understanding credit card utilization

[mojo_ny]

I am trying to make sure i understand how credit card utilization affects my score. From what i have read i am lead to believe that kepping my current 300 limit card paid off will improve my score (it was maxed out) and from what i can tell adding another card to increase my available credit will not raise my s ore at all (assumijg i keep my current card at a low to zero balance) Is this correct? Is applying for another card or a secured card advised? I saw someone say the got a new millenium secured card and kept paying money on it to increase the limit but never carried a balance and they said that raised there scores alot. Please help me sort all this out.

Thanks

[guiness56]

YMMV as to the % you should carry.  It is best to keep a small balance, 9% or under on the card.  FICO does not like to see all of your cards with a 0 balance but rather to see you use your credit but wisely.

Utilization is one of the biggest impacting factors in your score.  The higher the utilization the lower your score and vice versa. 

If you have more than one CC, have one report a 0 balance and the other at 9% or below.  By making ontime payments for 6 months to a year your score will start going up.

It certainly would not hurt you to get another card.  The CL alone has not affect on your score it is the utilization.

[mojo_ny]

Is there a secured card i cwn get without incurring a hit to my score for the credit pull?

[flash2093]

Carrying a zero balance does nothing for your score. In fact in some cases the CC company may not even report to the CRA unless you are usiing the credit. (Atleast from my experience). You need to use your credit with low utilization and carry over the balance. I don't agree that carrying a zero balance PIF every month really helps.

[guiness56]

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@mojo_ny wrote:

Is there a secured card i cwn get without incurring a hit to my score for the credit pull?

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I think even with secured cards they do a HP.

[guiness56]

When rebuilding, if you have more than one card, letting all but one report 0 and the other carry a balance at 9% or below has been proven to help your score the most.

When you are not rebuilding things could be different.  Again, YMMV.