Meet Pete D’Arruda: A man with 25 charge cards. more than a quarter of a million dollars in available credit — and a lot of financial self-control.
D’Arruda says he has more than $300.000 in available credit thanks to some 25 Visas. Mastercards. and individual store. airlines and gas cards — or about $12.000 per card. If he throws in his home-equity line of credit. it’s close to $400.000.
It’s not taboo to have a bunch of credit cards.” said D’Arruda. a personal finance consultant who has been building his credit trove for about five years. “It’s about how you manage them.”
The founding principal of Capital Financial Advisory
Group in Cary. N.C.. and author of three personal-finance books is testing the more-is-better theory of credit cards: The more cards and available credit one has. the better the credit score — assuming. of course. the bills are paid promptly.
With a FICO credit score in the 810-815 range. it’s working for him. But credit-agency experts say it’s unnecessary and could create a financial maelstrom for those less diligent with their money.
“For many people they would end up with $350.000 in debt and that would not be a very good thing.” said Rod Griffin. director of public education for Experian.
D’Arruda charges everything from coffee
To the rent for his office space on credit phone number library cards. He prides himself on his ability to manage them all and to pay them promptly. keeping himself from falling into a debt spiral.
“I like to pay my bills on time.” he said. “Even though I have all those outstanding potential balances. I don’t have many outstanding balances.”
What he does have. he boasts. is hundreds ofÂ
Thousands of miles and points. numerous discounts and even freebies from retail stores and vacation spots. waived annual fees on some credit cards and better interest rates on insurance and car and home loans. Typically. the higher the credit score. the lower the interest rate. What’s more. he’s got a running tally through credit-card statements on where he’s spent money both personally and for business.
“I’m getting paid to have a good credit score Meet the Credit-CardÂ
He’s got a Disney Visa card from Chase — with Buzz Lightyear on it that entertains his daughter Carrie — with which he’s accumulated enough points to pay for a Disney cruise this Thanksgiving. His platinum American Express card points will cover the airfare to Orlando. Fla.
Even cards with fees are a bonus for best currency converting calculators worldwide D’Arruda. He’s got a Visa Black Card. a new elite card with concierge service. access to airport lounges. cash-back rewards or airfare on any airline with no blackouts. He’s assessing it for a year to determine if he’ll use the rewards programs enough to cover the cost of the $495 annual fee. but he got the fee waived to do so.
“They pulled my credit score and saw Meet the Credit-CardÂ
Credit scores are calculated through a complicated and proprietary algorithm of measures that differ among scoring agencies. However. there china leads are three major pieces of your credit-score picture that all follow to closely
The most important: Your bill-paying history. It will account for as much as 35% of your total score. Pay all your bills on time. Even if it’s just the minimum payment. make sure that bill is marked paid on the designated date — or sooner. D’Arruda said he sometimes makes two payments a month to keep his balances in order.