Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Cruian t1_iugc073 wrote

>Should I use Credit Card for everything?

As long as there's no extra fees to do so that outweigh any rewards.

>If I pay my balance before the statement closing date to keep utilization low is their anything else that could affect my score?

Even utilization isn't anything you need to worry about: it doesn't "build" credit, it "resets" monthly. Almost all scoring models in use only care about the last reported utilization from each account. No upcoming application means no need to stress over utilization.

36

bobombpom t1_iugmqpo wrote

Another option is to have a high enough credit limit that your utilization is good regardless. Through a series of events, I've ended up with $25k credit limit across 4 cards. I typically only spend about $1500/mo on those cards. With my limit, that's only 6% utilization and considered excellent by any company's metrics.

The caveat is that you need to have the discipline to have the credit available, but not use it.

10

whisky_in_your_water t1_iuh22lf wrote

Yup. I have a ton more credit than that (~$100k), and it honestly kinda scares me. But my utilization is solidly under 5%, so I never need to worry about utilization.

2