Question for the 850s

[Anonymous]

Is there a high score point at which you can stop being so meticulous about having all but one card report a $0 statement balance and the remaining report a 1-9% statement balance? Or is the idea to have such a high overall credit limit that you'd naturally be coming in at under 9%?

I want to put all my recurring monthly payments (utilities, etc.) on my new $500 QS1 but I'm having to move payment dates around so they are far away from my statement date. Would be nice to one day just put all my recurring payments on a card and not fret about statement balances (but auto-paying in full, of course).

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is there a high score point at which you can stop being so meticulous about having all but one card report a $0 statement balance and the remaining report a 1-9% statement balance? Or is the idea to have such a high overall credit limit that you'd naturally be coming in at under 9%?

I want to put all my recurring monthly payments (utilities, etc.) on my new $500 QS1 but I'm having to move payment dates around so they are far away from my statement date. Would be nice to one day just put all my recurring payments on a card and not fret about statement balances (but auto-paying in full, of course).

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A second card with a different closing date would help. Capital One will issue two or more accounts....

[disdreamin]

I don't have 850's but I will share my thoughts and experiences. After going through a period where I worried about utilization and number of accounts reporting balances, I've pretty much just let things fall where they may. My scores are down perhaps 10-15 points (but I've also got at least one inquiry on each report) but thankfully I feel like I have a cushion where I can afford those swings. If I were planning on applying for a mortgage that would warrant my being diligent about maximizing my score, but what I have works outside of that.

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is there a high score point at which you can stop being so meticulous about having all but one card report a $0 statement balance and the remaining report a 1-9% statement balance? Or is the idea to have such a high overall credit limit that you'd naturally be coming in at under 9%?

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It's up to each to determine when and where they optimize utilization.  I don't have 850's.  My scores are roughly around the 800 mark and I don't bother ensuring that all but one report 0 balances with the one reporting 1-9%.  My overall utilization is about 8% with my spend and limits.  A couple of cards carrying balances on 0% offers are ~20% each.

[Anonymous]

Scores in the high 700s and beyond allows for some slack. However, as you've suspected, the easiest way to avoid worrying about utility is having multiple cards with high limits. Concentrating lots of debt on any one card isn't ideal, but far less of an issue when one also has other cards with very low (under 10%) to zero balances.

Back in my better credit days, I never worried about utility and had no trouble whatsoever getting new prime cards, zillions of 0% offers, and had multiple cards with $10K-$30K+ limits without ever asking for any credit limit increases - if I had asked, two of my cards would have likely been upwards of $50K. Less than ideal utility will drop score - may not reach / stay in 800s, but mid to high 700s is sufficient for most lenders.

To reiterate, having lots of available credit allows for keeping utility low with minimal effort.

For those in rebuild, paying in full / aggressively paying down balances is more important than worrying about what the util will be at statement cut. If anything, having high util can help in getting more frequent and generous limit increases. Related to that, assuming an excellent, aggressive payment history, don't sweat a high util, since the creditor may raise the limit around the same time the statement cuts ... for example, a util of 80% (400/500) could suddenly become 40% (400/1000) due to a limit increase.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is there a high score point at which you can stop being so meticulous about having all but one card report a $0 statement balance and the remaining report a 1-9% statement balance? Or is the idea to have such a high overall credit limit that you'd naturally be coming in at under 9%?

I want to put all my recurring monthly payments (utilities, etc.) on my new $500 QS1 but I'm having to move payment dates around so they are far away from my statement date. Would be nice to one day just put all my recurring payments on a card and not fret about statement balances (but auto-paying in full, of course).

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I really dislike worrying about Util and when to pay to report what I want. I did it for a couple months to get my scores up to refinance some loans. After that I realized that with my scores up I could just get cards with a CL high enough that I don't have to worry about it. While not 850, I had my scores at the 780+ mark, added several cards and my total CL went from under 6k to over 100k. Now I can run my normal 2-4k a month and not worry about what balance is reported. My scores took a slight hit with the new accounts and HP's but that will change quickly enough for me.

When I am actively looking for a lot of new credit I will probably worry about what reports when, but for most things my scores are always over 750 and I don't have to worry about the daily number. The new credit cards also meant a lot of initial spend bonuses and some real rewards cards so I am now learning how to maximize those and enjoying the returns

[Imhotrodcrazy]

Unlike most here,  I seem to get the best results score wise when I have 2 cards report in the 1-9% range.  I have a total of 6 cards,  but I only use 4.