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Is it better to pay off your credit card or keep a balance each month?

There are all types of myths surrounding credit card debt, credit card companies, and credit history.

Is it true that always having a revolving small balance is good for your credit score versus paying off the entire balance? No, it isn’t.

Credit card users can find themselves looking for every trick in the book to improve their credit score.

The biggest and the best way is to pay the credit card balances in full and on time each month.

Lesser steps can help also, but the small improvement may not be worth the effort. Or worse, they can backfire.

Personal finance doesn’t have to be as confusing as the space-time continuum, despite being in major economic depression and a global pandemic–coronavirus.

Why Leave a Balance?

Always having a balance on your credit card can be taken as a sign that you’re using the card often, which can be a good thing.

It can also signal possible money problems due to having a perpetual balance.

Of course, there’s a difference between a $5 balance and one that’s $100 or even thousands of dollars.

Either way, you’re paying interest to the credit card issuer — unless you pay it before the monthly payment due date, which is essentially paying it off on time.

Credit scores favor recent activity or usage, so using a card regularly should help a credit score.

If it’s a credit card you rarely use but want to keep for emergencies, then leaving a small balance or charging a small amount each month is a sign of an active account and won’t cause the card issuer to cancel the card.

If it is canceled, that could cause a credit score to drop by having too few sources of credit open.

A zero balance can indicate a lack of use of your available credit from whichever financial institution you choose.

A zero balance could also be the result of a highly active card user who pays the full credit card payment or balance each month.

Why Pay Off Carry Over Debt

Paying a credit card balance off each month is one of the best ways to raise a credit score, and more importantly, it doesn’t cost you in interest paid on the balance.

Payment history is the most important factor in credit scoring, whether you pay on time or not. Having an outstanding balance is not good for your credit score, especially if you’ve already used your grace period.

Your credit utilization rate is the second-most important factor in your credit score.

This is the ratio of your balance to your credit limit. The lower utilization rate, the better your credit score will be.

Leaving a low balance each month increases the utilization rate, though a few extra dollars won’t hurt it too much.

The best utilization rate is 30 percent, meaning you’re not carrying a balance of more than 30 percent of your credit limit on one card or in total.

Lower balances will improve a credit score. Keeping the balance well below a credit limit is a good sign that you consistently manage debt well, and can improve credit scores.

How To Deal With Balances

If you’re going to leave a balance on your credit card solely because you expect it to raise your credit score — again, this is mostly a myth — there are ways to make sure it doesn’t affect your credit utilization rate.

If your credit card balance goes above 30 percent, you can lower it by paying off some of the balance before it appears on your next credit card bill.

You can increase your utilization rate to as high as your credit limit and it won’t hurt your credit score if any amount over 30 percent utilization is paid “early.”

That means the charges are paid off within the same billing cycle that they’re charged in instead of just making minimum payments.

When the next statement balance appears on a credit report, it will be below the 30 percent recommended limit if paid early.

Leave a Small Balance and Test It

If you want to see if having a small balance will add a few points to a credit score, give it a test run. Here’s how:

Pay the balance in full one month so that you have a zero balance. Wait about 30 days for your credit reports to update at each credit bureau.

Then get one or all three of your FICO credit scores (Experian, Transition, and Equifax), which are used most often, though each bureau uses different score versions.

You are entitled to a free credit score report annually by law.

A month later, compare by leaving a balance of $5 or so. Repeat the above process.

During this time, be sure not to do anything different with your credit that could affect your credit score — such as opening new credit accounts or paying late.

You should then be able to see if your credit score goes up with a small balance.

Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report

The Biggest Downside to Small Balances

As stated earlier, carrying a credit card balance will ding you with an interest charge. That may be worthwhile if it’s only a few dollars.

But it could cause a snowball if you forget about it — and we’re not just talking about increased interest payments.

Suppose you decide not to use the card anymore because you’ve gotten a better credit card with a higher limit and better rewards.

You don’t want to close the first card because you want to keep the extra credit limit to improve your credit utilization ratio.

But then you forget about the old card with the small balance and don’t pay the $5 bill.

A month later the account could become delinquent, which could stay on your credit report for seven years and lower your credit score by 60 to 110 points.

That’s a big risk for possibly gaining a few points on a credit score.

The best solution may be to pay off the balance by the statement due date. If you’re really anxious about keeping the utilization rate below 30 percent, then pay off new charges during the current billing cycle.

The bigger steps, not the small ones, should lead to better credit scores and ultimately to better credit card offers with higher limits and lower interest rates.

Other Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

• ​Make sure you have enough money in your bank account to cover your credit card monthly payments.
• Opening a new credit card will knock your credit score down slightly.
• Be wary of taking cash advances on your credit cards, as you instantly amass interest.
• Installment debts like mortgages, student loans, and personal loans don’t hurt your credit for high balances. As long as you make the monthly payment on time, your score will not be affected.
• If you use a cash back credit card, make sure the transactions are reported to the credit bureaus before paying them off. If you pay off the cards immediately after a transaction, it most likely won’t show usage.
• By completing a balance transfer, you can take high interest credit card balances and roll them over to a 0% interest credit card and improve your overall credit score. Usually finding balance transfer credit cards isn’t a difficult search with mediocre to good credit scores.