Spend 30% or less (not more) of your limit and pay it off every month. Don't accrue interest. Do it for a long time.
this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2026
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Also ask for an increase to your credit limit every year or three.
I did this for a while, but then at some point Barclays decided that since I wasn't utilizing a decent portion of my credit regularly, they needed to reduce my limit by 2/3rds. When I called them they said it was to protect me, so that I wouldn't accidentally spend way more than I regularly intended. Even after pointing out that my income didn't reduce, so my ability to pay the already approved credit limit didn't reduce either, I would still have to apply (with a hard credit pull) to get the limit reinstated.
And of course, a reduction in credit availability tanks your credit score for a bit, so I doubt that I would get approved for the limit I already had. I don't even think it was that large of an amount, something like 10k before the reduction.
What do you think is a safe generalization of this technique that would have otherwise likely preserved the benefit and prevented the blowing up in the face you experienced?
I called the other company I have a credit card with and they said it's not something they do, so it may be unique to Barclays.
Honestly I wouldn't worry about trying to avoid this issue. I started with excellent credit, and in a few months it'll bounce back. The credit hit will only matter if you are needing to make a hard pull for a loan or something. Just keep up with paying off the full balance on time, keeping utilization low, keeping your oldest line of credit open, and trying to expand your maximum available credit. If my issue ever does happen to you, you'll already be in very comfortable place. It's silly that this is how the credit score system works.
Pay it off each month. Full stop.
It is WAY too easy to tell yourself, oh, I'll just pay half now and then next month I'll finish it off. Next month comes and your car is in the shop, gotta put that on the card. Ok well I'll just take an extra month, no biggie. The interest piles on, and then your job has a glitch with payroll, it'll take an extra 3 days to get paid. Now you need to put your phone bill on there. It is a slippery slope that catches a lot of people in the trap of debt.
I'm even in the habit of charging something, then going home and paying it off that day. I only use cards for points/miles.
Ya, i basically already do this to keep consistent with, lets call it my personal bookkeeping system i need to stay mentally well lol
This is a stupid game
It's a stupid game but it's not stupid to play it
It kind of is. At a certain point (i.e. a 'decent' credit score) having a higher score doesn't really matter. There's so few lenders who really only care about super-premium scores, as they mostly recognize they're throwing away good business. From when I worked for an online lender, the important things are:
- Are you paying off your debts - credit score is mostly reflecting this but they can also just look at your payment history.
- Can your income support your current debts plus the new one?
- Can your income support the new debt, plus all the others if they were maxed out (i.e. maybe don't try to max out your credit limits).
Just pay your bills on time and avoid holding debt, and even if you could have manipulated your score slightly higher it won't matter.
What debts do you have when you're young? The idea is to get a 0% interest loan to pay off
You use a credit card for some of your spending and you pay it off in full each month. Doing more than that is unnecessary.
Just be sensible and responsible with your credit usage and it just goes up naturally. Check it regularly and dispute every single negative claim, regardless if it’s true or not. I think there’s a hack around when you do your disputes. It’s a long game.
Open as many as you can. The "penalty" of opening new credits is lower than increasing your limit if you are just starting. Find no annual fee cards that give good welcome bonuses and get some "free" money. If they reject your application you can usually dispute it by calling and asking why and most of the time you can get approved by providing some extra documents. Other than that it's just patience
Source: I migrated 8 years ago and had to start my credit score from scratch
Edit: adding fico score weights
Any counters to this? Seems a little counterintuitive but I have no doubt someone (maybe already you) has gamed and made it work for them
The "difficult" part of to manage too many credit cards. I got my score to 740-750 very quickly doing that, specially compared to other friends that arrived to the US around the same time as me
I had a capital one secured, then amex blue cash, capital one platinum, capital one savor, Chase Amazon prime, Chase bonvoy then started getting more premium cards when my score increased like like venture X and got all the airline ones for the bonus and then cancelled within the year (cancelling cards will hit your score for a few months but it should bounce back)
Seems like you've gotten a million different answers already so here's another for the pile:
What I understand is that keeping about 30% is the sweet spot for the best credit improvement, as others have said, in the end they want to milk you so it's good to show you're willing/able.
So when you go above 30%, you always pay back more than minimum. 1.5 or 2 times what minimum would be. Ideally not all to give them more time to milk you(cumulative interest).
When you are at 30% or lower, you pay the minimum and allow them to build the most interest and try to put some purchases on it to get it back above 30%.
If you do that, it'll show continuous use, a decent roi for them, and that you are able to pay consistently and above minimum so they don't have to worry about you.
You shouldn't carry a balance, it doesn't improve your credit score, just costs you money. Common misconception.
https://sh.itjust.works/comment/27832491
Please ask if you have any questions I'm happy to explain better or more thoroughly.