According to the most recent statistics, the average American household carries around $7,200 in credit card debt. And that debt is usually working against them, not for them.

But there are simple ways you can get your credit cards to finally start working for you. You just have to know the secrets and leverage them to your advantage. In fact, if you pay attention to the trends of credit card owners, most people end up indebted because they simply don’t pay enough attention to the details!

Instead, you can adopt a few simple habits that will let you enjoy the benefits of credit cards — cash flow flexibility and rewards perks, to name two — without the dangerous downsides.

Follow these tips to make credit your best friend (instead of your mortal enemy):

Ways to Get the Most out of Your Credit Card

1) Charge Only What’s in Your Checking Account

The smartest way to use your credit card is to treat it like it’s your debit card. You only use it for a purchase if you’d be able to pay the bill with the money currently in your checking account.

There are three ways to make this happen in the real world:

• Monitor your credit card and checking account balances to ensure you don’t spend more than you can repay.
• Pay your credit card bill more often — instead of once a month, you could switch to once a week or even more frequently than that.
• Use an app, such as Debitize, that automatically deducts the money from your checking account whenever you charge something to your credit card.

Related: The Simple Strategy to Get Out of Credit Card Debt

2) Make lump sum payments

A technique that many people use is putting huge payments on the credit card and then using it to make other payments. Once you make a lump sum payment before the statement is generated that amount will be reflected on your statement.

You can use the card with the newly added payment to pay other expenses and earn credit card rewards points for paying all your regular bills without incurring additional debt.

3) Use Your Card with the Greatest Rewards

Lots of people have credit cards to earn cash back or travel rewards on purchases. When managed correctly, credit cards can actually earn you hundreds of dollars a year just for using them for everyday purchases.

To really benefit, use one or more cashback or rewards credit cards for almost everything you buy every month. If you spend $2,000 a month for all the various expenses that can be put on a card and get 2% back, that’s $40 back in your pocket each month—or $480 a year.

4) Pay Your Balance in Full Each Month

Leaving any part of your balance means you’ll have to pay interest and it deducts from the credit you have available. This is one of the most important rules to follow if you plan to use your credit card for everything.

Credit card companies make it easy to get into this situation by only requiring you pay a small minimum payment each month, usually between 2% and 5% of your balance. So until you hit your card’s credit limit—the most the bank will let you borrow—it’s very easy to charge a large balance that’s difficult or impossible for you to pay off.

5) Use the Card with the Best Rates and Highest Limit

Financial institutions are pretty competitive when it comes to the products they offer to customers. Therefore, you can easily find one that offers better rates and consider switching to that institution.

If you have multiple cards, choose to use the card with the best rates. Also, consider the card with the highest limit and keep your usage under 30% of your available credit. Having higher limits helps keep your credit utilization ratio lower because you are using less.

For example, if you have a card with a $5,000 credit limit and charge $1,250 per month, you are using only 25% of your available credit which is good. However, if you had a credit limit of $3,000 and charged $1,250 you are using closer to 40% which is too high.

Having a higher credit limit works to lower your credit utilization which makes up 30% of your overall credit score.

Related: Amazing Credit Hacks That are So Simple

Your credit card does not always have to be viewed as the enemy! It can actually be a very helpful tool when financial needs arise, especially when those needs are totally unexpected. What matters most is how you manage the card and how well you do at successfully repaying the debt.

You’ll undoubtedly find that there’s no need to be an accounting guru to get your credit card on your side. You simply need to understand the basics of debits and credits, interest, and due dates. Everything else will fall right into place!