Most credit experts advise keeping your credit utilization below 30 percent, especially if you want to maintain a good credit score. This means if you have $10,000 in available credit, your outstanding balances should never exceed $3,000.
Experts generally recommend keeping your utilization rate below 30% (depending on the scoring system used) — but CNBC Select spoke to two credit gurus who say to aim for a single-digit utilization rate (under 10%) if you really want a good credit score.
A good guideline is the 30% rule: Use no more than 30% of your credit limit to keep your debt-to-credit ratio strong. Staying under 10% is even better. In a real-life budget, the 30% rule works like this: If you have a card with a $1,000 credit limit, it's best not to have more than a $300 balance at any time.
Keep your balance below 30% of your credit limit
A good rule of thumb is to avoid spending more than 30% of your credit limit, to keep your utilization low. For example, on a card with a $200 credit limit, do not carry more than a $60 balance at any time.
Lower the better: 30% rule
In general, a “good” credit utilization ratio is less than 30%. Anything higher than that can actually negatively impact your credit score. But lower is always better. And be aware that both the ratio on each card and your overall ratio matter.
It's Best to Pay Your Credit Card Balance in Full Each Month
Leaving a balance will not help your credit scores—it will just cost you money in the form of interest. Carrying a high balance on your credit cards has a negative impact on scores because it increases your credit utilization ratio.
Most credit experts advise keeping your credit utilization below 30 percent, especially if you want to maintain a good credit score. This means if you have $10,000 in available credit, your outstanding balances should never exceed $3,000.
If you've avoided credit cards until now, a $500 limit (or something similar) is the perfect way to get your feet wet. Restricting yourself to a lower limit can be a great, low-pressure way to get started with credit cards.
The average credit card limit for a 25-year-old is around $3,000. To get to that number, it's important to know that the average credit score in that age bracket is 650, which is fair credit.
A high-limit credit card typically comes with a credit line between $5,000 to $10,000 (and some even go beyond $10,000). You're more likely to have a higher credit limit if you have good or excellent credit.
The credit limit you can get with a 750 credit score is likely in the $1,000-$15,000 range, but a higher limit is possible. The reason for the big range is that credit limits aren't solely determined by your credit score.
To build good credit and stay out of debt, you should always aim to pay off your credit card bill in full every month. If you want to be really on top of your game, it might seem logical to pay off your balance more often, so your card is never in the red. But hold off.
It's important to put at least some of your spending on a card from time to time, but spending more will not benefit your score. Aim to use no more than 30% of your credit limit on any of your cards, and less is better.
The average consumer saw their FICO Score 8 increase by 12 points using Experian Boost, according to Experian. When it comes to getting your rent reported, some RentReporters customers have seen their credit scores improve by 35 to 50 points in as few as 10 days, according to the company.
A conventional loan requires a credit score of at least 620, but it's ideal to have a score of 740 or above, which could allow you to make a lower down payment, get a more attractive interest rate and save on private mortgage insurance.
Good credit: If you have good credit, you'll have a better chance at being approved for a higher credit limit than someone with fair or poor credit. But even with good credit, the average credit limit you can expect to get with a first credit card is generally between $500 and $1,000.
If you haven't used a card for a long period, it generally will not hurt your credit score. However, if a lender notices your inactivity and decides to close the account, it can cause your score to slip.
In 2020, the average credit card credit limit was $30,365, according to Experian data. This was a 3% decrease from the previous year's average. However, average credit card limits also vary by age range, and people who are new to credit or rebuilding their credit may have lower credit limits.
The best credit utilization ratio is 1% to 10%. A good credit utilization ratio is anything below 30%. These percentages reflect a credit card user's statement balance divided by the account's credit limit, with the product multiplied by 100.
While a 0% utilization is certainly better than having a high CUR, it's not as good as something in the single digits. Depending on the scoring model used, some experts recommend aiming to keep your credit utilization rate at 10% (or below) as a healthy goal to get the best credit score.
A lower credit utilization ratio is better for your credit scores, but a little utilization is better than none at all. As a result, the best revolving credit utilization ratio may be 1%. However, you don't need a 1% utilization ratio to have an exceptional credit score.