Paper or plastic?

My dad signed me up for my very first credit card when I moved to Atlanta for college in 2005. Since then I have accumulated seven more for a total of eight credit cards and one debit card. In hindsight I shouldn't have opened so many simply because I don't use them all regularly. However, I have never had a balance on any CC that was not paid in full and have never paid a single penalty. That's pretty impressive considering I have used a CC for 98% of my bills and purchases since age 18 to accumulate the points and cashback. I pay off the balance every Sunday when I review my expenses from the past week.

Credit Card Overview

1. Capital One: My oldest card, which I keep for the credit history and because it doesn't charge international transaction fees. I use this card only when I travel out of the country.

2. Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Visa: My main credit card, which I love for the miles as Southwest is my airline of choice for domestic travel. This is the only credit card I own that has an annual fee ($69), but it more than pays for itself. I get at least one free round trip/year to visit my folks, usually two. Last year I used the miles to score a free round trip flight to Jamaica. 

3. Discover: My second most used card which I like it for its cashback program. It gives me 1% cashback on all purchases and 5% cashback on rotating categories (i.e. from April-June the 5% will be for spending on restaurants and movies). Discover also partners with tons of online retailers so that when I shop them using my Discover card, I receive an extra 5-15% cashback. Lastly, you can redeem your cashback for gift card deals (i.e. spend $90 to receive $100 to so-and-so retailer). I use my cashback from this card to fuel "guilty pleasures," mostly beauty products thru Sephora :) 

4. Citi Mastercard: My mom had never had a credit card in her life but was sold when I told her about the points etc. She didn't want to open one herself, so I added her as an authorized user on this card, which I wasn't using. I manage the card for her in terms of paying it off etc. Mom has accumulated $600+ on this card using their cashback program, and we'll finally be redeeming it this year to go toward her plane ticket to Korea.

5. American Express Blue: This one is really stupid, I opened it when I was in college because I thought it'd be cool to have an AMEX. Haha! For awhile I had my dad on here as an authorized user for the same reason as mom (see above), but that wasn't working out. I keep this card because it is my second oldest, but otherwise don't use it.

#6, 7, 8: The remaining 3 are store credit cards for Nordstrom, Banana Republic, and the Limited. These are my preferred stores for buying clothing, which I don't do often. When I do shop the card member deals are great, but I honestly don't need these cards and may consider closing them. 

My one debit card is for my bank to access my checking account. And I always have a small amount of cash on hand for very specific purposes: 1) if I go out to eat etc. with a group, it's easier to split the check if everyone has cash; 2) there are some favorite small businesses and restaurants around the city that are still cash only; 3) my mom told me I should have $20 emergency cash on me at all times :)

I'm organized and have been doing it this way for so long that it's not a hassle at all to manage so many different cards. As you can see I am definitely a plastic over paper kind of gal. How about you?