Reported UTI vs Actual Charges- and reporting dates? Very confused.

[Anonymous]

Total Noob trying to clarify a few things.

After reading thread after thread- and thinking I have clarification on this whole UTI/High balance/ totsl usage/due date vs reporting date jargon- I turn another corner and find that I am lost again. Maybe I am overthinking it entirely....

My fiance and I are rebuilding our credit in order to qualify for a mortgage, between August- Sept 2016.

Husband's current scores are: TU 577/ EQ 585/ EX 575 (5 collections- 2 due to fall off Feb 2016) via CK and Experian.

Mine are: N/A (4 collections- 2 coming off in Feb, others will be paid off by May, no FICO.)

 Anywho- we have been doing minor things to rebild as of this month- such as getting rid of some collections, and adding to our lines of credit- but February is our real "nitty gritty" starting month, and I want to make sure I have our CC UTI, etc, down to a "science," as it is seemingly the one thing REALLY "affecting" our/ his FICO (due to high UTI, which I know will change by paying down- and the addition of our new cards, when they report.)

Our current cards are:

-A credit union card with a $500 limit (this will be a JOINT account come end of Feb to help build my credit,) with a current UTI of 75%, which will be at 5% UTI before the "closing date" of Feb 30th. 

-A Capitol One Quicksilver One Rewards MC- $300 limit (hubby,) with no UTI as it hasn't arrived yet.

-A Capitol One Sec with a $200 limit (me,) with no UTI as it hasn't arrived yet.

SO, in order to gain a decent score boost over the next 8-9 months, I've gathered that what I would want to do is keep all 3 cards consistently showing UTI when reported- but only keep 1% on the Cap1 cards, and 5% on the CU card, showing a total UTI of 6% for each of us.... right? From what I hear, this is the best way to go (showing UTI while always keeping it under 9% total?)

Now, here is where my dilemma really starts, because I have seen a barrage of advice:

In order to obtain/maintain the above, from what I understand- I should use the cards like debit cards- only charging what we have the money in the bank for- and paying it off ASAP or before the "closing/ reporting date", then paying off the remaining balance before the "due date?" (Example: Charge $100 on card, pay $95 before closing/ reporting date of the 29th, pay remaining $5 before due date of the 15th).....so that we at least show some UTI, and a STATEMENT balance of $5- but end up with a FINAL balance of $0?

If that were all there was to accomplish what I seek, it would be fine and dandy- but I see some people saying that their cards report their USAGE, AND their balance as of the closing date (and I have also seen some people who's cards report AFTER their due date- which has hurt them as well? SOOO confused.)

So, say if I charge $100 to the Cap1 with a $300 limit, that's a 33% over-all UTI, and if that's the amount being reported- even if I make a payment of $95 before my statement comes out, leaving an ACTUAL balance of $5- that would be bad because I don't want USAGE screwing me up. Does this make any sense? In your opinions- how often does Cap1 report this way- if ever? Or, am I misconstruing what others have said- and cards ALWAYS report JUST a statement balance (which should be $5?)

Our CU card only reports the BALANCE, as it is, as of the 30th, and my min payment is $11 before the 24th- so on that one I know we're OKAY! I am more worried about the Cap1 cards.

Also, what is the deal with NOT charging anything on your card between the closing date and the due date? I am lost on that as well, I think.

Am I making this too complicated? I just REALLY don't want to screw us up- because I've seen it possible to go from a 585 to a 620 in six months! This is my goal.

Here is a payment plan I have come up with based on some of our current bills (of course, dependent on the closing dates/due dates for the new cards):

Charges Made on Cap1 QS: ($0 St. Bal)      Charges Made on SCU: ($370 St. Bal)       Charges Made on Cap1 Sec: ($0 St. Bal)   

1/19/2016: $40 Phone                                       2/2/2016: $10 Gas                                         2/16/2016: $46 Water                                                    

Cap1 QS Report: TBA                                               SCU Report: Feb 30th                                     Cap1 Sec Report: TBA

Payments:  

For D's Credit in Feb:                  Reported UTI:      For A's Credit in Feb:                Reported  UTI:       TOTAL UTI: 7%

SCU: $355/ 28th                                  5%                 SCU: Same/Reflected                          5%       

Cap1 QS: $35 by TBD/$5 by TBD     1%                 Cap1 Sec: $41 by TBD/$5 by TBD     2%

Bottom line:

Is my formula for payment correct, to avoid interest/ build FICO/ keep CC company happy?

When should we, and when should we NOT use our cards?

What is the deal with reporting ACTUAL usage vs reported UTI- and closing dates vs reporting dates vs due dates?

Does Cap1 report weird, or is it pretty straight forward, like our credit union card?

I'm sorry this was so long- it's just how my brain functions....and I am beginning to question that as well.

Thanks All!!!!

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your success thus far. In the future, may I recommend to include a lot less information in the post  - it's just too much for most people to read through and process. You also increase your chance of responses if you post a concise, brief question.

I will speak to one question you had posted. Perhaps others can respond to other sections.

you mentioned:

 I see some people saying that their cards report their USAGE, AND their balance as of the closing date (and I have also seen some people whose cards report AFTER their due date- which has hurt them as well.

Answer -Credit cards will report high balance (the highest amount you have ever charged on the card), and balance as of the closing date. Both will show on your report. The balance as of the closing date is the one you will want to be concerned with. If you would like a 0 balance to report, you will want to ensure that the 0 balance is showing on the account about 5 days prior to the statement cut date, just to be safe. The statement date is different from the payment due date.

Secondly, some cards (Synchrony Bank, for example) can and do report updated balances at different times throughout the month. This is often referred to as "reporting midcycle."

 A lender has the right to update the information in your report at any time since they are your lender. Generally speaking for Capital One, I have not seen them them report midcycle, but YMMV. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I will take "SO, in order to gain a decent score boost over the next 8-9 months, I've gathered that what I would want to do is keep all 3 cards consistently showing UTI when reported- but only keep 1% on the Cap1 cards, and 5% on the CU card, showing a total UTI of 6% for each of us.... right? From what I hear, this is the best way to go (showing UTI while always keeping it under 9% total?)"

With so few tradelines, you only want ONE reporting a balance at any given time. There's no reason you'd have to rotate that and make yourself crazy. Keep the CU card reporting 5% and pay the others to zero before the statement date each month. Done. 

If one has 10-15 tradelines, they can have a few report balances and still get the max fico benefit (from my understanding, just from what I've read here, I'm no expert). But with three tradelines, you only want one max reporting between 1-9% util on THAT card.