If having one card report a small balance with the rest at zero helps keep your score high, chances are that the cards are paid down before the statement date.
Irregular bills, like hitting a toll threshold, can be a real nuisance though. You just never know if they pop up during the narrow window between the cards are paid down and the statement posts.
I put them on the card that reports a balance (and the credit limit for util), because it doesn't really matter if the balance is $20 or $200. DW and I have taken it a step further, as each of us have such a card.
Those are the only two cards of ours with no criss-cross AU, which minimizes the impact of balances reporting. The cards do not have our highest credit limits nor are they the oldest. We share the good stuff and separate what's best left as such.
I wonder if others have favorite tricks along these lines.
