Utilization-Am I doing this right?

[Anonymous]

I know this question has been asked 50 million times, but I am wondering if someone can help me with my particular situation.

I have two credit cards, both with $7,000 limits.  One I have a couple of automatic charges on it for a couple hundred bucks; paid monthly, no big deal.  The other is a mileage rewards card, so I put $3,000 to $4,000 a month on it to get the points.  I have alerts set up so once it hits $1,250 in charges, it alerts me and I pay it electronically.  I do this several times a month.

Am I doing this right?

Should I be paying it off sooner, say when it hits 10%?  

Any advice would be appreciated.  

Thanks,

Joe

[Mike_B03]

It really only matters when that particular card reports the balance to the credit reporting agencies. Most credit card companies report the statement balance, so you want to make sure that the util. is as low as possible, preferebly under 10%, the day your statment closes. Any other activity you do the rest of the money doesn't get reported.

Just to be sure, you could call your credit card company and ask when what day they report the balance to make sure it is in fact based on the statement date.

[frddlawson]

Well Joe, it depends on when your statement cut for each creditcard. Charge it like you need to but when your statement hit, PIF or pay enough to were the total balances on both cards is below 10%. That way, they will only report it at 10%.

[Anonymous]

I really appreciate your respons; thank you!

I just want to make sure I understand this.  So I call Chase and ask them what day they report on.  Then I make sure that a few days before that the % is below 10%? Is it bad to have that % at 0; paid off?

Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

only have one card report under 9-10% balance all other cards reporting 0 is what ive read that gives you maximum points... Also heard that 3 revolvers is the sweet spot for maximum credit score..

[Mike_B03]

It most likely goes by th statement date, but yes, you could call and ask when do they report the balance on the card to the credit bureaus.

Pay down the balance on or before the day they tell you and keep it there until the date passes.

As for 0% vs 10%, I think that's still up for debate. Some people say it's good to show a little balance, some say you'll get the best result with no balance at all.