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CredittotheMax
Frequent Contributor

Paying bills

I'm kind of confused about this whole utilization thing. Do you guys pay before the statment ends, so it get reported as zero or after it ends. I usual pay when I get my statement. 

$5k$4.5k$2.8k$8k$500
FICO = EQ: 786 (1/15) TU:774 (2/15) EX: 767 (2/15)
Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
nicholasyud
Valued Contributor

Re: Paying bills


@CredittotheMax wrote:

I'm kind of confused about this whole utilization thing. Do you guys pay before the statment ends, so it get reported as zero or after it ends. I usual pay when I get my statement. 


Pay before the statment ends ( 3 4 days in advance )

Starting Score: 560
Current Score: ?
Goal Score: 800
Message 2 of 10
CredittotheMax
Frequent Contributor

Re: Paying bills

But, doesn't zero balance indicate you don't use your account at all?

$5k$4.5k$2.8k$8k$500
FICO = EQ: 786 (1/15) TU:774 (2/15) EX: 767 (2/15)
Message 3 of 10
CreditWorld2013
Frequent Contributor

Re: Paying bills

Now I'm getting mixed up on this! FICO says to have between 1-9% balance report for optimal score BUT does that mean only 1-9% on any card or 1-9% based on your total Available Credit. For example, If you have 2 credit cards each at $1,000 Credit Line a total Available credit would be $2,000. Are you suppose leave 1-9% on 1 card so a balance of $70 (7%) on one card or 7% based on the $2,000 which would mean a $140 balance? Also I'm getting mixed up on this statement end. I charge up lets say $700 and PIF before the statement cut date but a statement generates/reports anyways. Then every few months I let a small balance report and pay before the due date. Are you suppose to leave a small balance report every month or can you always Pay in full before the statement cuts and then just pick a month you want to show a small balance?

Message 4 of 10
creditnocash
Valued Contributor

Re: Paying bills

Running theory is 1%-9% of all total credit, but you can only have one card reporting for optimal score boost. 

 

for reporting balances are you talking about for the creditor or for reports? 

 

ive pif on a bunch of my accounts since july, i havent really had any adverse action, i use almost all of them every month but i ALWAYS paid them before statement to let them report 0. and after christmas shopping since i let like 7 cards report and 3 appeared maxed out my score plummeted until i pay them off. 



Current: Fico ScoresEQ~706 TU~719 EX 709 4/28/23

Inquiries (24 Months): EQ 0 TU 0 EX 0| Most Recent: A LONG WHILE
Over 12 Months:0


2023 Goals:
Buy A Home
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Amex Zync(Unicorn)
Chase Freedom$1500
Discover IT$7,400
Citi DC $10,000
Citizens Mastercard$7,000

Message 5 of 10
chnceit
Valued Contributor

Re: Paying bills


@CredittotheMax wrote:

I'm kind of confused about this whole utilization thing. Do you guys pay before the statment ends, so it get reported as zero or after it ends. I usual pay when I get my statement. 


This is what I do. I report a high balance on each credit card then pay it off after the statment close (Not all at one of course). When I know I am going to app in the upcoming months then I make sure I pay off/down my balances before it reports so I can have below 10% UTI accross all my cards preferably below 8%. 

 

It is wise to do research on each CCC before apping because some companies like CITI like to see a balance reporting as most members on here state. 

 

Also when you let your report show in a high balance then they see usage which IMO is a great thing becuase they cant come back to say your not using your current credit. 

 

 


Last Pulled EQ: 809
Last Credit Card App: 02/05/2016
Last CLI: 02/06/2016
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Message 6 of 10
SnackTrader
Valued Contributor

Re: Paying bills

The first five or six posts in this thread should answer most of your utilization questions.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/To-Pay-or-Not-to-Pay-that-is-the-Question/td-p/1827065

In My Wallet: Amex BCP (12/12) $50,000, Chase Freedom (12/12) $16,500, Cap1 Quicksilver (6/12) $14,000, Barclaycard Rewards (5/13) $10,500, Citi Prestige (4/16) $30,000

Last App: June 27, 2015
Message 7 of 10
CredittotheMax
Frequent Contributor

Re: Paying bills


@SnackTrader wrote:
The first five or six posts in this thread should answer most of your utilization questions.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/To-Pay-or-Not-to-Pay-that-is-the-Question/td-p/1827065

Ok, thanks. So, as far as I know, pay off all accounts before statement close except for one and leave 1-9% usage on that. Am I correct? The only thing I'm afraid of is it would look like my accounts are inactive because its all zero balance.

$5k$4.5k$2.8k$8k$500
FICO = EQ: 786 (1/15) TU:774 (2/15) EX: 767 (2/15)
Message 8 of 10
SnackTrader
Valued Contributor

Re: Paying bills


@CredittotheMax wrote:

@SnackTrader wrote:
The first five or six posts in this thread should answer most of your utilization questions.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/To-Pay-or-Not-to-Pay-that-is-the-Question/td-p/1827065

Ok, thanks. So, as far as I know, pay off all accounts before statement close except for one and leave 1-9% usage on that. Am I correct? The only thing I'm afraid of is it would look like my accounts are inactive because its all zero balance.


Who are you worried will see that the cards are inactive? And what do you think the implications of their viewing that fact will be?

 

The only thing creditors will see when your report looks this way is a person who uses credit RESPONSIBLY. Heavy use and responsible use don't always go hand in hand. 

 

Think about it this way - if I'm a creditor and see that you aren't holding a balance on your other cards I'm probably thinking a number of things. But the best thing I am thinking is that "this person is not desperate for credit. They are living their life without the use of credit card balances."

 

Now, the worst thing they are thinking is,"this person never uses their existing cards". But what if that creditor then says, "wait a minute, my card is different, they will use my card and they will love it". And then the creditor remembers that you aren't carrying a balance because you appear financially secure and they say " well gee, this guy will probably pay me back". End of conversation, approve (hopefully).

 

Also, your credit report does show the highest balance you charged up to, and shows the balances reported in previous months on Experian (some argue if creditors can see this, but that's a different conversation). And, since one card is showing a balance, albeit small, that shows you at least use credit to some extent. And that's usually profitable. 

 

AND...just to push this conversation in another direction, if utilization reporting the way you previously mentioned does indeed maximize your score, who is to say that a manual review of your report will even be needed. Maximizing FICO has the ability to obtain automatic or system-generated approvals and may overlook aspects that he utilization. There's obviously a ton of debate on that too. But anyway, you don't have to take part in any of this if you don't feel comfortable with it or if you think a different method will get you better results.


In My Wallet: Amex BCP (12/12) $50,000, Chase Freedom (12/12) $16,500, Cap1 Quicksilver (6/12) $14,000, Barclaycard Rewards (5/13) $10,500, Citi Prestige (4/16) $30,000

Last App: June 27, 2015
Message 9 of 10
CredittotheMax
Frequent Contributor

Re: Paying bills


@SnackTrader wrote:

@CredittotheMax wrote:

@SnackTrader wrote:
The first five or six posts in this thread should answer most of your utilization questions.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/To-Pay-or-Not-to-Pay-that-is-the-Question/td-p/1827065

Ok, thanks. So, as far as I know, pay off all accounts before statement close except for one and leave 1-9% usage on that. Am I correct? The only thing I'm afraid of is it would look like my accounts are inactive because its all zero balance.


Who are you worried will see that the cards are inactive? And what do you think the implications of their viewing that fact will be?

 

The only thing creditors will see when your report looks this way is a person who uses credit RESPONSIBLY. Heavy use and responsible use don't always go hand in hand. 

 

Think about it this way - if I'm a creditor and see that you aren't holding a balance on your other cards I'm probably thinking a number of things. But the best thing I am thinking is that "this person is not desperate for credit. They are living their life without the use of credit card balances."

 

Now, the worst thing they are thinking is,"this person never uses their existing cards". But what if that creditor then says, "wait a minute, my card is different, they will use my card and they will love it". And then the creditor remembers that you aren't carrying a balance because you appear financially secure and they say " well gee, this guy will probably pay me back". End of conversation, approve (hopefully).

 

Also, your credit report does show the highest balance you charged up to, and shows the balances reported in previous months on Experian (some argue if creditors can see this, but that's a different conversation). And, since one card is showing a balance, albeit small, that shows you at least use credit to some extent. And that's usually profitable. 

 

AND...just to push this conversation in another direction, if utilization reporting the way you previously mentioned does indeed maximize your score, who is to say that a manual review of your report will even be needed. Maximizing FICO has the ability to obtain automatic or system-generated approvals and may overlook aspects that he utilization. There's obviously a ton of debate on that too. But anyway, you don't have to take part in any of this if you don't feel comfortable with it or if you think a different method will get you better results.


Dang, that just cleared everything up. But, I have heard that citi likes to see balance is that true?

$5k$4.5k$2.8k$8k$500
FICO = EQ: 786 (1/15) TU:774 (2/15) EX: 767 (2/15)
Message 10 of 10
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