A recent study by credit card experts has suggested that there is no specific number to aim for ownership wise. It tends to be more about how intelligently the cards are used more than how many you have.

Having fewer cards can be used as a tactic for keeping your spending down and keep a good credit rating.

Cardtrak.com, a company who find out about credit card consumers, found that in the United States, the standard American keeps around several credit cards and two debit cards, which according to Jane Viator of Walnut Creek is far to many.

"I don't see the advantage of having multiple cards," said Jane Viator. "A credit card is not a supplemental source of income. ... If you don't grasp that you ought to stick to debit," said Jane Viator, who has stated that she never uses credit cards for minor purchases as a way of keeping her spending down. "That I have cash for. Spending cash makes you aware that was $100 you took out from the ATM and it's gone. "If you put it on a credit card it adds up with astounding speed," she said.

Bill Hardekopf, the chief executive officer from lowcards.com, a website that allows people to compare credit cards, believes that is viable reason for keeping our number of cards down. "There is the temptation of using them and charging more and more," said Hardekopf. "Why tempt yourself with that situation?"

Other expert have also pointed out that many cards could result in creditors seeing you as a bad choice of client due to unreliable credit rating. Credit utilization, a measurement of your overall spending on all your cards, seems to be the main thing to be careful about. The lower you figure for this measurement, the more positive lenders and card rating bureaus will react towards you.

Emily Davidson, credit expert at the personal finance Web site credit.com, feels it is definitely far more important a thing than the number of cards owned. "It's one of those topics people always want an easy answer for - like six - but unfortunately that's not the way it works. It's actually a myth that you can hurt your credit score by having too many credit cards. That is not true ... It's not about the number of cards. It's really about how you are using the cards," said Davidson.

Some specialists in the field recommend consumers manage their spending balance by making sure they never spend more than 50% of their credit limit, some others go as low as 30%.

Davidson on the other hand thinks you should never ”spend more than 10 percent of your available credit limit”

In some cases people should have only one credit card, said Hardekopf. "It depends on the type of consumer you are. If you carry a balance from month-to-month you need one credit card and that is the one with the lowest possible interest rate you can find," he said. "If you do not carry a balance, I think you need one or two rewards cards and that depends on the specific rewards you might be after. You might be able to get a great gas rebate on one. I do not believe you need a whole bunch of credit cards. Carrying too many credit cards can affect your credit score negatively, which can affect your interest rates."