Experts say that you do not need to carry a balance on your credit card to get a higher FICO score. Lenders report monthly balances to credit bureaus. Your balance is weighted against available credit and they create a debt to credit ratio. They will also look at your credit utilization and develop patterns that may negatively or positively impact your FICO score. Keep in mind that the amount you owe is only contribute 30 percent towards the FICO score. Other factors that are considered include payment history (35 percent), length of credit (15 percent), types of credit (10 percent), and new credit (10 percent). Paying off the entire amount owe on a credit card is also not going to reward you with a higher FICO score. The key factor here again is debt to credit ratio. Having a small balance won’t hurt, but utilization of credit also need to occur. So, use your credit cards for smaller amounts frequently and pay off the balance on time to avoid interest as well as impacting for a lower score. How small credit balance to maintain on each credit card? Experts say less than 30 percent of the credit limit will help to improve FICO score.