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Most people assume that having a lot of credit cards means you’re bad with money. My wife and I have eight between us, and I’d argue the opposite is true.
According to Motley Fool Money research, the average American consumer holds 3.9 credit cards each. So my wife and I are actually pretty average as a couple with eight active cards right now.
We use some of our cards every day, the others sit in a drawer for the most of the year.
Here’s how our setup works — and why a few more cards than you expected might actually be the smarter move.
Two cards do all the heavy lifting
Of our eight cards, two get used consistently.
Our daily driver is a flat-rate rewards card that we put 90% of our spending on. It earns a baseline 2% on everything we buy which adds up nicely throughout the year.
Having the bulk of our rewards all in one place is nice, too. While we could probably squeeze out a few more dollars by using a handful of different category cards, I just don’t feel like putting in all that effort to manage it all.
The second regular card we use has a much higher rewards rate on a very specific online shopping category. So we only use it for Amazon purchases basically.
Together, these two handle the overwhelming majority of our household spending. The other six mostly live in a drawer all year.
Find the best rewards cards for your spending in 2026.
The “drawer cards” still have a purpose
One of our cards has a $49 annual fee and gets used exactly once a year.
It’s a travel rewards card that includes a free hotel night annually. So every summer when my wife and I do a road trip, we use it. That single perk alone more than covers the $49 cost of keeping the card open.
Most of our other dormant cards are even simpler. They have $0 annual fees and credit histories stretching back to our early 20s. Since length of credit history is important to our credit scores, closing these old accounts would shorten our average account age overnight. Keeping these around costs us nothing and protects something we’ve spent years building.
One “perfect” card doesn’t exist
I wish it did. One card that earns the best rate on groceries, travel, gas, dining, and everything else — with no annual fee and a massive welcome offer. That card doesn’t exist.
The good news is most households can get away with two or three cards that cover the categories they spend most in. Our setup isn’t complicated — a flat-rate daily driver, one category card for online shopping, and a handful of older cards that cost us nothing to keep open.
Eight cards sounds like a lot. But it isn’t crazy. Honestly, I’m thinking that number will probably even grow over time as our spending changes and better cards come along.
If it’s been a while since you’ve thought about whether your cards are actually working for you, check out these top-rated rewards cards for 2026 and refresh your setup.
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Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Joel O’Leary has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
