alt Hacker NewsHaving multiple credit cards in the US is quite common, since there's no practical downside (unlike having multiple checking accounts, which locks up liquidity at usually no interest payment) and it can even be beneficial for your credit score.
Having multiple credit cards in the US is quite common, since there's no practical downside (unlike having multiple checking accounts, which locks up liquidity at usually no interest payment) and it can even be beneficial for your credit score.
That's not the problem. After all, if it happened to your debit card you could likewise make purchases on a different card, regardless of whether the other card is a debit or credit card.
It's also not that hard to get two debit cards. There are credit unions with no minimum balance requirement.
The actual problem is that if it happens to any card, all the stuff configured to use that card is now failing. You have a toll tag and the company goes to charge your card for a road toll, it's a perverse unaccountable bureaucracy that has captured the government so enjoy your $50 declined payment fee. You have autopay on for several services which will naturally suspend your account if you don't pay them. That's an inconvenience for something like Netflix but for your various information services it can be a big problem even if all they do is turn it off temporarily, and an even bigger problem if the turning it off involves deleting your stuff. Likewise for things like insurance where a gap in coverage can cause you to get fined or negatively impact your future rates.
Some of that can be mitigated by chasing it all down and switching them before the charge comes, but the labor to do that is a significant cost in itself and plenty of people aren't going to recognize the need to do it until after the fact, or try to and still miss some.