What should my balances be when applying for a new card?

[DieGo2SHAE]

Hi there, new user here =]

This Saturday (9/7) I'll be applying for a CC. I currently have 2 CC's; my BofA and Discover. My BofA statement closed last month and I purposefully left a small balance on it (~5%) with the upcoming application in mind (payment not due until 9/17 so I'll pay it off before then to avoid interest). I was under the impression that my Discover should have a small balance to report on Friday (statement cuts 9/6) as well so I currently have it at the same ~5% mark, but after reading around here I seem to get that I should pay it off to 0 before the statement cuts this Friday in order to have a small balance reporting on one card and none on the other. Shoud l? Or should I leave the 5% balance on my Discover as well? It's a Citi Forward that I'll be applying for if it makes any difference.

Thanks to anyone that can help =)

[maiden_girl]

Your UTL should be under 20% during app time.

[jamie123]

You should pay the Discover down to $0.

Most people get their best scores by having one card report a small balance and the rest report $0.

You get a small nick for every card more than one that reports a balance.

[DieGo2SHAE]

@jamie123 Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for =)

If anyone knows, why is there a penalty to the credit score for having a small balance on more than one card?

[wHiTeSoL]

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@DieGo2SHAE wrote:

@@jamie123 Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for =)

If anyone knows, why is there a penalty to the credit score for having a small balance on more than one card?

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Fico gives or takes away points based on uti % and # of cards with a balance. (Fico doesn't care about the balance amounts really, ony %s)

higher % = lower scores

more # with balances = lower scores