The Credit Card points hobby, to put it simply is, the way of earning points through credit card sign ups to travel for free!

I don’t know about you, but I would love to travel for FREE and use the money saved on the travel expenses (flights and hotel stays) for experiences like sky diving, bungee jumping, food tours, etc!

It’s actually the opposite. You can have as much cards as you want and as long as you keep your credit utilization below 30%, that will help you increase your credit score.

To give you an example, lets say you have 3 cards and your total credit line with those cards combined is $10,000. If you owe $3,000 (30%), that will help you get a good credit score because from a creditor’s perspective, it can show whether or not you are doing a good job of managing your credit cards and whether or not you are an over-spender.

All in all, you should aim to keep your total credit utilization ratio below 30%. This is another reason why I recommend paying off your balances in full each month. It’s the best way to avoid interest payments, and it helps keep your credit utilization ratio as low as possible.

When you start this hobby, you’ll be paying your credit cards in full so INTEREST RATES DON’T MATTER. : )

People get turned off when they see a card that has a high annual fee. If you maximize all the perks of a certain card, you’ll sometimes even get more value out of that card.

To give you an example, I have a card that has an annual fee of $450. It comes with a lot of awesome perks and I am getting at least a value of $3150 and more!

If you know how to maximize the perks of a certain card, you’ll get a ton of value with it (and sometimes more than you expect!).

When you cancel a credit card, you’re potentially hurting your score in two ways. First, you are taking away from your average length of accounts, especially if you’ve had the card for a long time. Second, you’re potentially increasing your credit utilization ratio.

Canceling a card reduces your total credit limit (the denominator in the utilization ratio). For many people, that can result in higher utilization and lower credit scores.

What I recommend to avoid getting a ding with your credit score are three things:

1. Call your credit card and ask them if they have any “retention offers” for your account. These agents will sometimes tell you that they can waive the annual fee for that card that same year. Sometimes, they will offer you points to keep the card for that year as well. You can get other offers so “Your Miles May Vary” (YMMV) in this kind of situations.

2. You can request a downgrade from your issuer to a different product that doesn’t charge an annual fee (if it’s available). This way, you will not close that card and not get hit on your credit score.

3. If the first two options won’t work and it doesn't make sense for you to keep the card, you can close it. You will get hit a couple of points on your score but if you are paying diligently (or in full) every month with your other cards, your score will surely recover after a few months.

What is the 5/24 rule? In order to be approved for any Chase card subject to 5/24, you cannot have opened five or more personal credit cards across all banks in the last 24 months. This means you actually need to be under 5/24 to be approved.

This is why I tell people who are starting out to focus on getting Chase cards first before moving to American Express, Citi, etc.!

PRO TIP: Business cards doesn’t count towards your 5/24 status (except for Capital One, Discover and TD Bank) so you can apply for those cards and earn points faster!

Please check "Travel With Dax's Recommended Cards" to see the complete "Business cards" list!

Funny you ask! I created a list of cards that I recommend when you’re starting out or if you’ve been in this game for quite a while now.

Please check "Travel With Dax's Recommended Cards" to see the complete list!

While the number of credit cards you should have is up to you and you can apply for new lines of credit as often as you want, it's a good idea to wait at least 91 days between new credit card applications.

Others wait only 30-45 days to maximize the number of cards they can get and particularly get high signup bonus for a certain card. I would not apply less than 30 days in between applications as some issuers will automatically deny your application (this is the case with Chase).

The bottom line: In terms of the number of credit cards you can get, there is no maximum. A particular issuer might cap the amount of credit you can have, but the number of cards isn't a problem.

Of course! I created a FREE eGuide so you can learn the basics of Credit Card points!

Look for the "Start Here" tab on the website and you'll find the link to the eGuide!

Connect with me on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok at @travelwithdax

We also have private Facebook group (Travel With Dax) where I regularly post some Travel Hacking tips and tricks. Please feel free to join and learn with us!

See you there!