Millions of Brits carrying five credit cards
Monday, 11 December 2006 12:00
The UK is a credit card nation, with 2.7 million Britons carrying five or more credit cards and one adult in four carrying at least three.
New figures from Moneyexpert.com show the rise in interest-free credit cards has led to more and more people carrying multiple cards.
"The British love affair with credit cards continues," said Moneyexpert chief executive Sean Gardner.
"It is healthy if people are switching cards and clearing debts but people are kidding themselves if they rely on moving from one card to another just to avoid repaying their debt.
"Long zero per cent credit card deals are attractive for a variety of reasons and consumers shouldn't be afraid to take advantage of them."
Overall, more than three adult Britons in four have at least one credit card, with the majority of the population (52 per cent) having one or two cards.
However, 11.6 million Britons have three or more credit cards, with men twice as likely to have five or more cards.
And while interest-free credit cards mean having more plastic can be useful, Britons are advised to be careful with their borrowing.
"The number one rule is only borrow what you can afford to pay back," Mr Gardner said.
"The problem is at Christmas time that's a very difficult rule to follow.
"Credit cards are becoming our biggest Achilles heel - borrowing has become so cheap and minimum payments are so low that we feel absolutely no obligation to pay the money back as soon as possible.
"An interest-free attitude can be very dangerous in every sense of the word."
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