You can carry a balance as long as you make the minimum payment each month. But if you really want to build up credit, I would say pay you bill in full and definitely on time. You don't want your utilization to be over 30%, so it's a good idea to keep an eye on what you spend within a month's time. Use it on something you normally pay each month like water, cable or even groceries would be a good start.
It's best to utilized both cards because lenders don't like it if you don't use your cards at all. I plan on getting two cards for the purpose to also build credit. I was planning to use one for gas, cell phone bill and/or groceries. The other one will be for things like school supplies, summer vacaton and certain hobbies that I do. It's best to not get carried away with spending too much at one time because it can easily become overwhelming to make payments on time. That was my issue the last time I had a Credit One card. Have a plan on how you want to use the card, do lots of research about building credit and stick to your plan. Your statement about your car insurance is a good start!
@jg1983 wrote:
I was just approved for a NFCU cash rewards card with a $1600 limit and a DCU card with a $1000 limit. I just received the NFCU card today and am still waiting for the DCU card. I do not plan on using the cards for anything I am not able to immediately pay back. The sole reason I have them is to build my credit. That being the case what is the best way to use them? How much should I spend and when should I pay it off each month? Should I pay them in full before the due date or carry a balance? Should I keep one of them at 0 balance and does it matter which one? It is also my goal to increase my credit limits in the shortest amount of time possible.
Here is my credit situation if it helps. Not counting the two credit cards I have a $14k car loan and no other accounts positive or negative. My credit scores are Experian and TransUnion 650 and Equifax 589.
You can keep your utilization high during months you don't have to deal with using your credit. The month right before you apply for something get your utilization to exactly 1% all across. So that means you pay back multiple times during the statement period to keep your NFCU balance at $16, DCU balance at $10, then during the grace period pay off the $16 and then $10. This way you have the best utilization rate of 1% during the times your utilization matters.
Starting Score: Ex08-732,Eq08-713,Tu08-717
@jg1983 wrote:My plan for the NFCU card is to pay a bill or two (like my car insurance) with the card then deposit the money for the bill imediately to my NFCU checking account and use the checking account to pay the balance every month after getting the bill. That way I'm not spending more than what my monthly expenses already are. I currently have direct deposit with DCU and use that account for all my bills and expenses so the NFCU checking account would be strictly for credit card payments.From what I have been reading the NFCU card is relatively easy to get a CLI on so that is the one I wan to focus on the most. From what I have been reading 9%-30% is where you want utilization but what is the optimum number? My goal right now is a personal loan from DCU for $3000-$5000 in a few months to repair my car. They denied me but told me if I make on time payments on the refi and credit card for a couple months and get my score up a little they might be able to help me out.
The other op[tion would be get a high enough CLI where I could use the credit card to fix the car with under 30% utilization but it would take 2-3 months to pay the balance down. How badly would that hurt my credit and how quickly could I recover assuming I made the minuimum payment each month (I would probably be shooting for $700-$1000 a month)?
Take good care of your NFCU card.. and wait about 2 weeks after your third statement cuts.. and request a CLI.... and then you should probably see a really nice CLI 
@jg1983 wrote:
So I could theoretically max out my card for the cash rewards then pay it down to 10% before the statement is generated? Not that I am going to do this just wondering.
I did this several times per month when my cashRewards had a $500 limit - the more usage you put on a card, as long as you pay it off and don't allow it to report a high balance to the credit bureaus, is just putting money in the lender's pocket from all those swipe fees with no negative repercussions
When it comes time to consider a line increase, they're going to want to make it easier to get more of those delicious fees 