The truth about your credit score and multiple credit cards

I'm going to tell you something that might be shocking: I currently have 10 open credit cards. And my credit score as of June 2026? An 825.

I only know the exact number because my player 2 and I compete over who has the better score. (I get annoyed when his is higher, considering I'm the points expert and all.)

Here's the thing: opening multiple credit cards hasn't hurt my credit. It's actually improved it. And the reason comes down to one concept — credit utilization.

Think of your total credit limit as a big bucket. The bigger the bucket, the less impact your balances have on your score. Every time I open a new card, that card comes with its own credit limit, which gets added to my bucket. More cards = bigger bucket = lower utilization ratio = better score.

The other piece? I always pay off my balance in full. No debt, no interest, no problem.

So why were we all taught that multiple credit cards are dangerous? Probably because the real risk is racking up debt you can't pay off — and for a lot of people, more cards means more temptation. But if you're strategic about which cards you open and disciplined about paying them off, you'll only see that score climb.