You can build credit without carrying a balance. Keep your credit utilization low (less than 30%, even better if you can do less than 10%) at the end of your billing period. You may want to make mid-month payments to achieve this.

Request a CLI at whatever interval the card issuer will allow you to (usually 6 or 12 months) - that will also help you keep your utilization low.

Spending money you don’t currently have in your checking account is a slippery slope and will likely end up hurting your credit in the end.