Credit cards can come with some promotions or offers that might seem tempting, and if too many offers tempt you, you wind up with a lot of credit cards that you end up not using. One of the “Shark Tank” TV show investors, Kevin O’Leary, gives some wise advice on how many credit cards you should have.
O’Leary recommends that people have at least two credit cards with specific terms. The first credit card should have a low spending limit and can be used for online purchases. The average limit on these credit cards starts at $2,000 that can be used for all the online services.
You might wonder what benefit comes from having a low-limit credit card. Having a low-limit credit card can protect you in case you get hacked, and the hacker has a low limit to spend, meaning less liability for you.
The second credit card should have a high limit and should be used for offline purchases that are more expensive. Having these two credit cards for online transactions and one that is private can serve as a backup for your online card if you get hacked.
O’Leary also suggests looking into credit cards with cash-back options since point systems can fluctuate, and cash-back can help you pay for your upcoming bill. O’Leary admits to carrying eight different credit cards in multiple currencies since he travels internationally.
O’Leary explains his need for having several credit cards for different currencies because he wasn’t efficient in his fees as his number one rule for credit cards is that he hates fees. O’Leary says that having these cards gives him diversity and ensures he isn’t being charged for currency conversion. When traveling and converting, currency fees can rack up, and you won’t have to worry about conversion fees if you use a credit card using a specific currency.
