Any disadvantages to having a lot of credit cards?

[DaShi]

Okay, can an ADULT help me out here?

Seriously, given the disastrous financial decisions that regular "adults" commonly make, disregarding someone's advice because it doesn't fit with your preconceived notions of personal finance seems a bit immature.

[Asher]

It's my understanding that the reason it affects you score is you have tons of available credit to you, if so. Which means it's possible for you to pay off some debt with other credit, which makes you more of a risk. Or not? I don't know.

I just keep 1 visa, 1 mastercard. Both have very high limits though.

Mind you my credit score is excellent and I carry no debt whatsoever, never even carrying a balance on any card.

[NoodleNaught]

Seriously, and at your age. If that's true Asher then i'am throughly impressed by you.

[DaShi]

Everyone has a quantifiable amount of credit. When you have more than one card, you spread your credit among the different cards, which lowers your credit score. Of course, this is a simplistic description. There are a lot of other factors to consider. For example, some credit plans can increase your score in combination with others. While others are affected by their environment. Visa is currently offering a plan to first time subscribers that will double your damage against zombies.

[Asher]

Seriously, and at your age. If that's true Asher then i'am throughly impressed by you.

Well, now my life is complete.

FWIW, I got scholarships through uni to cover most of the costs, did an internship between 3 & 4th years at IBM to make the rest of the money up. I graduated university with zero debt. Got a good job right out of school.

The SO and I (who is 3 years younger than me) will be putting a 25% downpayment on a ~1500 sq foot house sometime next year too. I'm kind of upset because that'll put me in debt with a mortgage. But we're going for a 10yr mortgage.

[NoodleNaught]

Oh and we have somehting called debit cards here in Canada if you were a little confused before. They allow to spend money directly out of your bank account, so for example if you had $300 in your bank account and you bought a $200 item at a store then it would immediatly remove $200 from your bank leaving you with just $100. I don't know if you have that in the U.S. or not.

[DaShi]

We do.

[ColdWizard]

IIRC, having too many accounts does negatively impact your score. Too many accounts can be seen as riskier than fewer accounts. Too many inquiries will negatively impact your score. You also don't want too few accounts. Three open lines of some sort is generally the preferred minimum.

[NoodleNaught]

DaShi i thought you said you lived in Japan, and work in the Japanesse porn business. So how would you know if they have debit cards in the US, or are you saying they have debit cards in Japan?

[DaShi]

I am an American.

[DaShi]

And what's with the sudden obsession with where I live and my job?

[DriXnaK]

Yeah I was under the impression you lived and worked in Japan too.

[DaShi]

I work wherever I wake up.

[NoodleNaught]

Well i'm wondering where you live cause before you said you live in Japan, then now when i asked if they have debit cards in the US you said "we do". So your kinda a little contradicting yourself.

[DaShi]

I don't see how.