What happens if I only pay off part of my credit card balance each month?

Tony emailed: If I have a credit card that is under a promotional rate of 0% interest and I am not paying off the balance in full, but I am making a payment above the minimum payment, does this affect my credit score negatively?

If your credit card balances are increasing each month, then yes, your score might suffer. Making partial payments – even above the minimum – while continuing to run up your balances, will raise your credit utilization ratio. (The credit utilization ratio, or debt-to-limit ratio, compares the amount of credit being used to the total credit available.) The lower the ratio, the better for your score. It’s recommended you keep your utilization ratio below 30%.