How Often Should I Use My Credit Card?

Credit cards are a convenient way to pay for purchases. While some people use them sparingly, others might use cards every single day.

You may be wondering: How often should I use my credit card?

There’s no hard-and-fast rule for the frequency of credit card use. In fact, using your card responsibly and strategically is usually more important than using it regularly. Still, it’s important to understand how credit card activity impacts your credit score.

Let’s review how credit card use affects your credit and how to prevent reasonable usage from turning into overspending.

How Often Should I Use My Credit Card?

There’s no strict minimum number of times you need to use your credit card each month. However, regular activity on a credit card account can help keep it active and ensure that your card continues contributing positively to your credit profile.

For most issuers, using a credit card at least once every few months is enough to prevent inactivity issues. If you’re actively trying to build or maintain strong credit, using your card monthly could be a smart move, provided you’re paying your bill on time every month and are keeping your balance low relative to your credit limit.

However, it’s important to keep your credit card usage within what you can afford. You don’t want to charge an expense on a card if having that amount to pay will leave you carrying a balance that accrues interest and potentially hurts your credit score.

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Do I Have To Use My Credit Card Every Month?

You don’t necessarily need to use your credit card every single month. Many card issuers let accounts remain open for extended periods without activity. However, leaving a card unused for too long could eventually lead to having the account closed.

There’s no universal time frame for when this might happen. Each credit issuer has its own inactivity policy. And unfortunately, an unexpected account closure could negatively affect your credit score by lowering the amount of available credit you have.

The Small Recurring Charge Strategy

Some people use a simple strategy to keep infrequently used credit cards active – placing a small recurring charge on the account.

If there’s a credit card you rarely use but you don’t want the account closed, you can put a streaming subscription or gym membership on it so it keeps getting activity. Then you can set up automatic payments to pay that balance in full each month.

Should I Keep Unused Cards Open?

Keeping older credit cards open could help your credit score if they add to your overall available credit and average account age. But if you have a credit card with an annual fee that you rarely use, it may not be worth keeping it open.

How Often Should I Use My Credit Card To Build Credit?

Used responsibly, a credit card can help you build credit. If you pay your bills on time every month, that can lead to a positive credit history, which is a big factor in calculating your credit score. If your card sits unused for long periods, on the other hand, there may be little or no new activity reported to the credit bureaus.

Using your credit card while keeping your balances low relative to your total credit limit could also help you maintain a healthy level of credit utilization, which is another big factor that goes into your credit score. However, carrying a high balance may hurt your score even if you make payments on time.

Finally, having a credit card account in good standing for many years will positively impact the length of your credit history. That, too, plays a role in calculating your credit score.

With all of this in mind, here are a few ways using a credit card could help you build credit.

Make Small Purchases Regularly

You don’t need to make large purchases to build credit. Small recurring expenses like gas, groceries or subscriptions can be enough to generate positive payment activity, especially if that activity is consistent.

Pay On Time Every Month

Late payments can damage your credit score, whether you’re late paying a credit card, mortgage or auto loan. If your goal is to build credit, make sure to pay on time every month. Even if you can’t pay the full balance, as long as you make your minimum payment by its due date, your payment should be considered timely.

You may want to set up automatic payments or payment reminders to help ensure that you never miss a due date. This can be especially useful if you have multiple credit cards.

Avoid Carrying A High Balance

Even if you pay your credit card minimum on time every month, carrying a high balance relative to your total credit limit could hurt your credit score. If you want to use a credit card to build credit, aim to keep your utilization low. The lower your credit utilization is, the more it can help your score.

For example, if you have one credit card with a $5,000 credit limit and a $1,450 balance, your credit utilization is 29%. A good rule of thumb is to try to keep your credit utilization below 30%.

Also, carrying a smaller balance will result in smaller minimum payments. The more affordable your minimums are, the less likely you are to be late or skip payments due to a lack of funds.

How Often Should I Use My Credit Card To Maximize Rewards?

If you have a rewards credit card, using it frequently could help you rack up more reward points, cash back or other perks. However, you don’t want to use your card so much that you can’t pay your balance in full.

When you carry a balance on a credit card, you’re charged interest. That could negate the financial benefit of earning cash back. For example, earning $20 in rewards is clearly not worth paying $40 in interest charges.

There’s no right or wrong number of times per month or year to use a credit card to maximize rewards. The key is to make sure you’re using the right cards for the right purchases and that you can afford to make the payments on your account.

For example, you might have one credit card that offers extra cash back on gas and another that gives bonus cash back on travel. You’d want to use the first one regularly to fill up your tank and use the other one sparingly to pay for trips.

Some credit cards also offer rotating quarterly bonus categories that require activation. Monitoring these categories and adjusting your spending accordingly could help maximize rewards throughout the year.

How Can I Use My Credit Card Without Overspending?

Credit cards give you the leeway to charge expenses on the spot and pay them off later. That could lead to overspending and interest charges. And if your spending isn’t under control, you risk being late with payments, or skipping them entirely, and hurting your credit score in the process.

Developing smart habits, however, can help you enjoy the benefits of credit cards without accumulating unmanageable debt. Here are some tips to employ:

Treat Your Credit Card Like A Debit Card

One of the safest credit card strategies is only charging purchases you can already afford to pay for with cash from your checking account. If you have $1,000 sitting in your checking account after paying all of your other bills and you want to charge a $100 purchase on a credit card, you’re not taking a lot of risk, because you have the money to cover that purchase.

Set Spending Limits

Spending caps for categories like dining, entertainment or shopping could help you avoid unmanageable card balances. As part of this strategy, it’s helpful to set a monthly budget so you can prioritize your essential expenses and see how much money you have left over for discretionary spending.

Pay Your Balance Frequently

You don’t haveto pay your credit card bill until its monthly due date. But you may want to pay down your balance weekly or every other week instead of waiting until the end of your billing cycle. Frequent payments could make your balances feel more manageable. Plus, paying frequently is a great way to keep your credit utilization low.

Track Your Purchases

Reviewing transactions regularly can help you stay aware of your spending patterns. You can either log in to your credit card account every week to review your purchases, or sign up for a budgeting app that syncs to your credit cards and categorizes purchases for you.

How Can I Manage Multiple Credit Cards?

Multiple credit card accounts can become complicated if you don’t stay organized. However, having more than one credit card could also make it easier to maximize rewards. Plus, if you have multiple credit cards, you may have a higher credit limit than with just a single card, which could help you maintain a lower credit utilization.

If you’re juggling multiple cards:

The Bottom Line: Use Your Credit Card With Care And In Moderation

There’s no exact rule for how often you should use your credit card. But regular activity can keep your account active and help you build credit.

Still, you don’t necessarily need to spend time tallying monthly credit card transactions. A better use of your efforts is to track your spending, making sure you’re keeping your credit card balances low and paying your bills on time every month.

Looking for a credit card that rewards your everyday spending? Explore more information about credit cards to find the right fit.

Maurie Backman

Maurie Backman has more than a decade of experience covering personal finance topics that include mortgages, loans, retirement, Social Security, and investing. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, she worked in the financial industry as well as in product design and marketing. Maurie holds a bachelor's degree from Binghamton University, where she studied creative writing and finance. She was happy to combine her two areas of study into a career that allows her to educate consumers on a host of financial topics.

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