How many credit cards should a Vietnamese person have?

Trying to open too many credit cards can easily lead to debt, but if you know how to use them, two cards from different issuers can help you maximize your spending.

POS payments in Nghe An: Sales remain low.

How many credit cards should each person have? Currently, the world record is held by an American who has nearly 1,500 credit cards.Walter Cavanagh is from Santa Clara, California. The total credit limit across nearly 1,500 credit cards belonging to Cavanagh, born in 1943, amounts to $1.7 million.

As for Vietnamese people, according to banking experts, having two credit cards per person might be a good idea.

Credit cards, if used wisely, can help you save a significant amount of money.

The CEO of a joint-stock bank said he has four credit cards. "Of course, none of them were issued by my bank because, according to regulations, the CEO is not allowed to open a card. However, the reason I need four is to experience the services of other banks and, more importantly, I want to take full advantage of the benefits offered by major international card organizations like Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and JCB...", he said.

According to this CEO, if there's no need for an "excuse" to see what services other banks offer, an average individual customer should still have two credit cards (from two different international card organizations).

The reason is that when traveling abroad, in some countries, certain types of cards issued by specific international organizations, designated by the store or payment acceptance point, are accepted or given priority. The CEO stated that, for example, in the US, Amex credit cards are highly preferred, and similarly, JCB cards are preferred in Japan.

Sharing this view, Mr. Dang Cong Hoan - Director of Retail Product Development and Director of Card Business at Techcombank (Vietnam Technological and Commercial Bank) - also believes that people should have two credit cards at the same time. "Based on experience developing credit cards in several countries with developed card services, I think customers should have one regular credit card and another card for specialized needs with reward points accumulation, such as a co-branded card for air travel, a golf card, etc. I still recommend that those who frequently travel for business or by plane should have a Techcombank Vietnam Airlines Visa co-branded card," Mr. Hoan stated.

Further explaining, the Director of Retail Product Development and Director of Card Business at Techcombank said that having both types of cards simultaneously allows you to maximize interest-free periods and control risks during use. In reality, it's unavoidable that when making payments, anywhere in the world, there will be cases where a credit card malfunctions or is incompatible with the swiping device for some reason. Therefore, having a replacement card will address urgent spending needs.

In fact, Mr. Hoan also acknowledges that there is no standard suggestion for how many credit cards a person should have. This depends on each person's spending needs for goods and services and the frequency of using the cards for consumption and daily life.

Besides, the number of credit cards needed also depends on income level and the eligibility criteria for each customer, as each income level is only eligible for a certain limit on credit cards. "The higher the income, the greater the spending power and the greater the need for credit cards. For example, currently, the average adult in South Korea uses about 2.8-3.1 credit cards, while in our country, this rate is only about 0.15 cards per person," Mr. Hoan cited the data.

According to VNE