Many banks offer credit cards and it can be very common to have different credit cards from different banks in order to get the best deals. This can be a very good strategy for getting the best credit cards on offer, but dealing with these credit cards all at once can be slightly more complicated than dealing with a number of financial products from the same provider.
Different cards offer different features, and this means that it is a good idea to get different credit cards for different purposes. It may be necessary to borrow money at a low rate, and this can be done through a low interest rate card, either on a long term basis or else on a very short term basis at a very low interest rate (sometimes as low as zero per cent).
On the other hand there may be a card that is needed for emergencies on which there is unlikely to be much spending or much of a balance held on the card. This will mean that the cards that are best for this type of use are the cards with no annual credit card fee. These may be the cards that are used for work expenses, which are then recharged to the employer.
Alternatively there may be credit cards that are used quite extensively but are paid off every month. In these cases it may be a good idea to get a credit card that either has a good rewards program that will offer something that the credit card user would need, or else get a cash back card that is less generous but that offers cash that can be used any where.
However it is important to keep these cards segregated. For example if there is a credit card with a very good interest rate on spending, then if there is a balance transfer then this will be charged at a higher rate. Any money that is repaid on the card will go towards paying off any balance on the spending balance before paying off the balance transfer. This will substantially increase the average interest rate that the card holder pays.
When there are a number of cards with a number of banks, non bank lenders and credit unions then there will be a number of deadlines. It can be a good idea to set up direct debits with the credit card providers so that the minimum payments can be made, although credit card users should not restrict themselves to minimum payments.
