How often should you use your credit card for good credit?
How many credit card swipes a month will keep your score from deteriorating? Well, as it turns out, there’s no single answer—but the following tips will shed light on how to keep your card active and your score healthy.
You don’t want to spiral into debt from overspending or have your card canceled due to inactivity—so here’s how to find the happy medium with your credit.
How Often Should You Use Your Credit Card?
Pay Attention To Your Credit Utilization Ratio
It’s smart to stay below 30% of your total available credit (credit utilization ratio) during the course of each month. Never rack up credit in the hopes of paying it off at the month’s end. Maxing out your credit card paints you as potentially reckless with your credit (and you’ll probably need credit repair down the road). Furthermore, letting yourself max out your card, even if you can pay it back, makes for a bad habit.
Pay Off Your Balance In Full Each Month
A big misconception around credit cards is that you should carry some debt from month to month in order to display good credit. False—when your credit card statement arrives, pay it off in full. High credit utilization usually comes from keeping debt on your card as well as piling on more purchases each month. Once you pay your credit card bill, your credit utilization ratio is 0%, so you can keep charging small purchases. Continue buying only what you are able to pay off at the month’s end and up to 30 percent of your total available credit.
The brief answer? Use each credit card one or two times a month (and pay them off in total) to maximize your credit score.
In general, credit card companies tend to avoid closing your account unless there is at least a year of inactivity. However, with constantly changing policies, it’s crucial that you check with your card company to find out your specific terms.
Keep Your Credit Card Active
When you are an inactive credit user, credit card companies typically either charge you a fee or slash your line of credit—but they are less likely to completely close your account. However, the former two options should nevertheless be avoided. Try using each of your credit cards once per month on something fairly minor and pay it off in full each month. This can be beneficial to your credit score, because you will see a “paid” mark for each month you do that. Otherwise, you’ll see a “no activity” (neutral) mark for every month you do not use a card that carries a zero balance.
It’s never a good idea to completely forgo using your credit card if you have credit troubles.
How Often Should You Use Your Credit Card?
As a general rule, you should try use your credit card at least every one to three months to keep your account open and active, and to ensure your credit card issuer continues to send updates to the credit bureaus. If you have several credit cards, it can be tough keeping them active without running the risk of getting into debt.
Just because you need to use your credit card every so often to keep it active doesn’t imply you need to start spending right and left.
No matter what your situation, Go Clean Credit has a solution. We have many credit repair programs that are available to help you overcome your credit situation and place you back on the path to financial success. Real credit restoration is not a one size fits all model and we tailor your needs to the right program, but most people can start for just $99 per month.
We have fixed price programs that get you back on track in as little as 5 months, debt resolution solutions, programs geared toward people who have had recent short sales or foreclosures and many others. Help is just a free phone call away or you can fill out an appointment request. Contact Go Clean Credit to schedule a free consultation today.