges (if you pay in full). If you happen to spend on an infrequently used card that doesn’t have autopay set up (maybe there’s a temporary spending category you used that month, for example), it can be easy to let a due date slip by. Or you can miss the due date for an annual fee on a card in the sock drawer.
If you’re getting denied for new cards, the banks might think you already have enough credit either with them or in total. And some issuers, like Amex, have a limit on how many credit cards you can have. Once you’re at their limit, you’ll have to close a card before being approved for a new one.
In an ideal world, we all would be approved for every card we want, but unfortunately, the banks see it as a risk to extend too much credit to one person.
You carry balances on some cards, and cards with no balances tempt you to spend
You should avoid carrying a balance if possible, but it’s even more of a no-no with your travel rewards cards. Rewards cards typically have higher interest rates compared to non-rewards credit cards.
If you’re at a point where you’re consistently charging more than you can pay off when the bill comes due, it might be time to analyze your budget and reduce your credit card usage. I’m not saying to cut out the points and miles cards completely or start using debit cards, but having less credit availability could help if you’re prone to overspending.
Maybe you’ve opened cards, completed the minimum spending requirements to get the sign-up bonuses and then let the cards sit idle for months. Some banks will close your account after a certain amount of time with no activity. Some issuers may notify you that your card will be closed by a certain date due to inactivity, giving you a chance to use or proactively close it on your own. Others will not notify you.
A card inactivity closure can cause your credit score to go down, especially if it’s an older card that was boosting your average age of accounts. It also may cause your credit utilization to go up, which can negatively impact your credit score.
If the card has no use to you, you might as well proactively close it and not give the issuer a chance to do so later. Then you no longer need to keep up with it and risk missing fraudulent use or an annual fee payment. Another reason to close it is so that you can potentially reapply again in the future to receive another sign-up bonus (bank rules vary).
One of the most important methods to maximizing your points and miles earned is by opening new credit cards.
An eagerness to obtain all of the best cards is understandable. While there’s no definitive answer regarding how many credit cards are too many, keep these signs in mind to help determine the answer for your situation.
If you are experiencing some of the issues discussed in this guide, it may be time to put the brakes on new cards and maybe even close some unused ones.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here. For rates and fees of the Hilton Aspire Amex card, click here. For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex card, click here.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
