Looking for advice on how to manage down multiple credit cards

Sunbro83

I'm after some advice on how to safely manage down my current credit card situation and also to pick a card that should start to provide some beenfits/rewards.

Around 14 years ago I was maxed out on 3 cards after years of taking balance transfer offers then only making the minimum payment each month.  I had around £12,000 of debt spread across the 3 cards.  At that point I decided to get on top of it.  I got a loan to consolidate the debt and paid that off over the next 5 years.

Since then I've been really good with my money.  I do all spending on my credit cards where possible and pay off my balance in full every month.  Slowly improved my credit score in the process which has been maxed out for about 6 years now.

I still have the original 3 credit cards plus a Halifax Clairty card I ordered a while back for spending while abroad (I tend to just user Revolut for stuff like that these days).  I have cards with my bank, MBNA, Barclaycard and Halfiax.  The MBNA and Barclay's cards haven't been used for years but I've been hesitant to make any changes to my credit situation in the last few years as I've been trying to buy a house.  Completed the house purchase last week so I'm more open to making changes now that could affect my credit score.

I want to get msyelf a card that offers some kind of cashback / rewards.  I ususaly spend around 20-30k on my credit card every year (with the balance paid in full every month) so I figure I should try and make this work for me.  I've been looking at something like the Amex Cashback Everyday card.  Before I apply for one of these I'm just wondering what the best way to go about this?  Does applying for a 5th credit card look bad and if so, should I be trying to close down some of the accounts I don't use anymore?  Just unsure about that as I've also read that closing down credit accounts can negatively affect your score so I'm nervous that closing down the unused accounts may make it less likely that I get approved for the AMEX Rewards card.

Ideally I'd just have the card with my bank for emergencies, the halifax clarity card for travelling and an AMEX rewards card for most of my spending (where AMEX is accepted).  Just wondering if anyone has advice or tips on how I'm best going about this?

Brie

I have a card for foreign travel, a card for everyday spend, 2 cards that were used for balance transfers but are now just being paid off and another that very occasionally has special offers like advance purchase of concert tickets.  The everyday spend card has cashback and has been used for everything from buying the groceries and petrol to doing the full purchase of a car.  The only time having 5 cards was questioned was when I was porting my mortgage but wasn't in the end a problem.  

The only thing I'd suggest is that you have a different card you take when you are travelling in a different banking group from Halifax just in case there's an issue.  Not your Amex.

easyasonetwothree

Well done on getting yourself out of the debt!
Use eligibility checkers for the cashback cards (best to use the ones directly on the banks website) and see what your likelihood is given your current credit worthiness. A hard search or a new application isn't going to ruin your credit history, especially as you're not looking to remortgage any time soon. 
So I'd say apply for the cashback card that you want if you have good likelihood, then close out old credit card/s if you don't want them anymore after that. Then your report has some time to recover if it needs it.