Originally Posted by ps2cho

I analyze consumer credit reports at my job. The cards report to the bureau's different codes for an inactive month and a month with a zero balance (0 versus C for what its worth -- inactive/no usage and current respectively they usually report it like so: ccc00c00cccc0ccc etc...) Use the card, pay it off. Carrying a balance to increase your score is a myth and I have noticed no correlation between them either from an experience perspective.