2 cards or 1?

natscat84

Currently have 2 credit cards - both have the same limit, both have the same APR, both are Mastercard but are from 2 different banks.

I've been doing my usual of paying for the odd purchase on both of them, then paying it off in full, just to keep up a good credit rating.

I don't need two cards, and I'm considering cancelling one of them, and just having the one card. However if I do this, is it going to dent my credit rating? I'd feel happier having one card, but not if it's going to hurt me in the long run.

If it helps, I also have an established personal loan and car finance, both of which are paid up to date an on time, as well as a mobile phone which is also paid on time.

cmonthehoops

One debit card i have never had credit card and i never will.

SnowTiger

natscat84 wrote: »

Currently have 2 credit cards - both have the same limit, both have the same APR, both are Mastercard but are from 2 different banks.

I've been doing my usual of paying for the odd purchase on both of them, then paying it off in full, just to keep up a good credit rating.

I don't need two cards, and I'm considering cancelling one of them, and just having the one card. However if I do this, is it going to dent my credit rating? I'd feel happier having one card, but not if it's going to hurt me in the long run.

If it helps, I also have an established personal loan and car finance, both of which are paid up to date an on time, as well as a mobile phone which is also paid on time.

I doubt it would make much difference, unless the limits are large in comparison to your income.

I like to carry at least two credit cards around with me in case there's an issue with one. Last year one of my cards was rejected at a supermarket. I later discovered it had been blocked because of a suspected fraudulent transaction.

Of course, if you have money in the bank, you can use a debit card as a back up. And I guess there is that nasty paper stuff too.

guesswho2000

cmonthehoops wrote: »

One debit card i have never had credit card and i never will.

Definitely ignore this.

No problem at all having two cards - this could help should one issuer have an outage, as RBS/NatWest did last year.

From a credit rating point of view, won't be an issue at all as long as they're managed well, many people have lots more than two (I have eight, for example - for use abroad, interest free purchases, clubcard points, cashback or whatever other benefit is offered at the time!).

[Deleted User]

Keep the two. It's always good to have a back up in case one is blocked or stolen etc. Its even more important to have two current accounts with one of the debit cards safe at home. That way if you loose your wallet/purse etc you can transfer online and have access to cash rather than having to wait for a new card.

Thrugelmir

natscat84 wrote: »

I've been doing my usual of paying for the odd purchase on both of them, then paying it off in full, just to keep up a good credit rating.

.

Might improve your Experian score. From a lenders point of view the issue is the amount of credit you have available, and why you feel it necessary to have access to such a sum.

Steve059

I have two. The main one is a cashback card. The second is "left over" from a 0% deal to spread car insurance payment one year. It's now purely a back up in case the main one goes missing or is refused, due to network problems for example. I make a diary note to use it once a year to keep it and the Direct Debit active.

Laura_Figel

Keep the two. It's always good to have a back up

dzug1

You might want to change one to a Visa though - if you encounter a problem where the problem is mastercard in general rather than your particular mastercard

Gromitt

cmonthehoops wrote: »

One debit card i have never had credit card and i never will.

Meanwhile, I have 4 CCs 2 Mastercard (Aqua & Tesco) and 2 Visa (AA and FD).

Only use the Aqua one really as I've not got the £100 cash back yet. Some sites it fails on as well, but Tesco takes care of those quite nicely. Likewise, AA is my backup in case Aqua fails when refuelling my car.

Still need to get around to cancelling the FD card. I find no use for it.

reclusive46

dzug1 wrote: »

You might want to change one to a Visa though - if you encounter a problem where the problem is mastercard in general rather than your particular mastercard

That would be pretty impossible as MasterCard is a star based network (Its connects to your bank through all the other MasterCard issuing banks), although Visa could go down much easier.