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I've got a Capital One Secured (CL 201) and Discover Secured (CL 200) on the way to me. These will be my only two cards. I want to do right by these companies so that I could potentiall receieve graduation for both of these cards. I have heard that it is ideal to keep a small balance on one card and let others report 0 balances.
How should I go about that? Should I use both cards and then pif on one of them before statement cuts, allowing the other to report small balance? I want to build my credit as much as possible in the process. Scores are currently pretty low..
Congrats on the new cards.
I would use them regulatly, for everyday costs you already have the cash to pay, and only be certain to not go over the credit limit, and pay the statement balance by the statement due date following.
At $200 per card, I would not worry about utilization percentage at all. Not at all.
The way way to build the trust is to pay on time. After more time has passed, you might consider getting one card to zero, the other card a small balance on the statement, but that can be a sometimes exercise, does not have to be every statement.
I agree with NRB525 above.
At this stage of the game, there's no need to be micromanaging a couple of $200 limit cards. If you're making regular on-time monthly payments, that's what matters. It's recommended that you PIF every month as that's the best "look" you can give those creditors and will yield you the best/fastest chances of graduation. I'd try not to let any balances report at all to be honest, as it doesn't take a very large purchase to max out or near max out a $200 credit limit if a balance does end up reporting. 6+ months of PIF behavior on these cards will yield you favorable results.
@Anonymous wrote:I agree with NRB525 above.
At this stage of the game, there's no need to be micromanaging a couple of $200 limit cards. If you're making regular on-time monthly payments, that's what matters. It's recommended that you PIF every month as that's the best "look" you can give those creditors and will yield you the best/fastest chances of graduation. I'd try not to let any balances report at all to be honest, as it doesn't take a very large purchase to max out or near max out a $200 credit limit if a balance does end up reporting. 6+ months of PIF behavior on these cards will yield you favorable results.
Does this mean I should figure out when my statements cut and pay balances down to $0 before that date?
@Anonymous wrote:I've got a Capital One Secured (CL 201) and Discover Secured (CL 200) on the way to me. These will be my only two cards. I want to do right by these companies so that I could potentiall receieve graduation for both of these cards. I have heard that it is ideal to keep a small balance on one card and let others report 0 balances.
How should I go about that? Should I use both cards and then pif on one of them before statement cuts, allowing the other to report small balance? I want to build my credit as much as possible in the process. Scores are currently pretty low..
1. Don't "keep" a balance on either.
2. Use them and pay them as often as you like BEFORE the statement date.
3. Let one report a small balance of $20 or less on the statement, and have the other one report a zero balance.