Majority of persons usually have more than one credit card in their wallet. It is good to keep more than one credit card as different credit cards offer different offers. Credit Cards other than the standard ones are generally customised cards to meet your multiple needs.
While some credit cards are designed for frequent flyers, some offer high discounts and cash backs and some credit cards have no annual fee. People have different needs & one credit card cannot satisfy all their needs and that is why they prefer to have more than one credit card.
There is no harm in keeping more credit cards but one should be very particular about their usage and payment of credit card bill on time. It is found that managing 2 to 3 cards is comparatively easy but when you have more than that you will have to plan for their well management.
There are some points, which if you keep in mind, will definitely help you in the best management of your credit cards. These points have been mentioned below:
(1) Decide Which Types of Credit Cards are Best Suited to Your NeedsBefore applying for any Credit Card, just analyze as to which type of cards are suitable for your needs. If you have to go on tour frequently then choose a frequent flyer card. If you spend a lot on fuel every month then Fuel Card will be suitable for you. If you are going abroad then the card offering you no foreign transaction charges will be the best.
(2) Keep a Watch on your Credit Cards Limits and other T&CIt is always good to know and remember card limits and other terms and conditions very well. In that way you will not spend more than the limit available. You can split the spending among different cards.
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(3) Use Card on the basis of Available Credit LimitYou should not spend more than available credit limit of the card otherwise you will be charged an interest whose rate is very high i.e. 24% to 36% per month.
(4) Pick the Right Card for Each PurchaseAs different cards come with different features, you must use right card for each spending wisely. For example, if you are filling up fuel, you must use fuel card and if you are going to purchase clothes and dress material, you should use lifestyle card.
(5) Always Pay On TimeDo not ever make any delay in paying your credit card bill. You should make the payment on or before its due date as it not only charges you interest on delayed payment but also impact your credit score negatively.
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(6) Set an Alert for Credit Card Payment Due DateYou can set an alert or reminder for credit card payment date. This will help you paying your credit card bills on time. If you have only one credit card then you can easily remember its due date but having more cards may create confusion in their due dates of payment or you may also forget the due dates.
(7) Set Up Automatic Payment of Credit Card BillsThere is one more way to set up automatic payment of credit card bills in your bank so that the payments of their bills are made automatically and you don't need to worry of remembering their due dates, etc.
(8) Try to Select Cards with Nil or Little Annual FeesHolding more credit cards is good but remember that credit cards also come with annual fees. If the annual fees of your credit cards are high then together it will cost you a lot. You can try to select cards that have nil or very negligible annual fee so that you don't need to pay more cost to manage these cards.
(9) Compare Cards of Different Banks/ Credit Card Issuers of the Same CategoryIt is always better to keep comparing cards of different banks or different credit card issuers pertaining to same category. If you check and compare you may come across the best card in that category which offers more and charges less. So do a research before selecting any credit card and even if you are holding any card, compare other available cards in that category and if better option is there, you just get that card and surrender your existing card.
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