Now that I have several cards and won't be apping for any more for a while, I'm trying to understand how to best use a bunch of cards to make sure I build good will with the lenders, get CLIs when available, and don't get credit limits decreased at all if possible.
That said, I have a few cards I really like to use as much as possible (Arrival+ for everyday, Discover IT and Freedom for catagories, and Quicksilver for business). The other cards I would just as soon not use at all unless the need arose (such as a situation where I needed to carry a balance for a bit and needed to worry about APR), but I want to keep them because many of them are credit union cards with 5k to 10k limits and I belieive they can help me get higher limits on other cards in the future.
So, from my understanding, ideal utilization would be one balance reporting under 10%, all other cards reporting 0 balance. That makes sense, but it leads me to a few questions.
1. If you pay off a card before the statement cuts, the credit bureau sees it as inactive, right? Should each card report a balance on some kind of schedule to avoid that?
2. If you pay off a card before the statement cuts, does the card issuer also look at it as inactive, or are you using the card in their eyes?
3. On the other cards I use less often, should I be using them every month and just paying off the balance before the statement cuts, or can I go months at a time between uses? Remeber the goal is to get CLIs if possible and at very least no CLDs
4. When I use the other cards, do I have to make significant charges on them or is anything ok? In other words, if all I ever do is pay my $3.99 pandora subscription every month on a card with a 10k limit, will they frown on that and lower my limit?
5. In July, once my credit scores had maxed out around 720, I went on a bit of an app spree. Though I have a long credit history, I have brand new accounts opened in July 2014. My Chapter 13 will fall off in April 2016 and as of right now there isn't really much I want that isn't issued by AMEX or BoA (fidelity), so I doubt I'll be applying for much of anything other than CLIs in the next 1.5 years. However, if I had the opportunity, I would love a Chase CSP and/or a Sallie Mae card. I just got my 1st Chase card last month though, and they only gave me $500 on the Freedom after denying me outright for the BK, and I also got the Arrival+ in July after having a Barclay Rewards card for a bit over a year. How long should I wait before applying for either of those cards?
Basically, when rebuiding my credit I never had more than a couple of cards. Now that I have a dozen cards, I want to make sure I'm handling them correctly in the way that maximizes their growth, my credit history, and my relationships with the banks for future cards.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
