@Anonymous wrote:
Im thankful for all that I am learning from the Fico Community. But I need more educating. I learned that it is good to have 3 credit cards. Have a zero balance on two and a small balance on one every month. And to only utilize 1 to 9 % of the cards maximums. I'm assuming I should rotate the cards each month that will show a small balance. Do I have to use the two cards that are showing a zero balances? Will the credit bureaus know i am only using them for a month prior to showing a balance? I hope I explained myself clearly. And i hope this doesn't sound dumb. THANK YOU for any advice. This is quite a tricky game. Really never thought about credit until recently.
Unless you're planning to get a big loan in the near future (say the next 6 months or so), there's no need to micromanage your credit that much. The way you described will work out well for your credit, but I don't necessarily see a need for you to do things that way. Remember, credit is there to work for you, not the other way around. Use the cards according to the bonuses they provide and in a way that you're comfortable with. You can go 6 months or more without using some cards without any consequences. Personally, I have a main card that I use for the majority of my everyday purchases, and I will use a different one if for whatever reason the first one isn't accepted or if I get a better bonus from the other card.
Utilization does count significantly in your credit score, but there's no memory. So if you had a month where you were at 90% utilization, your credit score would drop like a rock. But if you paid it all off and had 9% utilization the next month, then your credit score would go right back up to where it was.
For long-term credit growth, you want to show consistent payments and long-term accounts. Those are the most important things to maintaining a moderately high credit score (say 760 or higher). The higher you get, the more picky things the credit bureaus will hold against you to prevent you from getting to the "perfect" 850. So while some have made it a game to get to the perfect score, practically consistent payments on long-term accounts will get your credit into the "excellent" range and keep you there.
