I do have heard the view that it is better not to have more than 1 or 2 credit cards, because it is likely to reduce ones credit ratings, and also to avoid the extra card related expenses and charges.

> I do have heard the view that it is better not to have more than 1 or 2 credit cards, because it is likely to reduce ones credit ratings

This is, weirdly, backwards. Your credit rating is improved by having lots of available credit (i.e. lots of credit cards), which keeps your utilization percentage low, and by having a very high number of years on your oldest credit accounts.

> and also to avoid the extra card related expenses and charges.

Many cards have no fees.

Fun story - i still have the first credit account I got when I first went to college (originally cosigned by my parents with like a $400 monthly limit, eventually became solely my own and with a proper credit limit). Many years later (after getting a much better credit card that became my daily driver) I used that first card a couple of times for whatever reason and completely forgot to pay it off until six months later, when I paid it in full. That account is now still (> 8 years later) restricted with available credit of $0, but remains a favorable part of my credit score by being my oldest available credit line by many years (the non payment dings appear to have dropped off from my credit rating) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[edit: i just checked and that card currently has an available credit of $-0.05 which I guess means I'm giving the bank a $0.05 credit line!?]

Having a high number of applications in a short period of time will slightly decrease one’s credit score. Staying at or below 1-2 per year usually hasn’t swing mine more than a few of points. Even with a high number of inquiries, this factor only accounts for 10% of the most commonly used FICO score.

Debt burden and length of credit history are, together, 45% of someone’s score, and these are both improved by having a lot of old unused credit cards.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_score_in_the_United_S...

Having more credit cards/credit is not a bad thing... closing accounts on the other hand can drop your credit rating because your average age of credit goes down.

>I keep the old ones around because: why not? Having more available credit is only a good thing.

Also because closing accounts can negatively impact your score (by reducing your average age of accounts)