I am trying to rebuild my credit. I know it’s critical to establish a history of responsible credit usage. I’ve been diligently making small purchases on two of my three major credit cards every month, and then of course paying them off.

I have 3 major CC’s and 3 small store ones. I currently only use my store CC's about once a year to avoid them being closed from non-usage.

Should I actually be making small purchases on ALL of my cards? From the perspective of “ideal” credit behavior, what should I be practicing? If using ALL my cards every month, as opposed to the few I regularly use, will not help to improve my credit, then I obviously want to avoid the inconvenience.


No, just let one card report a small balance each month, and pay it off after the statement closing, then put another small charge on it. Using it for a recurring monthly bill is the easiest way to do it.

Use each card at least one time every six months or so to keep the issuer from closing it due to lack of use.

  • +1 for "use every card at least once every few months to keep them from closing it". – Harper Mar 22 '18 at 14:46

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