Zero Balances

[FabulousDtheBruin]

Hi, all,

So I'm using all my credit cards (I have 11) monthly, and ALL of them report with a balance---this is stopping me from getting new cards and it's lowering my score.  My question is, do I have to use all my cards montly for the credit card company to report good payment history (i.e., little green dots/squares on my credit report--the "pays as aggreed?" Thanks!

[mirachi]

Nope! I don't think I used my oldest card once (8 years) and it's still reporting as pays as agreed!

However, I think lenders might close your card if you don't use it at all (HSBC, for example, closed 2 of my other accounts - still reporting as pays as agreed and I get the green OK boxes up until Apr & Aug 2012)

Best thing is just to charge something small on it every 3 months or so just so lenders can see you using the card

[exdll1]

 Run your score when you have a bal.  on them ,write down your scores... Than ZERO them out ... Make sure that all cards are reporting zero bal.(maybe 3 days after your close out date) on your credit report ....than run your score again.. you will find that your scores should jump up from 9-24  points  (give or take) .on your Trans. and Exquifax .  I 've seen this happen all the time with me and other people.

[boomhower]

No, you don't need to use them every month but I would once every three months to prevent them from being closed.  Also you can use them, just pay before your statement cuts so they report a zero balance.

[SnackTrader]

+1 boomhower.

No need to use a card, it will always report as paid on time if it has a zero balance. If you do use it, pay before the statement cuts to reduce your utilization.

[indiolatino61]

From what I have learned here, it is best to have zero balances on all of your cards, but let only one report a balance of 1-9%, then PIF before the due date. I am seeing how this strategy affects my scores and will report the results later in April.