2. Carrying large balances relative to your credit line.
Carrying a balance on your credit card can hurt your credit score if the balance gets too high. Your credit score is influenced by how much available credit you have and the balances you owe, on both revolving and installment accounts. Revolving accounts (like a credit card) are beneficial to have on credit reports, because, over time, they show a history of how well you manage credit. If the amount you owe on your revolving account is more than 30 percent of your credit, it may have a negative impact. Carrying high revolving balances increases the chance that you could have trouble paying back any additional credit. It’s usually beneficial to keep your credit card balances as low as possible, between 10 and 25 percent.