No. You should use more credit. You should use 75-80% of the credit limit and then pay it off in full each month and repeat. I encourage your husband to contact Capital One and ask for a credit limit increase and a Product Conversion of one of his cards to the Cash Rewards card. The limits seem too low for the Cash Rewards card. How long has he had his cards with Cap1? If you don't get anything changed by calling and talking to a rep, I suggest you email the Executive Office as many have received tremendous help by going that route. I would visit the credit card forum to find out how to email the Executive Office.
Also, what kind of credit card do you have?, what's the balance and credit limit? Depending on your answers to those questions, it may be beneficial for you to add him as an authorized user to your credit card. This could give him a nice boost if the credit card is used responsibly.
A lot of people here say that they seen the biggest boost in credit score from utilization when they paid all but one card down to zero and left a 7% balance on one card.
Ideally, you want to use credit richly to show lenders you can manage credit. You should put as much of your living expenses on credit as possible without maxing them out. Maxed out is when your balance is 90% of the limit so charge no more than 75-80%. Charging very little on your cards each month shows lenders you are apprehensive about credit and that sends a red flag to lenders that you might not be able to handle more credit. Charge all your bills, groceries, food, etc on your credit cards and pay them in full each month, it is that simple. I charge $1500-$2000 on one card ($2500 limit) and $500 to my other card ($1100 limit) each month and pay in full by the due date. To have the paid in full balance reflected on your credit report, you must pay the balance in full before the statement cuts. This is how you effectively manage credit to show lenders you are worthy of a mortgage loan which is the biggest chunk of credit you will ever have. The low limits on your husband's cards are hurting him too.
Also, what kind of credit card do you have?, what's the balance and credit limit? Depending on your answers to those questions, it may be beneficial for you to add him as an authorized user to your credit card. This could give him a nice boost if the credit card is used responsibly.
A lot of people here say that they seen the biggest boost in credit score from utilization when they paid all but one card down to zero and left a 7% balance on one card.
Ideally, you want to use credit richly to show lenders you can manage credit. You should put as much of your living expenses on credit as possible without maxing them out. Maxed out is when your balance is 90% of the limit so charge no more than 75-80%. Charging very little on your cards each month shows lenders you are apprehensive about credit and that sends a red flag to lenders that you might not be able to handle more credit. Charge all your bills, groceries, food, etc on your credit cards and pay them in full each month, it is that simple. I charge $1500-$2000 on one card ($2500 limit) and $500 to my other card ($1100 limit) each month and pay in full by the due date. To have the paid in full balance reflected on your credit report, you must pay the balance in full before the statement cuts. This is how you effectively manage credit to show lenders you are worthy of a mortgage loan which is the biggest chunk of credit you will ever have. The low limits on your husband's cards are hurting him too.
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13! 
Last App: 4/5/13 Gardening until July 2014
I disagree. I'm living proof. I have been doing it every month since July. You can't knock it until you try it. It is analogous to paying every card to zero except one and leave one card at 7%...you can't knock it until you try it. As neither of those tips are in any manual on how to manage credit. I spend part of my time on the credit card forum learning from the pros...the folks that have $50,000 in credit limit. I wouldn't have my Chase Freedom in my wallet today if it weren't for them on that forum, and I am very serious when I say that and I mean it.
The way you get bigger limits is by charging more...but not too much like I said. My Orchard Bank card sat at $300 when I first got it, and it climbed to $1100 over a period of two years. When I spent 75% of $1100, it showed Capital One I needed at least $1100 on their card if not more. When you hear of someone that has a unsecured card with a limit of $400 and that has been sitting at that limit for more than a year, you know they are doing something wrong.
When you charge very little to your cards, it shows credit card lenders you don't need more credit and since you only use $20 out of $400, lenders say $400 is sufficient. Having low limit cards hurts you...even the fico score simulator shows it. It may not simulate accurately, but that particular piece of simulation is there because it has an impact on your score. Plus, when you get higher limits, and during a time when you are NOT buying a house, you can charge a big ticket item on your card that may only be 7% utility on a card with a $15K limit versus 50-90% of a low limit card. The higher limit card allows you to be able to take advantage of 0% APR for a big ticket item and carry a balance without it negatively impacting one's score because the utilization is less than 10%!
Also, if you don't use your credit cards to the max potential, you don't reap as many rewards. The more you charge, the more 1% or 5% cash back means to you. In order to get $98 of cash back from July to now, I had to charge at least $1500 to the card every month. And all my charges are bills, groceries, etc. that I would have paid cash/debit for but instead used my credit card. You can see how little someone will make in Cash Back if they charge only $20 a month. That is less than $5 a year in Cash Back...not even enough to offset the annual fee! That is a waste of a good rewards program that pays you simply for using the lenders card, and a waste of the annual fee you paid for the card.
The way you get bigger limits is by charging more...but not too much like I said. My Orchard Bank card sat at $300 when I first got it, and it climbed to $1100 over a period of two years. When I spent 75% of $1100, it showed Capital One I needed at least $1100 on their card if not more. When you hear of someone that has a unsecured card with a limit of $400 and that has been sitting at that limit for more than a year, you know they are doing something wrong.
When you charge very little to your cards, it shows credit card lenders you don't need more credit and since you only use $20 out of $400, lenders say $400 is sufficient. Having low limit cards hurts you...even the fico score simulator shows it. It may not simulate accurately, but that particular piece of simulation is there because it has an impact on your score. Plus, when you get higher limits, and during a time when you are NOT buying a house, you can charge a big ticket item on your card that may only be 7% utility on a card with a $15K limit versus 50-90% of a low limit card. The higher limit card allows you to be able to take advantage of 0% APR for a big ticket item and carry a balance without it negatively impacting one's score because the utilization is less than 10%!
Also, if you don't use your credit cards to the max potential, you don't reap as many rewards. The more you charge, the more 1% or 5% cash back means to you. In order to get $98 of cash back from July to now, I had to charge at least $1500 to the card every month. And all my charges are bills, groceries, etc. that I would have paid cash/debit for but instead used my credit card. You can see how little someone will make in Cash Back if they charge only $20 a month. That is less than $5 a year in Cash Back...not even enough to offset the annual fee! That is a waste of a good rewards program that pays you simply for using the lenders card, and a waste of the annual fee you paid for the card.
One last thing...I wouldn't recommend getting any major type of rewards card like the Chase Sapphire that has a large annual fee, if you don't use credit generously because you will waste your money. These cards provide $100-$500 in cash just for spending $500-$3,000 in the first 3 months. Low spenders will never get the rewards. So it is best to just carry plain vanilla cards with low or no fees and no rewards.
You can't do it just once and maxing it out cards does not look good to lenders. 90% of the limit is considered maxed out. Lenders that are reviewing your credit want to see a high balance to show you are using the card fruitfully, but not too high. There has to be a pattern of this not just one occurrence. You also have to be proactive and not reactive when seeking higher limits. These two go hand in hand. It isn't all about score even though the final result is a higher score. There are steps that I outlined in my previous posts that you have to take to get there. It isn't a one step then results thing.