I used to carry tons of credit cards with me. It seemed just appropriate that I may need them some time. After all shouldn’t I be carrying all my credit cards?

The intelligent answer is ‘no’. I see people with wallets bursting at the seams with credit cards lined up one after another. At one time it used to be a ‘prestige’ thing to show how many credit cards you had. You could flash your wallet and show a string of credit cards lined up one after another. Those days are gone. There is no need to flash your credit cards. Instead, with identity theft rampant you are better off not showing your credit cards.

Identity theft also poses a BIG problem if you carry several cards. Not only the thieves get several cards but you have that much more work to try and identify each card. You have multiplied your work because you have to now contact each company. This can take hours because these days you have to go through a maze of telephone prompts before  you can ever get to a human. They say on the average identity theft eats up 600 man hours of time.

Another major issue is at the store. When you get to the counter to pay, you are confused which credit card to use. You can never keep track of which one is most beneficial, like rewards, low interest etc. In the rush of the purchase, you go with whatever credit card at whim. This can be injurious to your financial health. You may have just charged on a credit card that has the highest interest rate or the worst customer service.

Credit card companies want you to charge on several credit cards because your chances of not paying on time increases and that is when they make their money. Once you fall into the trap of not paying on time, the credit card companies are vicious in their fees and interest rates. Essentially, they have got you!

So what is the solution? Just carry 2 cards. One for personal expense and one for business related. Do not carry more than 2 credit cards. If a better card comes along, replace one in your wallet. Your wallet will be happy and you will know exactly which credit card to use. In case your wallet gets lost or stolen, you have only 2 credit cards to report. You can also catch identity theft very quickly because you have only 2 cards to watch.

Look at a comparison table of the best cards available for personal and business use at Lookupcreditcards.com. Just get 2 cards and stick with them till a better deal comes along.