If you say that carrying credit card debt is good to raise scores - where did you hear that advice from?

David gave a pretty good answer, and like Chris said, you want to keep your balance below 30% of your available credit limit.





Also, using the card will generally get your credit limit increases which give you a better debt to credit ratio, thus boosting your score.If you say that carrying credit card debt is good to raise scores - where did you hear that advice from?
That's a very interesting question. I was an Asst.VP at a major Mortgage lender and had worked there 15 years. I took an early retirement 7 years ago when credit scores were in their trial stage and weren't even being used by a lot of lenders . At that time, the more credit you had available to you on a credit card worked against you as far as a credit score. The reasoning was because the mortgage lender concluded you could access all that credit and get in financial trouble. They also did not see a lot of credit cards as a good thing., concluding you has no residual income to actually pay cash. Now it's exactly the opposite a high amount of credit available on credit cards improves your credit score as having more than one cc does. In those olden days Installments loans were better for your credit score because they had a finite time to pay off. I think these changes in how credit was scored were better in the beginning and made more sense than today's way. Evidently I'm in the minority and will get thumbs down galore for what I've said.If you say that carrying credit card debt is good to raise scores - where did you hear that advice from?
Your credit score shows lenders how well you handle debt and whether or not you'd likely be able to pay them back (should they choose to lend money to you).





If you don't carry a balance (including using credit and then paying the balance in full every month), you won't generate credit history. You won't be able to show that you borrowed money and paid your debt back. Your credit report will show ';No Data'; or ';Unknown'; for the months in which you didn't have a balance to pay. Thus, the credit card companies can't say that you paid them on time...since you didn't have a balance to pay.





By using your credit card (even for small amounts, such as buying lunch or gas), you create a balance. When you pay that balance, the credit card company will tell the credit bureau that you've paid on time. A history of paying on time will then increase your credit score.
Not all credit card debt is good. You should have no more than 30% charged to your credit card vs. the credit limit available. This process shows that you are capable of paying your debt, and then some due to the interest, but also that you are not charging beyond your means. If you do this the credit card companies will keep raising your limit. And they would only do that if they felt you could pay your bills. That in itself raises your score.