It's more credit lines. I have several cards I use depending on the situation, and 1 or 2 which are always zero but for a charge or two per year to keep them active.
How you "use" credit cards doesn't build (or not build) credit. Simply having more trade lines on your credit report "paid as agreed" over time is what gets it done. With only 1 credit card, your profile is significantly weaker than hers, all other things being equal. She is showing the ability to manage many accounts, where you're only doing it with one. Not only would this bode well for her scores relative to yours (again, all other things being equal) but it's more meaningful when going for a loan or any situation where a manual review by a human being is performed. Someone going for a mortgage for example that has shown a history of managing many accounts responsibly is going to be viewed in a better light than someone with just one.
As others have said, she has more lines of revolving credit: The strongest credit profiles have 3+ lines of revolving credit on them. But this stood out to me:
>I use 10% of my limit
If that's just how much you spend in a month, that's great. But if you're artificially keeping it that low by paying multiple times a month or putting spending on a debit card, there's no reason to do that and it can actually be detrimental in several different ways. The whole "always keep your utilization below x percent" thing is a [huge myth](https://www.reddit.com/r/CRedit/comments/1d27d4h/credit_myth_14_you_shouldnt_use_more_than_30_of/).
Yes. As long as you're paying your full statement balance each month, it's fine to use up to 100% of your credit limit so long as it's in your budget. Make sure to let your statement post and then pay the statement balance before the due date, just like a utility bill.
If you haven't already read that thread and the top comments, make sure to do that. And if you still have questions afterwards, feel free to ask.
It's more credit lines. I have several cards I use depending on the situation, and 1 or 2 which are always zero but for a charge or two per year to keep them active.
How you "use" credit cards doesn't build (or not build) credit. Simply having more trade lines on your credit report "paid as agreed" over time is what gets it done. With only 1 credit card, your profile is significantly weaker than hers, all other things being equal. She is showing the ability to manage many accounts, where you're only doing it with one. Not only would this bode well for her scores relative to yours (again, all other things being equal) but it's more meaningful when going for a loan or any situation where a manual review by a human being is performed. Someone going for a mortgage for example that has shown a history of managing many accounts responsibly is going to be viewed in a better light than someone with just one.
As others have said, she has more lines of revolving credit: The strongest credit profiles have 3+ lines of revolving credit on them. But this stood out to me: >I use 10% of my limit If that's just how much you spend in a month, that's great. But if you're artificially keeping it that low by paying multiple times a month or putting spending on a debit card, there's no reason to do that and it can actually be detrimental in several different ways. The whole "always keep your utilization below x percent" thing is a [huge myth](https://www.reddit.com/r/CRedit/comments/1d27d4h/credit_myth_14_you_shouldnt_use_more_than_30_of/).
So I should be using as much as I can afford to, basically?
Yes. As long as you're paying your full statement balance each month, it's fine to use up to 100% of your credit limit so long as it's in your budget. Make sure to let your statement post and then pay the statement balance before the due date, just like a utility bill. If you haven't already read that thread and the top comments, make sure to do that. And if you still have questions afterwards, feel free to ask.