Am I supposed to keep some balance on all my CCs or just one or two?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, I just recently paid off all my credit cards, and my score has done up 30+ points from Tran, Experian, and Equifax, and not all my credit cards have reported zero balance yet. I know that I'm suppose to use credit to keep my score up, but do I need to keep a balance on all my CCs or just one? Also, when you guys say to keep a balance on the cards, do I pay them off monthly and use it again, or should I leave like $5.00 on them? Sorry for the noob question, any help on this is greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous]

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kcman wrote:
Hey guys, I just recently paid off all my credit cards, and my score has done up 30+ points from Tran, Experian, and Equifax, and not all my credit cards have reported zero balance yet. I know that I'm suppose to use credit to keep my score up, but do I need to keep a balance on all my CCs or just one? Also, when you guys say to keep a balance on the cards, do I pay them off monthly and use it again, or should I leave like $5.00 on them? Sorry for the noob question, any help on this is greatly appreciated.

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Keep a balance on at least one or maybe two, until after your closing date.  Then PIF, if you wish, to avoid finance charges.  Do that every month. 

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Keep a balance on at least one or maybe two, until after your closing date. Then PIF, if you wish, to avoid finance charges. Do that every month.

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And if you have more than a couple of cards, remember that you probably need to use each one maybe twice a year to keep the credit card company happy. (You don't want them to get canceled for inactivity.)

I've read that if you have more than 5 or 6 cards, let only half or fewer report each month. Doesn't matter which ones. So if you have 7 cards, let three report, etc.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the replies guys. I have five cards, and my intentions were to use a different card each week for gas. That way they all get some lovin But the trick is to let it have a balance till right after the closing date, and then pay it off. Thanks guys.

[Anonymous]

Just an FYI, balances on all your cards at one time will ding your score a bit.  Try using one card for two weeks straight ongas and rotating like that and of course PIF

[Anonymous]

Yep- I have 9 cards and my magic number is 3 or 4
If I have 5 I take a hit for "Accounts with balances"

1 Mortgage, 1 Auto, 2 SL, 3 or 4 CC = 7 or 8 AWB makes FICO happy for me.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just an FYI, balances on all your cards at one time will ding your score a bit. Try using one card for two weeks straight ongas and rotating like that and of course PIF

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[Anonymous]

hmmm.....Timothy great food for thought. Haven't actually tried that approach yet. Thank you!

[haulingthescoreup]

If nothing else, it ought to make things simpler. I have almost started to get my life back, now that I'm no longer trying to get 1-4% reporting on all revolving lines, every month. Putting more than $300 on the Amex helped me gain 4 pounds!

Unforeseen hazard of getting high limits on cards...