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Guys, I have been reading that you should atleast have one card reporting a balance and the other cards, should be paid off in full.
Is this correct?
Thanks
Makes sense, but do the other cards need to really be paid in full, or can they report a small balance too?
Thanks
The 'one card balance' is for optimizing your credit score.
The more cards that have balances, the more likely it is to affect your score.
@Anonymous wrote:Makes sense, but do the other cards need to really be paid in full, or can they report a small balance too?
Here's the entire recommendation (emphasis added):
For optimal scoring have only one card report with a balance at 10% or less.
It's not a matter of "should". I personally don't bother with this since most of my cards report with balances and my scores are right at 800. If I was looking to squeeze out some more points I might consider it. You need to determine what works for you and go with it. You can certainly have more than one balance reporting but you'd need to determine the impact to your score and whether or not it's worth it to you to manage the number of reported balances.
Also keep in mind that "paid in full" doesn't automatically mean "no balance reporting". If you pay after the date that the card reports then a balance is still reported. Most cards report on statement date and then the due date comes along after the grace period. For such cards if you're only paying by the due date then you have balances reporting.