How To Keep 16 Credit Cards Active and Improve Your Credit Score

Have lots of cards and want to improve your credit score further? Keep them active, let me show you several easy way to do this while earning some pocket change.
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[@druog442]

16 credit cards, respect!

[@BeatTheBush]

=D

[@andreyv1]

i have 8! haha

[@BeatTheBush]

Is there a limit? No idea. =D

[@kensonstremy7226]

What's the maximum amount you can reload into your amazon account? Also, I know you can link your bank account and deposit the funds from the credit card avoiding the PayPal fees.

[@BeatTheBush]

I don't think there's a limit. You can load a million dollars? No one is going to stop you. What paypal? The purpose is to use your credit cards.

[@GantzIsSloppy]

gonna be honest, this is one of the few channels that I checked the description to see how I can donate.

[@BeatTheBush]

Why thank you for your support! =D Seems like everyone is charging for these 'secrets' of how to build credit. I think giving it away will pay off someday.

[@thinkb4umove157]

@@BeatTheBush Your right!

[@The_Laser_Channel]

When i first saw the title, I kind of thought about what you were going to say and for the most part, my thoughts were right on the money. However, something that I would do, since I don't use Amazon all that much, would be have one card paying my phone bill, another card paying Netflix, another card paying for gas, one for food, etc...things that I typically need anyway...just put a label on the card with "food", "gas", etc...on it..

[@BeatTheBush]

Sure but when you do that you miss out on the cash back because you end up doing this on the cards that are not so good. On top of this, you cannot get the low balance cancellation because the amount you charge is not tiny.

[@ongbocau]

that's what i do and then you don't have to continually address it...

[@horacevu]

I currently have 6 credit cards (4 personal, 2 business chase ink cards). The way I keep my cards activate is to set them up for subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon prime, Playstation network, etc. Set up automatic payments and occasionally rotate them every 2 months based on categories and usage. Juggling 6 cards is already enough for me to handle, I can't imagine having 16 cards, holy cow!

[@christobaben3944]

I see what you're trying to do here with the "load a little bit of money" then auto-pay it off.. what do you think about just putting different monthly bills onto separate credit cards and then have the auto-pay pay the balance in full? Like, Netflix on one, gas/electric bill on another, water, etc, etc. I think that might be easier to automate (saving precious time) than actually going in each month to earn that ~$11 or so. I think, personally, I would prefer this method and save time each month. Thanks for the vid and keep up the good work!

[@BeatTheBush]

I think that is a viable way to reduce the amount of work. It does take me about 10-15 minutes to do all the cards every month. You do miss out on the 2% cash back when paying your bills on random cards. So assuming your recurring bills add up to be about $500/month, that's another $10 of cash back you miss out on.

[@christobaben3944]

BeatTheBush I think that's the choice people would have to make.. automate it so it's a "set it and forget it" kind of thing... or just know it's something you have to do each month and make sure you don't miss it. anywho, thanks for the reply!

[@BeatTheBush]

Yep. There is something to be said for automation so you can just take off and live on an island for a year without worry.

[@corycooldangerous]

The time and energy it takes you to go through this complicated process isn't worth the $10 of cash back you are missing out on? My head hurts trying to follow what you are doing. Seems kind of ridiculous if I'm being honest.

[@kimsstephen]

Very interesting way of increasing your score, thanks for sharing. I have lots of open accounts, I just make a point to make periodic small purchases just to keep the accounts active. My score is now in the 900s which means that I've paid way too darn much money towards in interest in my life. Credit cards no longer rule my life, I rule them and get money back. Keep up the great work! :)

[@BeatTheBush]

It might be good to put $2 instead, right over the credit cancellation threshold just to make sure it is compatible with all credit bureaus. Did you pay too much interest? I didn't pay much and mine hovers around 835/850 so I don't think the score is an indicator of how much interest you paid. Very good you are getting money back these days from cash back, the only way to use a credit card properly I think.

[@kimsstephen]

I recently paid off all of my debt; took almost 4 years to do it which was really hard but so worth it. I now pay all of my monthly expenses with some credit card to earn points and pay them off every month. I know it doesn't help my score much but it does keep the cards active with some history. I FINALLY learned my lesson and am trying to make the best use of my money these days and am now looking into creating passive revenue streams. Thanks again for the help

[@BeatTheBush]

Sounds pretty sound to me! =D

[@X11CHASE]

I just wanted to say your videos are really helpful and I can really relate well to your presentation style

[@BeatTheBush]

Thanks for you comment! =D I'm glad my vids can help in some way. =D

[@davidprasad65]

Hi Beat the Bush, I like the way you explain it. Thank you!

[@BeatTheBush]

=D

[@WhiteKitta]

OMG 16 credit cards wow......and I thought I have too many with my 9 cards already....I have some applying to do, LOL

[@BeatTheBush]

Lol... I might be getting more based on my latest vids.

[@davidprasad65]

Hi BeatTheBush, I like the way you explain it. Thank you!

[@BeatTheBush]

No prob! Thanks for watching!

[@themrbear85]

low balance cancellation - is this considered as activity or do they cancel your card eventually?

[@BeatTheBush]

It is considered an activity and I have not had a card get cancelled after doing so.

[@BimmerWon]

I wish there was an app you could use that you could put all your trash cards on that can charge all your cards evenly at a gas station that accepts digital wallet transactions.

[@puledressdesigns]

I have no clue about the whole Amazon thing so I'll have to read up on that then come back and watch video again. :)

[@phototristan]

There's no need to do this every month. They will not close your credit card that soon. Just charge something on inactive cards annually.

[@SamwiseLee]

It's not just to prevent card cancellation. It's to also benefit credit score as if you don't do anything for a particular month, it'll show as inactive for that month (as opposed to active and in good standing if you did low balance cancel). BTB has a video on it.

[@thinkb4umove157]

Thank for the information

[@BeatTheBush]

You're welcome!

[@Lyon-YL]

Now Amazon sets the $5 auto-reload limits, what should we do?

[@hyperiondragon]

A reminder when using the PayPal method, some credit card companies (like cap 1) will treat it as a cash advance when you send money using a cc. So there'll be a cash advance fee ($10) from cap 1 as well.

[@fordcobraboss427]

Absolutely Brilliant!!!!!!

[@charlesurias]

Have you ever had a bank close one of your cards due to inactivity? If so, what bank and how long was it inactive? Another great video by the way!

[@BeatTheBush]

I had get closed before but the main reason it got closed is because it fell into the abyss and I don't even remember what it was.

[@drewnyc5816]

Not really accurate. I've had credit cards for over thirty years. Never carried a balance or paid one cent interest. Over the years I have 15 active accounts visa/discover/master/amex. I only use two of them, I keep the others open because they were in my sock drawer for years never cancelled them. They are still active as per online access. You don't have to use them to keep them active. I never had a card cancelled on me for not using it. I also have an 845 credit score currently so using them doesn't improve or hurt your score what so ever. To have a good score keep them open pay in full or at least on time keep your credit to debt low.

[@BeatTheBush]

The fallacy here is a unique sample of yourself. I've had cards cancelled for inactivity before. And yes, you can get a high score not touching them but it will make getting there harder.

[@drewnyc5816]

Just remember the fallacy is that your case is not the norm. Banks don't want to cancel any one's cards. Also, I had a high credit scores since the beginning when I worked menial jobs I always had high credit limits because of my high credit score. All you have to do it pay your balance, keep credit to debt low, pay on time. Really simple.

[@tubro007]

Had my highest limit/longest held card canceled. Destroyed total limit and account age. Years of non-usage, didn't know it could happen.

[@drewnyc5816]

30 year credit card holder guess I'm lucky never happened to me. I have 15 active accounts I only use the same two best reward perks for me. The others I keep open because no annual fee.

[@thinkb4umove157]

Its funny when cats say something like this in you house/channel and bring no proof and they have no content on there channel :-) Peace love and happiness

[@carlericfred]

Thanks for the helpful videos! Did I get this right - the card counts as active no matter how much is charged that month as long as it's something, even $0.01? And it even counts if there's low balance cancellation?! Craazy.

[@BeatTheBush]

Heyyyyy, nice one. You are one of the few that gets it.

[@deduke6544]

+BeatTheBush, I don't quite get it about the Amazon upload, would a debit card be just as good, or is that a total no no. And I am curious to know the interest rate on those cards.

[@BeatTheBush]

The idea in this video is to keep credit cards active. You do not need to keep debit cards active. I generally do not even look at the interest rate on the cards as I never leave a balance and so I never pay interest.

[@davidtram6861]

Great Video BeatTheBush. Just wondering where I can go to see the Low Balance Cancelation amount for each Credit Card Company.

[@BeatTheBush]

I listed some of them in my video but then I don't know of a central place. You can infer most Chase and BofA does NOT do this. So that's a good start.

[@victoriouspauper8495]

Beat the Bush .... KUDDOS !! Your videos are informative and sometimes... YA CRACK ME UP !!! But hey... just to tell you a little of my credit story. I had ZERO credit cards(None, Zilch, Zippo, Nada) ... prior to October of 2015. And i kept getting offers in the mail. I decided it was time to restore my credit(LONG STORY)...trust me !! OYE !! Anyways, on 10-5-15 ...I applied to Capital One platinum card and was APPROVED for a WHOOPING $500 credit limit, and I also applied for a second Capital One QuickSilver card...and was APPROVED for another $500 CL. THUS.... I began to restore my credit of a very dismal 528 transunion as of Ocober 5, 2015 .... which I learned what my score was when I applied for a Barclay rewards credit card and was TURNED DOWN, but got my SCORE from Transunion as stated above. I used my 2 Capital One cards every month, hammering out all my expenses on these two cards, and QUICKLY they DOUBLED my credit limits on BOTH cards !! Then DOUBLED them both AGAIN !!!! CURRENTLY, as of April 27, 2017 .... My one Capital One Platinum is $5,000 limit and my other Capital One QuickSilver is now $2,400 limit. So i went from 2 cards each at $500 to $7,400 Currently on just these 2 credit cards !! but WAIT ....... there is more !! On march 16, 2016 I got another card US Bank for a limit of $500 .... so now I have a THIRD card started. i have been using it also EVERY MONTH and PAY IT OFF !!! I do NOT pay ANY interest at all and INSTEAD .... I earn CASH BACK on stuff I already spend each month!! NICE !!! NOW THEN ..... on April 7, 2016 .... I was APPROVED for a DISCOVER IT card with a starting credit limit $3,700. I also APPLIED for a CITI DOUBLE CASH CARD on the SAME DAY and was APPROVED for $1,000 Limit. ON April 7, 2016 .... my EQUIFAX FICO SCORE had increased to 675 !!! NICE !! IT IS MOVING UPWARD !! THEN IN JUNE, 2016 .... I decided to ask my mother to allow me as an AUTHORIZED USER on one of her cards and she accepted, so now I share a CHASE UNITED card with her with a credit limit of $13,900. Two weeks ago, I got more credit limit on my CITI DOUBLE CASH card and now is $2,500 And DISCOVER IT card is now $4,700 !! SO, ....as of April 27, 2017 .... I NOW HAVE $29,000 Credit Limit TOTAL .... spread over 6 Different credit cards .... and earlier this month .... my Experian FICO is 697, my Transunion FICO is 710, and i am waiting for my Equifax to be updated as I write this. I keep my BALANCES LOW and stay within 1%-9% UTILIZATION each month and pay them off .... with the EXCEPTION of one card with a 0% Rate which I keep LOW BALANCES on too, but used their money for a short period. I PAY NO INTEREST AT ALL ..... BUT INSTEAD make "CASH BACK" on 5 of 6 Cards !!! When it comes to YEARLY FEES, .... I only have ONE $39 YEARLY FEE for my very 1st Credit Card. that is it !! this month... I plan to SHOW ON MY CLOSING DATES ...a 1%, ...a 1%, ...ZERO, ...a 1%, ... a 9%, ...and a 1% Balance across all 6 of the cards that i have. I have been considering a couple other cards, as my local credit union offers a Visa, Mastercard option with about 4.9%-8.99% Interest Rate and NO FEE, so I may APPLY NEXT MONTH, once I see my UPDATED EQUIFAX FICO SCORE. If it is over 700 ... I may apply, but I am in NO hurry. i do want to get my LIMITS up to about $35,000-40,000 by end of the year. With proper knowledge, persistence, practice... I will. So .... Beat The Bush .... I appreciate your videos as they are all helpful. i study MANY people and videos and sites that have helped me along the way. there is MUCH WRONG INFO on the internet that must be avoided. Making payments ON TIME, and HOPEFULLY .... paying down balances BEFORE "the statement closing date", Keeping UTILIZATION LOW, do NOT apply too often for credit(try to space them out), AUTHORIZED USER is helpful if the person you choose has great credit ( my mom had an 840 FICO when I asked !! GO MOM !!! ), keep cards OPEN unless you have a MEGA FILE with MANY YEARS of CREDIT behind you, OR ELSE.... it will TANK YOUR SCORES !! Be WISE with Credit .... and The Sky is the Limit !!!!!! Credit is a TOOL to MASTER your money. thanks again !! And hey, If you don't know JESUS CHRIST as your Lord and Savior .... NOW IS THE TIME !!!! JESUS is Coming Back SOON !!!! the 7 Year tribulation period is coming FAST ..... Do NOT be left Behind !!!! Read the Book of John in The New testament of the Bible and the Book of Romans in the Bible. Receive JESUS now.

[@BeatTheBush]

Wait, there's no question in there. Okay cool! Thanks for sharing your experience. It's pretty much in line of what I recommend someone to do starting from a limit of $500. And pertaining to this video, if you keep em active you will build your credit even more. This video pretty much just goes over what you pretty much did here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6XXgn6wo8ykpac

[@zhaoxhts]

hi beatthebush is it safe to have many credit cards linked to your amazon account? i'm just worry about the amazon account get hacked.

[@BeatTheBush]

Its as safe as any other website and only as safe as how good your password is. Of course, if it gets compromised, you'll have a mess.

[@zhaoxhts]

So what do you do to keep your amazon account safe and secure?

[@BeatTheBush]

A really complex password, lol.

[@mm1razzi]

Love your videos, I've learned a great deal. Do you know of a way to pay your mortgage using a credit card? Also, can you make vid (short) on trading ETFs vs mutual funds? Thanks!

[@BeatTheBush]

You can only pay your mortgage on a credit card if your mortgage company allows it. If they do allow it, they may charge a percentage fee which will likely take a huge bite out of any cash back you may get. ETFs thing noted. Thanks for your idea. =D

[@chadnijim7323]

Much respect for the GT3RS lego in the background!

[@BeatTheBush]

=D That was a fund build. Of course, after you build it, it just sits there.

[@lucaswvargas3826]

If I had that many cards what I would do to keep them active, is put them in a video game with micro transactions and buy like 5 dollars of loot boxes or something. thanks for the tip Bush.

[@BeatTheBush]

Argh... what? Buying virtual goods? =_= To each his own.

[@donovandwayne6229]

if you think about it, $11-$12 a month from low balance cancellation pays for more than a whole year of Amazon Prime. or even Netflix. Essentially, its free that's a cool way to look at it.

[@BeatTheBush]

I just pile it into the Amazon credit and buy stuff with it as needed.

[@roberthays6382]

I've got 5 cards now. Wondering if I should cancel some that aren't my older ones.

[@BeatTheBush]

5 isn't that many so just keep them all if they are not charging you an annual fee.

[@SlowDelSol]

Rob h Don't cancel anything. Especially older ones because the older your credit history the better for your score. If you cancel the old cards all that old history is removed from your credit history and thus your score will take a hit.

[@VictoryStudios2012]

I have alot to learn in terms of credit cards and credit score. Please keep up the videos lol. Im doing the amazon recharge method for my $250 wells fargot checking account promotion.

[@BeatTheBush]

Ahh cool. Remember the opportunity cost here. If you bought Amazon credit in various ways, you would've gotten 5% so you need to discount the promo you get by that amount.

[@noydbwia]

I've thought about the PayPal thing, but depending on how you do it, come CC companies may list that as a cash advance, rather than a regular charge, causing interest to start accumulating from day 1... How do you do it?

[@BeatTheBush]

I thought I showed how in this video?

[@noydbwia]

Thanks for your quick reply! I had to rewatch the video and you did say that, but I was under the impression that PayPal or even the CC companies would frown on that kind of activity as manufactured spending. Now, if you're suggesting to do it only in small amounts in order to show activity on the cards and not as a way of trying to avoid the cash advance fee, then okay... I'm not looking to poke any bears.

[@BeatTheBush]

To stay far away from the bears, just buy the Amazon gift cards in small amounts. In half the case, it gets cancelled out anyway.

[@SamSung-jv3jm]

I'm getting my 7th credit card soon. It can be a lot of work to manage the payments. I like to feel the weight of my purchases by not doing auto-pay. I know it kinda sucks but I don't want to get in the habit of paying for stuff I don't need. I need the shock and discipline. More power to you though. :-)

[@BeatTheBush]

The down side is that you could miss a payment which will lower your credit score. I do autopay first and check the statements.

[@Thomas-se3tb]

What is your thoughts on setting up a Square app payment account?? When you get someone to sign up you get 120 days of transaction fee free purchases up $1,000 and if you keep doing this you can have an endless stream of activity ($) to yourself as well as being able to collect cash back rewards

[@free2rhyme214]

Great video! Btw what credit monitoring service do you recommend?

[@BeatTheBush]

The free ones that they give.

[@LukeTeel]

Set up automatic payment plan where? The financial institution/host of the credit card or pay it via the financial institution the funds are coming from?

[@ahaulss93]

Could you list some of these 16 credit companies you recommend we try? I currently have chase and discover but I use them throughout the month. I am considering applying for a couple more to try this and hopefully improve my credit score. I have peaked at 740 as of now.

[@BeatTheBush]

I went though my wallet recently and you can see what kind of cards I carry around here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZ6tdXmZl895ntE

[@ahaulss93]

Thank you, sorry I should've done a quick search through your videos before asking. I find all your content extremely helpful keep up the good work!

[@missdesireindependance5194]

I rotate my card every month or two. I have a dental card but I havent used in a year.

[@BeatTheBush]

Rotate means they gets used every other month?

[@rio2572]

Hey question! When you use this amazon reloading method to keep cards active and you pay the balance in full on the closing date of your billing cycle, is a 0 balance being reported to the credit bureaus or the $.50 - $1.99 reloading amount? You mentioned you pay on the closing date of your cycle, just wasn't sure if that was being reported before or after the payment went through. Thanks!

[@PugLifeRocks]

Great video, thanks! What happened to the rest of your cards? I thought you were at 20+

[@BeatTheBush]

Cancelled some, some were store cards, so I didn't include it in this trick.

[@Remo1147]

BeatTheBush are store cards bad? I have three of them and wonder if I should cancel them as well.

[@JohnVito]

Just did the amazon reload trick to my capital one card for $0.50 and when the statement posted, they gave me a $0.50 charge adjustment so my balance is zero again! Thanks, btb!

[@BeatTheBush]

Capital one does $0.99 btw.

[@beyoutifullyunique03]

Hi, can you tell me what the best utilization would be for two cards? One is $500 and the other card is $200. Do you keep each card under 10% or do you add the cards together and stay under 10% from the total of both cards? This is so confusing to me having two cards. Thanks!

[@alrezrow]

I was thinking using one to buy gas. Another for groceries. Another for house payment etc. But you will have to go into your bank acct every month to pay them off. Some like the mortgage is the same every month and can be set up auto pay from your bank acct. Others you will have to manually pay the amount cause it will be different every month. But when thinking about all the time you already put in to this I don't think it will be much different.

[@BeatTheBush]

You setup autopay that pays the balance in full of that statement, not a fixed amount.

[@HansVoltaire]

This video, in my opinion, is for people that have lots of experience dealing with credit cards. Having 16 credit cards is asking for trouble. If you are trying to build credit, I suggest you stick with a maximum of 2 credit cards and a small installment loan.

[@BeatTheBush]

Not necessarily. All you need to do to sustain so many cards is make sure you pay it all off every month with auto-pay. That is it.

[@juanescalante5321]

how long should you wait till opening a new credit card doesn't that put an inquiry on your credit report every time you open a new credit card

[@BeatTheBush]

It does put an inquiry. So opening a lot in rapid succession is only good for people that have a high enough score where opening a few cards will not make the score go down too much while still comfortably be above 740 or so.

[@juanescalante5321]

BeatTheBush thanks appreciate the response I should probably wait then my score is around 741

[@cornellouis]

What percentage of your net worth will be due to 16 credit cards?

[@BeatTheBush]

+cornellouis It made am impact on the overall NetWorth. It's more about doing 'everything' you can worth your time to bring in more income and also to reduce your expenses that matters most.

[@donchristie3341]

what are some unsecured credit cards that help build credit?

[@BeatTheBush]

They ALL help you build credit. Its a matter of finding one that charges you little or no annual fees.

[@AynLosAngeles]

Great clever trick lol

[@kittyqueen292]

Hi BeatTheBush, good info as always. I just applied to a credit card and they asked me to mail them copies of my ID, SS, and a utility bill. And I accidentally mailed my dads utility bill ( we have the same name and live in the same house). What do you think I should do now? Should I try to correct this mistake or just let it go?

[@BeatTheBush]

It was an accident so I would just let it slide. Do you have a utility bill under your name? If you do it's just a paper work error.

[@kittyqueen292]

My dad pays and has all utilities in his name (same name as mine) But I do have bank statements and other bills and mail I get there in my name. Do you think that will work do think it's ok?

[@BeatTheBush]

If you have the proof by principal I would just leave it alone to not confuse them. If they complain, you can always just give them a correct one.

[@Arendbelle]

I like your thought process, but 16 cards seems like possibly more than you need to achieve an excellent credit score in the 800s. I have 2 credit cards, and my score is in the 700s. Wouldn't, say, five cards be enough to bump me up to the 800s?

[@BeatTheBush]

That's the million dollar question. What is the minimum cards you need to get your score above 800? It might be enough to have 5 but having many allows for a very large credit limit because each issuer usually limits the maximum credit limit on one person.

[@HansVoltaire]

Try getting a small installment loan, pay all your bills on time all the time, use only less than 25% of your available credit. Then your score should go up. Remember it takes time to build a perfect score. You just cannot do it overnight. You don't need 16 credit cards.

[@User1Mac]

What should I do about my retail store credit cards like Khols or express, etc.?I only shop there maybe once a year...

[@susanvelez6534]

Best!

[@BeatTheBush]

Thanks!

[@sal7777777]

what about store cards like a home depot for example, does it affect your credit score if you don't keep them active

[@BeatTheBush]

I haven't seen any ill effects from doing that as I have a few store cards I do not keep active. Store cards generally are more lax about cancelling your card so even if you keep it idle, they wont cancel it as quickly as credit cards.

[@andreyv1]

What happens if you do a low balance cancellation for a several months/years, won't the credit card company eventually catch on?

[@BeatTheBush]

Since last year Chase did and so it no longer works on those cards. Get it while the getting is good.

[@deliciosa]

what do you think about keeping those cards on that Bluetooth card (-holder?) ? forgot the name lol

[@BeatTheBush]

This will be completely personal opinion then. I think bluetooth card holders that holds your card info and reproduces the data when you swipe it is an electronic gadget that can and will break. Technically, if it works forever, it'll be great. But this means you have to push a button to cycle to the right card. Every time you get a new card you have the hassle of reprogramming it in. So while it's nice to have, I think its unnecessary.

[@PugLifeRocks]

BeatTheBush I agree!

[@X11CHASE]

BeatTheBush I've been trying to explain this to my overly tech adopting friend since those smart cards came out, it's not really all that convenient

[@andrestorres4715]

The Amazon gift card suggestion is great. Alternatively, a lot of Amazon mp3 downloads are 99 or even 89 cents.

[@BeatTheBush]

Oh... hmmm. They used to sell $0.25 items but not anymore, lol.

[@migueldepaz892]

Love your videos and like DruOG said respect. I have a question man by having all those cards how many points do you get like each month on your credit score? The reason saying that because I'm trying to rebuild to credit as fast as it takes I know it takes times and I have have to be patient and I am but any little tip helps out thank you and hope to hear from you soon

[@BeatTheBush]

My credit score is 835 this month. I do not get more points each month simply because it's very hard to get even higher. If you're starting from a low score of say 500-600, you might want to start with a different video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iH-7pqd4fKahoq8 This video is a bit for when you have a pretty good credit score of 740+.

[@wolfsden6479]

Honestly vending machines are the best for bs charge to keep a card active.

[@BeatTheBush]

But then you are paying a high price for what you get.

[@wolfsden6479]

BeatTheBush BeatTheBush true, but at least its convenient (especially if you buy overpriced small bags of stuff anyway) and if you get the cheap bag that its low enough to get it free because of low balance cancellation

[@rosettejones5050]

.05 cents worth of gas! Ha ha

[@chia_LL]

Do u recommend to manage ur credit cards accounts with mint.com ? Seems legit...

[@BeatTheBush]

I think a lot of people like mint but I don't personally use it because I prefer not to store all my financial information or logins in one single place. In light of security breaches, mint appears to be a prime central place to hack if I were a black hat hacker.

[@tone0757]

Doesn't signing up for new card count as a hard inquiry so wouldn't it effect you negatively by signing up how often would you recommend applying for new cards?

[@BeatTheBush]

Correct, it will but how much it goes down depends on how many you did recently. The first few does not effect your score much. If you have a score of 700+ you can do 2-3 a year as a comfortable range.

[@ehnraith5820]

Doesn't work anymore I used to use this method.

[@marksantucci4230]

I have 4 but if you count Exxon/Mobil and Citgo I have 6 cards. Beat the bush other than your Target do you have any store only cards? do you have any store credit cards like Macy's store card or Macy's American Express, Gap, Gap Visa, Nordstrom's Nordstrom's Visa? you metioned you have a sears mastercard.. any store or store credit cards other than Target and Sears? so what do think is the best method for keeping credit card active do you think buying gas, going to the dry cleaners , taking somebody out to eat? For people who have 16 cards do you think they should rotate them like put 3 in your wallet at one time use them all month long next month take those 3 out and put 3 new ones and continue rotating? or do you think they should use a cheat sheet and see what place they are in and use the credit card with the best reward percentage back for that category? or do you think they should buy themselves some gift cards like to the movies, gas stations , restaurant ect? right now in order to keep my 3 other credit cards active I'm at the gas stations buying gift cards to the gas station and a place like Bed bath and beyond ect.

[@BeatTheBush]

I do have store cards and I do not have any responses to how to use them or video about them YET. Lol. I outlined the method to keep them active in this video via amazon balance reload. Any physical methods are much worse. You only keep the best ones in you wallet in terms of cash back. Sometimes you rotate a few during the correct months. Yes, sometimes you have to make some trade off and not bring every card you have.

[@Papeeshka]

What is the point of all this? Doesn’t a car loan raise your credit the same way with way less effort and tracking?

[@primenuval180]

Do you get different score on each cards?

[@51293121194]

But what's the purpose of using all of them every month? That I don't get.

[@BeatTheBush]

If you use them then they will be better for your credit score.

[@51293121194]

BeatTheBush yes, but how exactly? I already have utilization on my main card.

[@BeatTheBush]

Your credit report tracks the history and it's a positive if you actually use your card monthly as it is tracked every month.

[@Ig0r15]

And then you'll get "too many accounts have balances" messages?

[@Blacktop_Rabinowitz]

Igor Rozin You wont get that message if you pay your balances in full before the statement closing date.

[@SlyDellian]

Very good video. Like you, I have about 15 credit cards, and yes, it is a headache to try to keep them all active. Can you clarify something about the Amazon gift cards? I've never had one. Do I just buy one from Walmart? Also, if I buy a $25 card and load a buck or so from each of my credit cards, will that card hold more than $25?

[@SlyDellian]

Wait, I just saw the link in your description. No physical card involved. Got it, thanks.

[@BeatTheBush]

Correct. It would be a hassle to buy a real physical card every time. I also noticed its a hassle to buy an electronic Amazon gift card because you have to type in the code manually. So the link is to a 'balance reload' where the credit just goes straight into your account.

[@elguapo5490]

What is the point of having 16 credit cards? If you want to utilize your credit card points you need to focus on 1-2 credit cards in order to stack up the points. Having 16 credit cards the points will be spread out too much that you can't redeem your points effectively.

[@BeatTheBush]

It takes a few months but they eventually meet the minimum redemption amount. This is considering cash back points only though. I get significantly more value from the bonus signups. Look at my latest video today where I got $4000 worth of value from them.

[@user-yy3kz7gn8e]

I used to have 24 cards, and am now down to 9 (per churning). Anyways, do you think that it's important to not pay your card off before the statement closes? I mean, am I hurting my credit score by paying my card off early??

[@pibblesnbits]

My bank does something where the statement date varies each month.......

[@BeatTheBush]

Either track it and pay it 2 days earlier or pay it at the earliest of all those statements without tracking.

[@champstar9669]

This is utter nonsense with only a few rare exceptions. A small credit union closed one of my wife's cards because she didn't use it for 1yr. Myself, I have 21 open accounts with a total credit limit of 248k. I simply make sure to use each card 1x per year with a small $1-$2 purchase. That's it. I've NEVER had an account closed. Just use each card 1x per year and you'll be fine. Period. You can get 15+ cards and 100k+ credit by just buying basic stuff like gas, groceries, McD, etc. Just have to pay the balance in full every month and build your history over a period of years.

[@utphi8775]

Hi, do you have excel spread sheet to keep track of all your credit cards?

[@BeatTheBush]

I don't. They are all on auto pay, I don't really look at them other than charge it electronically once a month on most of them.

[@bri-guy70]

The patreon link is giving me Patreons "page not found" error page

[@BeatTheBush]

Interesting. I tried it just now and it works. Link is here if that doesn't work still: www.patreon.com/beatthebush

[@hNeg]

Discover actually waives $2, FYI

[@BeatTheBush]

Yup.

[@veilside714]

So chase credit cards don't do the low balance cancellation anymore with the amazon reload feature?

[@BeatTheBush]

They do not.

[@EmAreDayviss]

So, if I have 5 low-use cards that cancel the balance under 1.99, I should recharge my amazon gift card each month with all 5 cards? That would be 9.95 added to the amazon card every month, or $119.40 a year. So do the credit card companies not see this as a form of theft since you are knowingly gaming the system? That $120 a year could buy some substantial merchandise and it seems like they might call it theft. Or are you protected by the terms and conditions somehow?

[@BeatTheBush]

They are not required to cancel the low balance and some do not do this. Only Discover cards cancel $1.99 so I doubt anyone has 5 Discover cards. I guess depending on how you look at it, you might consider it theft. If you buy something and sell it for more, is the profit portion theft? How about using a coupon that gets you a free smoothie, is that theft? How about if you had 10 of them and you got one everyday? I think I'm not going to try to debate this at all. It is what it is.

[@EmAreDayviss]

Hi, I wasn't trying to be argumentative. I love your videos and the low balance cancellation idea is new and intriguing to me to me. My example was hypothetical. I know that's it's unlikely anyone has 5 discover cards. Really what I was wondering is if any one company might see a year's worth of low balance cancellations and stop them or close the account under some "abuse" provision in the terms. I mean, this tactic while it is genius, it's not the result of the credit card company offering a discount or coupon to one's gas, gum, or Amazon gift card in exchange for being a cardholder. And the 50 cents, 99 cents, or 1.99 you "profited" was not result of any product or service that you sold the company. So I dont think that justification really applies. I see where you are coming from, because it's a regular policy of these banks, it's not a problem to use it to one's advantage right? Please understand, I'm not accusing you of wrong doing. This is just a philosophical discussion. It appears that it's one of those loopholes that, for the moment, does the bank more good than harm, so they see no need to really address it over the 6-10 dollars it costs them annually. Didn't mean to offend you. :)

[@BeatTheBush]

They might or they might ignore it. Or they might just remove low balance cancellation all together like in Chase cards a few years ago. Is it moral? I'm not even going to think about it. If you found $5 on the floor and no one is around, would you keep it? Well, the info is here for you and you can decide what to do with it based on your judgement. No offense taken although it was quiet a brain teaser. Too hard, so I give up. =D

[@MaxHF]

get a square card reader and just send $1 to yourself that way

[@BeatTheBush]

You could but then you have to pay a fee to pay yourself.

[@arjunmangal5281]

So, how you get all these cards? I mean now a days its hard to get multiple cards in a year. I got rejected for discover card card because I opened two cards and multiple inquire in 12 month period. ( inquire from renters , internet, phone etc)

[@BeatTheBush]

If you have a higher score, it's easy to get 10-12 cards in a year. I did it last year.

[@jeanwangg]

i would love to use my BOA card more, but it's because they don't do auto-pay i stopped using it. I don't think I have it in me to remember to pay .50 every month hahaha (but i would if it makes a huge difference in the credit score!)

[@BeatTheBush]

BOA cards were really annoying that they didn't do autopay. However, you might want to check again because they seemed to have started auto pay about a year ago that allows you to do auto pay full balance on due date. The cards are a bit cumbersome to setup though. I would say it makes a difference but not a huge difference. You can imagine how good it looks to have 16 cards all active and in good standing?

[@mrj-charles6383]

I have 2 BOA credit cards and what I did was set up bill pay to pay them each month. On the BOA website you will see the bill pay option. Seems to work. I had a stack of credit cards also and just canceled 2 because they have yearly fees.

[@BeatTheBush]

Totally agree with cancelling yearly fee cards. Reduce that cash outflow!

[@MrOnetyme2many]

With the “Amazon gift card” reload trick of $0.50 minimum load, Is it optional for me to add all of my credit cards at once, or I can only apply one or two cards at a time, then delete each card in order to add additional cards to apply each minimum?

[@BeatTheBush]

You can add all the cards you want into the account. But once every few months they require you to re-enter the numbers.

[@vacationboyvideos]

does the low balance cancelation happen after the due date? I want "try it" with 99¢ but WHEN does the company null the charge? if they don't, I don't want pay interest on 99¢ .

[@BeatTheBush]

You should setup auto pay regardless. It's usually done online on their website. Most are pretty easy to do but Bank of America is really hard but possible still.

[@jeurycentury]

How can I have multiple cards auto-loading my gift card on Amazon? I can only set one card to do it. I wanna have the no annual fee CC I do not use to reload but I see one is allowed.

[@BeatTheBush]

Generally, this method I showed is not auto. You do it manually every month.

[@funtonite]

One great way to do this is to donate $1 per month to a creator on Patreon. Of course you won't get the low-balance cancellation.

[@BeatTheBush]

Yeah... You can do it with a Discover card though at $2. Since the low-balance cancels at $2 for discover.

[@guccione692]

too much headache. we do not need to have lots of credit cards in Australia! thanks god

[@tonex6567]

can you name you top 5 and do you ask 4 a Credit increase or do you play the waiting game as they call it I have capital 1 quicksilver can you direct me 2 my second card I do have a balance so should I look into transfer thanks

[@BeatTheBush]

You can see my favorite top 5 cards in my recent video on what I carry in my wallet here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZ6tdXmZl895ntE

[@tonex6567]

do you have a dicover card

[@WishAtElevenEleven]

This is crazy, I have 3 credit cards which is plenty for me to keep track of. Seems like the extra work is not worth the increase in credit score. Maybe just have a few credit cards that you rotate and spend money on every month like you normally would

[@BeatTheBush]

I don't keep track of them actually. They are all on auto pay. Having 3 is going to limit your total credit you obtain.

[@tnnsboy18]

I've been watching your videos, and what's the purpose of having 16 credit cards? Besides having good credit, like what do you gain from it in the long run?

[@BeatTheBush]

There are various purposes. It helps with getting a higher total credit limit which gives good credit, it allows you to choose a card that fits into a high cash back category since they like to play musical chairs, and lastly, you can get free low balance cancellation money.

[@tnnsboy18]

Interesting, hey I have a quick question do you have a video where you explain how to pay off your student loan debt? I'm about to graduate and of course, I have debt from it. The biggest question I'm asking myself is if I should I consolidate or not? Because if I do that, I don't get the benefits that I would from keeping the loans separate.

[@BeatTheBush]

Hmm. I thought I didn't but when I looked, I actually already made one! HA! Here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sH22g42bhp51j7c With info if you should consolidate or not too. =D

[@tnnsboy18]

Woah, your awesome @BeatTheBush thank you!

[@BeatTheBush]

=D Cheers! =D

[@TorontoTransman]

Will these tricks work in Canada?

[@BeatTheBush]

Not sure, I have not lived there but I suppose the system would be similar. Do they have a FICO score there?

[@TorontoTransman]

We don't but we do have a similar system. Even so I can use your ideas to improve my credit score. Thanks!

[@IslamicAmerica550]

I got 22 cards. 5 business from cahse. Amex. citi. Capital one baracaly ml and bofa. How do I keep them all activies

[@BeatTheBush]

This is what this whole video was about. Did you watch it?

[@PugLifeRocks]

Oh can you name the 16 cards you have? Any of them have an annual fee?

[@BeatTheBush]

Citi Thankyou Premier is my only annual fee card.

[@cdlced6534]

But doesn't having to many cards hurt you when your trying to apply for a personal loan or mortgage?

[@BeatTheBush]

Having it doesn't matter. Applying for a lot of them within a 2 year span does.

[@MrWnw]

Credit score, 0,99$ balance etc. when I translate it into my language It is translated into terms I've never seen before... Does these tricks work in Europe too?

[@rolandogutierrez166]

Hello BeatTheBush. First I would like to say I enjoy your videos. Now my comments about this video. First I think it is a good idea to spread out your charges on how many CC's you have. I like the Amazon idea.. Hummm. The other comment which one of your other followers suggested or perhaps just stated. Having your monthly "Bills" spread out with each credit card. Since you we all have our "Monthly" payments that need to be made, why not just spread them out that way???. I understand some folks in this community may not find this useful or perhaps a waste of their time. But if you think about it...how much time is spent paying "Bills" online??? To each his/her own. But it seems to work for me when it happens to be that "Monthly" bill that happening every monthy. Some months it might be a bit higher that other..but overall it's the same amount to be paid. AKA...Cable, Light, Gas, Cell phones. Just wanted to share my thoughts. I am open to any suggestions. Thanks again BeatTheBush...

[@BeatTheBush]

You should spend zero time paying bills online because you set it up at autopay in full every month. I only look at the bill to check for errors when I have time.

[@FriendlyCleaningKC]

So every card I have needs to have at least one transaction a month to keep it active? I’m at a credit karma score of 698 now and want to get in the 750 or 60 range asap. Will this help?

[@BeatTheBush]

It depends on the credit scoring method. It doesn't actually buy you that much for the amount of effort you have to put in to get the result. You could try the boosting trick do it is within a month: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqqlm5afr5lgsMk

[@Fazal828]

Man I wouldn't want to lose that bunch of cards

[@MrVic820]

Would you recommend Talley .?

[@BeatTheBush]

Honestly, I haven't used it.

[@gracieallen8285]

For a frugal person you use credit cards often. Just an observation. I should have waited til the end of the video to comment, you have a frugal way of using your credit cards.

[@BeatTheBush]

Yes. Because it pays you back if you use it properly.

[@antoinebettiol1]

credit system is fucking stupid

[@BeatTheBush]

Gotta use it to your advantage.

[@SlyDellian]

Antoine Bettiol What's stupid is refusing to learn how to use credit cards to your advantage and earn free travel, hotel stays, cash back, etc. Learn to play the game.

[@antoinebettiol1]

the us credit card system is so stupid for an eu

[@jumpman366]

Antoine Bettiol how is this stupid? You have poor credit? LOL

[@inoclasism]

Getting my first card. Might get another in 6 mlnths

[@BeatTheBush]

Sounds reasonable. Depends on your credit score how reasonable that is.