Update: I was paying my credit card the wrong way for 3 years
Found out last week that I had been paying my Chase card twice a month instead of just once, and it never helped my score at all. My buddy who works at a bank in Toledo asked why my balance kept showing up on my report and I had no answer. Turns out the second payment was just sitting there as a credit and the card still reported the same balance on the statement date. I moved my payment to 3 days before the closing date instead and my score went up 40 points in one cycle. Does anyone know if the same trick works with store cards or is it just the big banks?