<prompt> Human: Ive kept my credit lines simple and tight to avoid things getting out of control- more specifically, I have a credit card with a 3k limit on it. I try to keep the balance around 30 and in return keeping my score in good standing. Of course there are times it fluctuates, and there are times its tough to catch up in my freelance business.Im interested in gaining more credit. From a creditors standpoint, is it best to increase my limit or to open a new line of credit? I may even be interested in doing both.I also have the opportunity to travel a fair amount for work and traveling is paid for by me is there a credit card I should consider specifically for travel expenses? I know very little about these things- clearly- and have played it safe for fear of getting ahead of myself, but as my career and opportunities grow, credit rewards may help me take full advantage of these opportunities. Thank you for taking the time to help me understand my options!Assistant: Keeping a balance on your CC doesnt help you any. Indeed, it actively hurts you you must submit to stupid amounts of interest payments.Your score literally isnt better if you keep that 1k always on there vs if you just pay it to 0 every month.On that grounds, I would suggest paying it to 0 every month and avoiding the interest expense.If you get a new CC, your average age of accounts will go down by some depending on how many other things are reporting. After that, it will again just go up by 1 month per 1 month as you would expect if you have more accounts.There is no reason to submit yourself to that immediate reduction in account length, though. You are just as well off if you get a credit limit increase with the CC you already have. That does the same effect and doesnt negatively affect you.There are travel credit cards for sure and if you will travel for work you should think seriously about getting one. I dont want to advise on which you should get, though. Instead you should browse the selection on which is an excellent source for knowledge about CC offers.Human: Thank you so much for your reply! When I said 30, I meant I try to keep it there to serve my score, I meant more or less that I try not to go above, and any minimum payments I make are to ensure its 30 or below- I have no reservations about paying off the card when I can- I shouldve clarified that I meant 30 or less balance on the account.Thats a great point about the age of the credit- I had no idea that was taken into consideration! Definitely going to go about increasing the limit on my current account.Thank you for passing along that resource! I will look into that as well for my interest in a travel friendly card!  <response>: and any minimum payments I make are to ensure its 30 or belowThe other guy said you should be making maximum payments to take the balance to 0. This is better for your credit than always keeping a balance and you will save money on interest. As for the 30 rule, thats really a short term credit thing. If you run your credit to 80 and pay it off completely every month your credit number will drop a little but when you want to open a new line of credit you can just take two months ahead of time of only letting credit usage get to 30. 