@Anonymous wrote:
@MsKiwi wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@MsKiwi wrote:
@GWilliam wrote:So have you PIF or leave a token balance of a few $'s the pass several months? Seems with "other" cards leaving a token balance of a few dollars increase your chance of CLi.
I have let a very small balance show up with them for a few months. Normally I PIF.
Not sure how to explain myself exactly but what does the above mean exactly? Do you carry a balance of a few dollars from one month's statement to the next and not PIF or do you mean you simply allow a small balance to post to the statement but then PIF before the due date?
Normally I PIF before statement date. The last couple of months I carrried a $10-$20 balance through the statement date. I'vr been trying to remember to use the card at least once a month to avoid closure due to inactivity.
Got it. Thank you.
And to clarify, and in an attempt to read MsKiwi's mind, I think she's saying that she's not actually carrying a balance, as in not paying it off by the due date, and as in therefore owing interest. You can let a balance post (aka show on the statement), and then pay it off BEFORE the due date, so that you don't actually carry a balance to the next statement, and you don't pay interest.
MsKiwi, if I misread you, please fix my boo-boo! 
All that's needed for FICO scoring purposes is to have a balance report. You don't have to incur finance charges. So let some small figure report, and then don't forget to go ahead and pay it off before the due date. (This is a super-easy way to get a late fee from the bank and scare the whee out of yourself.)
