Category: Credit Cards

Is it Wise to Have Two Credit Cards?

Most of us these days will have a credit card. It can be a very convenient way to buy things, especially when we are buying things online. However, there are some people that have more than one card and you may perhaps wonder whether you should be considering getting a credit card yourself. There are risks but also advantages and it is good to think about both so that you can be sure to make the right decision.

Advantages of a Second Card

  • If you have a second credit card it means that you will be able to access more money. You will have a credit limit on the card and this will add together with the credit limit on your other card. It means that you will be able to borrow more money.
  • This means that if you have used up the credit on the one credit card, you will be able to use the second credit card to spend money. This means that you will have access to more funds which could be really handy.
  • If you have a cashback card, then spending more money on the card, means that you will get more money back, which could be handy as it will go towards repaying the credit card the following month. It could almost be seen as a discount from the next month.
  • You might want to try to split your spending between cards so that it is easier for you to keep a better watch on what is going on with your spending.
  • If you can find a second card with a lower interest rate, then it can be better to spend on this one and try hard to repay the other one so that you can save some money by paying out less in interest.

Disadvantages of a Second Card

  • If you have a second credit card it means that you will have more money available to borrow. This could mean that you will use it to treat yourself to a lot more things and spend a lot of money on it. This could mean that you will quickly accumulate a lot of debt on the card.
  • If you spend too much on the card it could mean that you will not be able to afford to repay it in full. This means that you will be charged interest on it. This interest could be quite high as credit card interest tends to be pretty pricey and it could mean that you start to pay quite a lot for the privilege of borrowing the money to buy those fun things.
  • If you do have a cashback card then it might tempt to spend more money than you otherwise might, Knowing that you will get money back for everything that you spend might motivate you to use the card more. You may even just spend money for the sake of it. It is well worth remembering that a cashback card tends to have higher interest than regular cards and so it is only really worth using them if you know that you will definitely repay the balance in full each month.
  • It might be even harder to keep track of your spending when you have two cards. It will mean two places to check your balance and think about whether you can afford to spend more etc and it might just get to be too much of a hassle to bother with.

It is therefore important to carefully weigh up the pros and cons before getting an additional card so that you can be sure you are doing the right thing.