Second card yes or no?

Money_and_Travel

I've just checked my credit files, and they're excellent.

They're also showing a number of Credit Cards with 90%+ likelihood of obtaining one.

With my current card I'm using no more than 5% of my available credit each month.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of obtaining a second card?

eskbanker

A second can be handy if your main one is lost or stolen, or if stopped/frozen for any reason by the card provider, and having a choice between Mastercard and Visa can potentially be useful in the event of huge global card network issues.  Depending on who you go with, you may find complementary rewards or cashback propositions too.

Not much downside - some impact on credit files from having more available credit, but that's unlikely to be significant over time, and if self-restraint is an issue then that can be a risk if tempted to spend more than you otherwise would, as some on these boards do....

born_again

No real downside, other than the risk of over spending.
But advise above is good to cover all bases.
Also remember to use them both, maybe alternate each month, as not using for around a year can see them go dormant & in some cases means reapplying.

Brie

As others say - it's great to have back up just in case.  You might want to leave one card at home in case you get mugged or something else equally unlikely but it's good to have a choice.

You might also want to look for one that is good for travelling outside the UK, i.e. no fees etc, if that's something you do.