×
Menu
Search

Meet Walter, The Man With 1,497 Credit Cards … And Counting



Pin It


Jan 05 2016
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Pinterest
Linked In

Do you have credit cards? Sure. How on earth can we live without credit cards nowadays? Even President Barack Hussein Obama has one, although embarrassingly his credit card was turned down at a posh New York restaurant, rumoured to be Estela restaurant in Manhattan, forcing First Lady Michelle to pick up the tab in Oct 2014.

 

We bet that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is perhaps the only world leader who doesn’t have a credit card. Not that he has a bad credit or heavily in debt but because he strongly believes in “Cash is King” (*grin*). After all, Obama earns merely US$400,000 per year plus non-taxable US$50,000 expense whereas Najib’s private donation alone earns him US$700 million.

Mr Bean Flashing Credit Card

Many think owning credit cards is a must because it gives them a certain status symbol. Perhaps they were influenced by how Mr. Bean happily flashes his credit card and were greeted with smiles and respects at the other end. True, credit card once commanded certain status symbol especially in the early 1970s, where only 16% of Americans owned a credit card.

 

Just owning an American Express charge card once implied a certain level of respectability and financial accomplishment. The first or basic American Express charge card is the green card. Today, American Express provides not only charge and credit card facilities, they also comes with multiple colour design and associated privileges.

Youngsters With Multiple Credit Cards Shopping

Young graduates would get one immediately to jump-start their social status upon securing their first job. Flashing a card with higher approved spending limits was another way of showing the world one’s financial success. Over time, without realizing the trap that comes with credit card, people have been getting lots of credit cards, so that they can continue spending.

 

So, how many credit cards do you have? Do you feel proud because you own more credit cards than anybody that you know? No matter how many you own, you can never beat this guy from Santa Clara, California. Walter Cavanagh has a whopping 1,497 valid credit cards – all of which amount to a US$1.7 million (£1.16 million; RM7.38 million) line of credit.

Walter Cavanagh - Guinness Book of World Records - Most Credit Cards

Mr. Walter owns so many credit cards that not only he holds the record for the most credit cards, the “Guinness Book of World Records” gave him the title “Mr. Plastic Fantastic”, and he has been the holder every year since 1971. The 72-year-old retired financial planner said it all started with a silly bet.

 

In late 1960s, Cavanagh and his pharmacist buddy made a bet – the guy who could collect the most credit cards by the end of the year would win dinner. He got 143 cards by the end of the year while his friend gathered 138. He has credit cards from gas stations, airlines, bars and even a Texas ice cream store, all with different spending limits.

Stacks of Credit Cards

The card with the lowest credit limit would allow Cavanagh to charge a maximum of US$50. Needless to say, he owns some of the very limited edition credit cards ever designed and produced. He owns a sterling “unlimited credit privileges” silver credit card from the Mapes Hotel, Reno’s first hotel-casino (closed in Dec 1982) which is now a collector’s item.

 

Surprisingly, he claims his credit score is nearly perfect because he only uses one card and pays it off at the end of the month. And because of his excellent credit score, no bank refuses him when he asks for a new card to increase his collection. So far, there’s only one company that declined him – J.J. Newberry Co. – because the company said he had “too much credit”.

JJ Newberry Co

Astonishingly, Mr. Walter Cavanagh still couldn’t get a Newberry’s card to his collection until today. However, he knows that in order to keep the Guinness record, he has no choice but keep collecting new credit cards. All his present cards are valid though because it doesn’t count if they aren’t valid.

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …



Pin It

FinanceTwitter SignOff
If you enjoyed this post, what shall you do next? Consider:



Like FinanceTwitter Tweet FinanceTwitter Subscribe Newsletter   Leave Comment Share With Others


Comments

Add your comment now.

Leave a Reply

(required)

(required)(will not be published)