Which is better for my score?

[notoriousrod]

I have a Macy's Account with a Credit Limit of $100 (woooopie!!!) and it has a ZERO balance.

I am trying to rebuild my credit, so I was wondering is it better for me to leave it at ZERO, or should I make a small purchase each month to show activity and a payment history?

I was thinking with the limit of $100 .... and I buy a dress shirt or pants for $30-$50! My util is a little high for that account.

What should I do? 

[Anonymous]

Use it monthly and pay it off. I have another store card with a limit of $300 (that took me 8 years to get to) and they refuse to go higher because I don't use the card often enough!

[notoriousrod]

So considering my $100 ... should I make a very very small purchase like some $10 socks! (haha) but seriously so my util is less that 20%

[Anonymous]

I would do a good 6 months of $50-$75 purchases so they can see you WOULD spend more if you had the opportunity.

[llecs]

And be sure to ask for a CLI every 3 months.

[notoriousrod]

Do you guys think making a purchase of $50-$70 will hurt my score at all, making this UTIL for this account HIGH?

[llecs]

You can use all $100, just make sure it reports at or near $0. Macys is very consistent. Pay it off by the due date. Then don't use it until the statement cuts which is a couple days after the due date at the latest.

[smallfry]

Make sure this card never reports more than 8 Dollars or you will inadvertantly hurt your single card utilization. I hope you shop at this store as it doesn't seem worth the trouble if you do not.

[notoriousrod]

Thats what I was afraid of. 

So what's better leaving it at alone or making the small purchase and let it report and pay to show a good history?

[Anonymous]

I think you're misunderstanding--using the card, even up to the limit, isn't what hurts your utilization. Your utilization is determined by the balance on the card on the day it is reported to the credit bureau each month. Only that one day matters. So you can spend $100 as long as you pay it down to $10 or less by the reporting date.

Not using the card at all and having a zero balance will be great for your credit score, but Macy's may not like it because they'll think you don't need the card.