​​​​Why you should have multiple credit cards

If you have a friend with more credit cards than there are days in a week, you might wonder why it would make sense to carry multiple credit cards. While you may not want to carry a binder containing dozens of credit cards, holding multiple credit cards can be a way to increase the rewards you earn, access a variety of perks or even strengthen your credit.

Should you be ready to jump from having a single credit card you use for every transaction to multiple rewards cards, here are a few ideas to help you strategize on what cards would be most useful to add.

Cards for everyday spending

For many people with multiple credit cards, only a few cards that are great for everyday use make it into their wallets. For me, this means carrying a card with 2% or greater rewards on everyday spending, plus a handful of cards that earn increased rewards in the categories where I spend the most.

Here are a few cards that are helpful for everyday spending:

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card — Earns 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases, redeemable as either a statement credit against travel purchases at 1 cent per mile or transferred to one of Capital One's airline or hotel partners.

Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees) — Offers up to 2% earnings on all purchases: 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off. The rewards can be redeemed as cash back or paired with a premium Citi ThankYou card and transferred to airline and hotel partners.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees) — Earns 1.5% back on non-bonus spending, making it the best everyday spending credit card for accumulating Ultimate Rewards points when paired with a mid-tier or premium Chase card for the ability to transfer points. In addition to this great 1.5% earning rate, you'll also earn 5% back on travel booked through Chase Travel℠, 3% on dining (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and 3% at drugstores.

American Express® Gold Card — Earns 4 points per dollar spent on restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), plus 4 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 per calendar year, making it an excellent choice for frequent diners and grocery shoppers alike.

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card — Earns 1.5% cash back and is a no-annual-fee credit card that offers a 0% foreign transaction fee

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Related: Does having many credit cards hurt your credit score?

Cards for occasional use

In my collection, some cards only see occasional use. This mostly includes cards offering 5% back on various rotating categories throughout the year and 1% back on most purchases outside of their category bonuses.

When there is a rotating category bonus offer that I find useful, that card makes its way into my wallet, but if the category isn't useful or I've exhausted the card's limit on purchases, the card remains in my sock drawer.

These are two cards I occasionally use for their category bonuses:

Chase Freedom Flex® (see rates and fees) — Earns 5% back on the first $1,500 spent on rotating categories each quarter (activation required) and 5% on travel booked through Chase Travel℠. The card also earns 2% cash back on Lyft rides (through Sept. 30, 2027). However, dining and drugstore purchases also earn 3% back. All other purchases earn 1%.

Discover it Cash Back — Earns 5% cash back on the first $1,500 in purchases at select merchants each quarter. The eligible merchants rotate quarterly and require enrollment. You'll earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

The information for the Discover it Cash Back 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.

Cards for the perks

Some of my highest-annual-fee cards earn me very few reward points or cash back because I don't spend much on them. But these cards are worth keeping for their generous perks, which often have values well above the annual fees.

• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Includes access to Centurion and Escape lounges and hundreds of Priority Pass lounges worldwide. If you're a Delta Air Lines frequent flyer, this card provides entry to the Delta Sky Club while traveling on a same-day Delta ticket. (Eligible Platinum Card members will receive 10 visits per eligible Platinum Card, per year to the Delta Sky Club or to Grab and Go when traveling on a same-day Delta-operated flight.) In addition to lounge access, the Amex Platinum offers numerous annual statement credits, including an up to $200 airline fee statement credit, an up to $600 prepaid hotel statement credit (up to $300 biannually), up to $155 in Walmart+ statement credits (Plus Ups excluded; subject to auto-renewal), up to $300 in digital entertainment statement credits (up to $25 per month) and more (some benefits require enrollment). The annual fee is $895 (see rates and fees).
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Offers Priority Pass membership for the cardmember and all eligible authorized users. Additional cardmembers can be added to the Venture X for no additional annual fee. All Priority Pass memberships receive access for two guests and the cards annual fee is $395.
• World of Hyatt Credit Card (see rates and fees): Cardmembers receive a free night at a Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel every year with the card, which many find they can easily use for a hotel night that would otherwise cost more than the card's $95 annual fee.
• United Club℠ Card (see rates and fees): Provides access to the United Club when traveling on United, Star Alliance or a partner flight for the cardmember and one guest and dependent children under 18. The annual fee is $695.
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees): Offers Admirals Club membership for the cardmember, which includes access for you and your immediate family or up to two guests when traveling on an eligible flight. The annual fee is $595.

Related: 7 premium travel cards that are worth the high annual fee

Cards for the credit history

Payment history, length of credit history and amounts owed on your credit cards collectively make up 90% of your credit score. This alone can make it a good idea to keep your oldest cards open, even if they do not offer any rewards or perks. An open card can report additional available credit and continued current status to the credit reporting agencies, whether you use it for spending or not. So any infrequently used older cards continue to help you build your credit history.

One word of caution on keeping older credit cards open: Some issuers will close accounts that have had no activity for an extended length of time, so it is a good practice to make at least one small charge to each of your cards every year to keep them active.

Deciding whether to renew or cancel

Every year, I reevaluate each credit card in my wallet using one simple question: Does this card provide substantially more in value than I am paying for its annual fee?

When evaluating how much value a card provides, it is smart to consider the rewards you earn but also ask yourself how much you would pay, in cash, for each one of the perks. The $300 travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) is easy for me to use, so I value that at close to face value. However, I will likely never use the $300 Equinox credit (enrollment required; subject to auto-renewal) on my Amex Platinum, so I value that benefit at $0.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself:

• What would I pay in cash for the lounge access the card provides?
• Does this card provide benefits that are duplicated by my other cards?
• How much more am I earning on this card than I would be by using a 2% cash-back credit card?
• Am I already flush with this particular points currency?
• Can I receive similar benefits from a card with a lower annual fee?
• What is the baseline value I need to justify keeping this card?

If you find that a card isn't providing sufficient value, you should consider canceling or downgrading it.

Bottom line

For some, it can make sense to have multiple credit cards to maximize the earning of points and miles. However, there is also value in keeping things simple. If you don't want to worry about which credit card earns how many points and in what category, during which month, you can always choose to carry one credit card. Make sure you select a card that earns solid rewards on all purchases, provides benefits you will use or rewards you in categories where you spend the most.

Related: Best credit cards

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here.