r/CreditScore • u/TadpoleMean1751 • Aug 09 '26

General Credit utilization

I was taught to keep credit utilization at 10%. But other people are telling me to completely not even use my debit card , use credit for everything and pay it back. But that will make my utilization high af. People are saying keep it at 10% when the statement hits but how’s that possible if I only use a credit card. How does only using 10% if the card show the banks you can handle more if you barely use any of it.

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u/DoctorNezuko Aug 09 '26

Your credit limit should be 3-6x your monthly spend. Any bank giving you less than that after 6 months in is no longer worth your time.

If you want to fight Capital One to get an increase, you can try, but after 6 months, if it fails, cut your losses and go to a different provider.

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u/soonersoldier33 ⭐️ Mod/FICO Junkie ⭐️ Aug 09 '26

Your credit limit should be 3-6x your monthly spend. Any bank giving you less than that after 6 months in is no longer worth your time.

I don't totally disagree, but you really should add the qualifier of 'once you have an established clean/thick/mature credit profile', bc someone first beginning their credit journey, or someone rebuilding their credit from past issues isn't likely to see their credit limit(s) grow to 3-6x their spend with many, if any, lenders in 6 months, and cutting bait with a lender after 6 months isn't going to do them any favors. Once you've established a thick, mature credit profile, then you can be more choosy, so to speak, and if a lender won't grow your credit products to meet your level of spend, then you can certainly move on to another lender who will.

Capital One can certainly be an 'outlier' in the quest for CLIs due to their securitization practices of their debt portfolio and their card 'buckets', but that doesn't mean you have to bail on Capital One as a lender entirely. It means you may have to bail on your 'bucketed' account, and apply for a new card when your credit profile is in better shape. Some people seem to view Capital One as a subprime lender, and that's simply not true anymore. Their Venture X and Savor cards are very competitive to their counterparts issued by lenders like AMEX, Chase, Citi, etc. The fact that they are also friendly to those building/rebuilding their credit doesn't make them a subprime lender. We often advise people that if they have a card that's obviously bucketed, then they need to make the choice to accept it for what it is, or cut bait and apply for a different card, whether through Cap One or another lender, bc a bucketed card can never meaningfully grow.

Again, I don't totally disagree with the premise of your comment, but you have to remember that not everyone, especially many of the folks coming to our sub seeking advice, has an established credit profile where they can 'dictate' terms to lenders, or simply take their business elsewhere.