David, I think it’s too many cards when you no longer have control of the situation, so that number is going to change per person. I’m actually working on a “get organized” series of posts where I give tips on how to manage the whole points situation.

From what I understand about credit inquiries, I believe applying for multiple cards on the same day is advantageous because other issuers aren’t going to see the credit inquiries on your report yet, thus resulting in a more favorable credit report. If you space them out a week apart, the 3rd issuer is going to see 2 hits in the past 2 weeks, and that may change their decision to approve or deny you. If you look at my previous posts, I always try to group my applications together.

The only “grouping” of credit inquiries I was aware of in the past was when Citi allowed 2 applications on the same day, those would get grouped together. I’m not sure of others though and I would assume they are different.

And on this subject, I read a few sources that claim if you open three cards at the same time, you’ll only get one credit hit. Do you know if there is truth to these stories? Here is one article I found….

http://romsdeals.com/2012/12/05/multiple-credit-cards-at-the-same-time/