How many cards to let report a balance?

[youngandcreditwrthy]

As it stands, I have 17 open cards. I currently have balances on four of them. I can pif two of those four and I try to have Amex report zero balance.

I've literally noticed no difference in my FICOs between  having three or seven cards reporting a balance.

I know that the ideal util for FICO scoring is about 9%. I'm around 12% atm.

So how many cards should I let report a balance? Please refer me to a post if this has been posted somewhere. But I think each situation with regard to number of cards is unique LOL...

[RnJ]

How many months have you played out different scenarios with util?

My scores are in their best shape with only 1-2% total util (total, usually only letting 1-2 cards out of 9 report).  The last 5 months, all reported 0 balances and I still saw 1-3 point increases.  So, when I let one or two report a balance again, I can almost depend that they aren't going to be affected by more than a few points (from looking at a full 6-12 month past history).  I also have an average set spend on them (i.e., category spend, etc), so that helps keep me on track.

Try a lower util on just a couple cards for one month to see what happens.  If you're spending on all 17 cards each month, I can see how that might be difficult to manage, but if you can do it as an experiment, might be worth it?

[-Wade-]

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:

As it stands, I have 17 open cards. I currently have balances on four of them. I can pif two of those four and I try to have Amex report zero balance.

I've literally noticed no difference in my FICOs between  having three or seven cards reporting a balance.

I know that the ideal util for FICO scoring is about 9%. I'm around 12% atm.

So how many cards should I let report a balance? Please refer me to a post if this has been posted somewhere. But I think each situation with regard to number of cards is unique LOL...

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I get the best score with only 1 card reporting with 1% uti

[efranklin23]

It's okay to let one or two report as long as the range is between. 1-9%. Seeing you reporting at 12%, you need to lower that Utility a Lil bit for best results.

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:

As it stands, I have 17 open cards. I currently have balances on four of them. I can pif two of those four and I try to have Amex report zero balance.

I've literally noticed no difference in my FICOs between  having three or seven cards reporting a balance.

I know that the ideal util for FICO scoring is about 9%. I'm around 12% atm.

So how many cards should I let report a balance? Please refer me to a post if this has been posted somewhere. But I think each situation with regard to number of cards is unique LOL...

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I have roughly the same number of credit cards, and from my own experience, the "under 10% total," along with just one card, and upwards of four showing a balance really didn't change the score dramatically (point or two).

[Repo-ed]

21 accounts here, with 2 reporting a $300 combined bal.

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

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@Repo-ed wrote:

21 accounts here, with 2 reporting a $300 combined bal.

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Since the algorythms are a forbidden mystery, I'm guessing that the increased "payment OK's" listed each month/per card, offset the ding of a multiple card balance posting, up to a certain point, that goes beyond the typical 3 to 5 card holder.

[shakalaka]

I have two reporting (around 3%). Only one reporting gave me a 5 point jump ... so I really don't mind. And for my CSP approval I had 3 reporting (one is a charge card).

[lg8302ch]

I played around SW and tested the impact with number of accounts reporting a balance with 1% total util. My heavy ding on Fico score is when over 50% report a balance. Tested with 1$ balance reporting on 8 of 8 accounts last year and lost 45+ points. That was a shocking result for me but glad that Fico has no memory..LOL

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Thanks for the info yall!!

I could get it down to just two balances. I do still have a BOA card with an $8000/10000 balance. I'm going to get this under 80% util soon and maybe ask for a cli in two or so months. 

I would test the waters and see what happens when I have more than that reporting a balance, but I feeel like that would be risking AA. All it takes is one creditor using an outdated report as they often do to make a real time AA decision!! lol Amex seems to love using a two month old report on me. heh