I was recently approved for a Barclayard Rewards card, which was surprising since I'm not yet a year out of bankruptcy and still have some baddies (like liens) on my report. That and having a low income. Anyway, after I was accepted, I researched what credit scores for said card members are, on the average, This led me to check my FICOs again and review my reports. Now I have new questions! 
1. When I pulled my EX report, it gave me a "C" for using 0% of my credit card utilization. This is a secured card from my CU. But I use it monthly! I just pay it off every month. Why is EX giving me a lower score saying I have 0% utilization. I keep my utilization low, around 5% or just under, but still. Is it possible I am paying it off too early? Other reports have shown that I am keeping my utilization at about 5%, so it's showing up somewhere. Any thoughts?
2. I've been very careful with my first card over the last 9 months that I've had it (as noted above), and I wish to be equally responsible with the Barclay card; however, I am once again reading conflicting things about cc use and credit score. I was under the impression that I need to always stay under 30% utilization, and I have. But I've read a few times that it's more than OK (and even beneficial in terms of CLIs) to go over the 30%, just to not carry a balance over and not to max out. I want to continue building my score, and I would like a higher CL than what I have on the Barclay. I won't charge what I can't pay off each month, but is it better to show that I can pay off a higher balance each month, say 50% of my limit, or is it better to always stay under 30%? I am meaning this in terms of score increases as well as CLI.
Not without a bit of irony, I just now (while writing this post) checked my Experian report pulled from their website (that I subscribe to) rather than the one here that comes with the FICO. The report I just pulled tells me I'm keeping my utilization below 16%! Same company, same realities regarding my card usgage, but one is saying I am not carrying a balance and gives me negative marks, and the other says I'm doing well with my balance, and gives me positive marks. What gives?
Starting Score: TU 641 2/28/13 EQ 640 3/1/13