@Anonymous wrote:
With all the talk about AA, is it okay to let your true balances report to your credit report?
I currently have a $3k balance out of $6k on my QS.
I am not looking to apply for anything for at least one year.
Therefore, would it be okay to let the $3k report? I see it as other lenders will be able to see my spend and usage if they HP me in the future. Am I correct in this matter? (I don't care about credit score right now)
There are different opinions on this, and all can be 'right' depending on the circumstances.
Since utilization has no memory for FICO purposes, unless you're about to make a major purchase (mortgage, auto) there's really not much to worry about.
When folks get AA there is usually more going on than just high utilization on a single card (I say usually, because there are always outliers, i.e. Barclays). As long as you're paying on-time and more than the minimum, you should be fine, especially with low overall utilization.
I'm currently on a 12-month 0% promo with Discover, and I have a 0% BT active with them as well. My purchase balance and BT balance combined are a little more than half of my $6k credit line. I'm honestly not concerned with this, though, because my overall utilization is below 10%, and I'm making payments well over the minimum to get the balance paid off before the APR promo expires.
Hope this helps! 
@Anonymous wrote:
With all the talk about AA, is it okay to let your true balances report to your credit report?
I currently have a $3k balance out of $6k on my QS.
I am not looking to apply for anything for at least one year.
Therefore, would it be okay to let the $3k report? I see it as other lenders will be able to see my spend and usage if they HP me in the future. Am I correct in this matter? (I don't care about credit score right now)
+1
I didn't address this above, but it's an excellent consideration as well. Having a high balance occasionally report demonstrates that you're actually capable of handling an account with a high credit line, not to mention it helps justify CLIs in the future. 
My credit report shows that on my USAA Visa, I once had a high balance of $5300. This was actually a 'fluke' (I made a large payment just after the statement generated) but now that the account is PIF, the credit bureau reports show that not only do I have a high credit line (relatively - for me), I've demonstrated that I can handle it.
In your case since the account in question is Capital One, allowing a high balance to report will definitely help when CLI time rolls around.
Another thing to demonstrate the use of your cards and show high balances on your report is to alternate with 0 balance reportings. Like this it is obvious that you do not carry balances and pif. In your case I would probably not report high balances on all cards at the same time but select a few every month and alternate. I am way too lazy to micromanage my accounts so I do let the balances report on my accounts and pay after statement is cut. The only time I do some cosmetic work on my reports by paying before statement cut is when I plan an app. This time for the SPG was an exception and a spontaneous app with balances on 9 of 13 accounts and still got approved. With some cosmetic work I might have been able to get a lower APR.. who knows?
Also I did challenge Score Watch a bit during my subscription because I wanted to test results with my profile so I have played dangerous games with reporting above 90% on my accounts to see impact. This is something I would not recommend with new accounts as it could result in AA. Outside of MyFico I would say the 0 balance reporting is not common. So let the balance report is a normal way of using a credit card 
@Anonymous wrote:Not sure how it works but my mother in law has a chase freedom with a 7000 limit. She charged 11000 on it had that balance on it for like 6 months and was only laying 120 a month. This was when her card was still in the 15 months 0%. Her score was in the 750 and when that balance showed up her score went to the 645 area. Now itsmall paid off and her score is in the 770 area. Her chase card is also at 18000 credit limit now
@Anonymous had the signature version, which lets you go over the limit without penalty. @Anonymous, you can get that apr reduced with amex.
Thanks for all of your guys' input. I really appreciate it, and learned a few new insights.
From now on, until I decide to app again, I will be letting all my balances post on my cards!
@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
With all the talk about AA, is it okay to let your true balances report to your credit report?
I currently have a $3k balance out of $6k on my QS.
I am not looking to apply for anything for at least one year.
Therefore, would it be okay to let the $3k report? I see it as other lenders will be able to see my spend and usage if they HP me in the future. Am I correct in this matter? (I don't care about credit score right now)+1
I didn't address this above, but it's an excellent consideration as well. Having a high balance occasionally report demonstrates that you're actually capable of handling an account with a high credit line, not to mention it helps justify CLIs in the future.
My credit report shows that on my USAA Visa, I once had a high balance of $5300. This was actually a 'fluke' (I made a large payment just after the statement generated) but now that the account is PIF, the credit bureau reports show that not only do I have a high credit line (relatively - for me), I've demonstrated that I can handle it.
In your case since the account in question is Capital One, allowing a high balance to report will definitely help when CLI time rolls around.
You have any evidence of this? Sounds like a myth or something people wish was true. Having a balance post in the OP's case will not matter except for a utilization hit, but it doesn' show any bank that you "can handle it".
