Speaking of spreading misinformation, if you don't know WTF you are talking about, you might want to consider NOT talking about it. While you're right that it's best to pay your balance every month, there is a lot more to it than just avoiding interest.
Originally posted by: andy04
Here are some Clear Points
Just pay your statement balance every month - that way you dont pay no interest.
Carrying a balance or not carrying a balance DOES NOT MATTER. Your credit history shows the total revolving (CC) credit limit. Lets say you have 3 cards total of $ 15000. In your credit history it will always show as a revolving limit for 15000 - THATS IT - not how much you owe. This is because a creditor thinks that you can be in that amount of debt in no time anyways...
WRONG. That's not it. Your report does show how much you owe and it is VERY important. 30% of your FICO score is based on your utilization percentage. If you have 15k available and you are have a total balance of 7.5k, you are at 50% utilization and your credit score will suffer. In general, the lower the utilization the better. There are some people who claim that leaving a small balance will help your score by showing that you are actively using your cards. From what I've seen, there's not much evidence of this.
On your credit history it shows your monthly payments in terms of Paid in time or not paid in time and if late how long - month, 3 month or 6 months. THATS IT.
Next thing it shows if you paid minimum due or more than minimum due. Does not matter if you paid 1 dollar or 1000 over the minimum due.
Thats all it is about CC and Credit history. No matter how well you maintain your credit card balances - it will never help you in taking a loan. Only a loan on your history can help you in taking a loan. CC history is considered a revolving - which does not help ppl giving you a car loan or home loan.
That's about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. WTF are you talking about? Of course maintaining a good payment history on your credit cards will help you get a loan. If you build a good history on CC's, you will have a higher credit score and you will be much more likely to get approved for loans, and at better rates, even if you don't have any other previous loans on your report.