I would use both on a monthly basis, only charging within my means, let them report a little balance at the end of the month, paying more than just the minimum each month. This method will show creditors that you are able to handle multiple accts and are responsible!
It doesn't matter. The two are equivalent for scoring purposes.
There is some evidence that if you let one card stay dormant for a long time and then have activity show up on that card, that there can be a ding for activity on a dormant account. I've seen that disputed on here but a few people have posted it happened to them. Not sure I remember who had the better of that argument. I'd have to search old threads. But IIRC, you'd be talking about a lot more than 3-6 months of dormant activity, so no need to worry about switching back and forth every month.
Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)it does not matter if you let 1 acct report a balance or 10 when new to credit. Creditors are looking and watching how one manages these accts responsibly.
@L-TWT wrote:it does not matter if you let 1 acct report a balance or 10 when new to credit. Creditors are looking and watching how one manages these accts responsibly.
It does matter for scoring purposes. Too many accounts with balances is a score ding, though a somewhat minor one.
One thing OP may not realize is that there is no efficient way to raise your score. In the sense that FICO does not reward consistent good behavior. FICO takes a snapshot of your report regardless of your history. So 30 months of maxed out cards will not matter the next month when you pay them all down. All things being equal, the person who does that will have the exact same score as the person who maintained ideal utilization for all 30 months.
With only two cards, it's a valid point that you don't need to worry about this too much, especially if you don't have any new credit apps coming up. You can always pay your cards down to ideal utilization and wait for them to update. Updating could take a little more than a month though, so some people like to stay in the habit of keeping their score at its ideal point so they are ready if something comes up.
acct balances are relative, b/c if each of my open trade lines report a balance less than 3-5% of my overall available CL, there would be no effect on CS......
@Fiishii wrote:Oh.
Well, my credit history is only 6 months =/.
Chase pulled a 697 for EQ.
Since I am still new to credit, it does not matter.
But when should I start utilizing the "1 card report" trick?
The prior poster's post is incorrect. Granted, the 1 card reporting 9% or less "rule" is more of a guideline than a rule. But generally speaking, there is a negative effect to multiple cards reporting a balance. This is true for those new to credit as well as those with established profiles.
@Fiishii wrote:Oh.
Well, my credit history is only 6 months =/.
Chase pulled a 697 for EQ.
Since I am still new to credit, it does not matter.
But when should I start utilizing the "1 card report" trick?
Simple put, use your CC's according to your finances!
If financially your only able to use just 1, do so. And if it allows for 2, use 2
There really is no golden rule