3.2 million Brits own five or more credit cards

More than 3.2 million adults own five or more credit cards despite mounting concern about debt problems as the credit crunch hits home, new research from MoneyExpert.com shows.

They’ve run up such large debts or chopped and changed debts so often that they now have a handful of plastic. Around 1.8 million people say they have more than five cards.

And research from the independent financial comparison website shows 28 per cent of people applied for more plastic last year. Around 21 per cent applied for one card while another seven per cent applied for two or three.

Most recent figures from the British Bankers’ Association show £30.4 billion is owed on credit cards.

Around 78 per cent of adults own at least one credit card with 28 per cent holding one and 24 per cent owning two.

Sean Gardner, Chief Executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: “The credit crunch hasn’t finished the British love affair with credit cards yet with millions of us still holding five or more cards.

“That is entirely healthy if people are swapping debts from one card to another taking advantage of zero per cent deals to ensure that that they pay as little interest as possible.

“However there has to be real concern if people are using cards to keep their head above water. Anyone who is trying to juggle five or more credit cards and owes money on all of them is in real trouble.

“We would urge borrowers to take action now to get their debts under control as the days of easy credit are long gone. Card firms are starting to take a hard line as shown by Egg’s recent decision to stop customers spending on their plastic.”

Number of cards percentage of adults owning

Zero 22%
One 28%
Two 24%
Three 13%
Four 6%
Five 3%
More than five 4%

The research shows six per cent of adults applied for two credit cards in the past 12 months while one per cent applied for three.

Londoners are the most likely to have multiple credit cards – around seven per cent of them say they have more than five cards compared to just one per cent of Scots.

And those aged 35 to 44 are the age group with the most credit cards – seven per cent of them admit to having more than five.

For more information, visit moneyexpert.com.