My example, made up for simplicity, intentionally excluded the particularly beneficial situation of having a balance of $0 reported.
My wife and I recently had some realtime fun with just that though. The second of our three shared cards (jointly or by way of AU) was reported with a $0 balance (all three card balances are now at $0, but the last has yet to report).
This resulted in an expected score increase for both for us. As my wife has the better score (due to a couple of old charge cards, closed long ago) and as she also has a fourth card with a considerable util (but obviously still a minimal overall util), I figured she'd get less of a score increase than I would.
But no, reporting the secord card being zeroed gave her 8 points and me 7 points. That's not fair 
To make matters worse, we'll zero her card tomorrow, that fourth one. We're going for the complete $0 baseline.
But I'll agree with the simultor that I ran on her. Her score would be better if we left the card with a minimal balance than putting all of them at zero. The card targeted for having a balance is not that one though.
I anticipate it'll be useful knowing the baseline. And now's the time before the variable of inquiries falling off kicks in.
Yesterday's question was about the potential score increase for a util dropping from 30% to 20%. It may be nothing, given my real life has entered only one of three cards having a balance bringing about an increase of a mere 7 points.
I don't make up stuff just for the fun of it. My wife's card, that fourth one, is Amex, which means it takes a month to report. So the reported complete baseline of $0 will not be with us until about a month from tomorrow.
The balance from the statement cycle date of a month ago, soon to report, has a 30% util. The one yet a month earlier was at 38% (don't ask me why; we didn't care, or maybe we wanted to send a signal that a credit limit increase would be nice).
So, sometime about tomorrow, give and take a few days, will my wife get a score increase going from a 38% util to a 30% util on that card? (I highly doubt so, but that's the background for yesterday's card util going from 30 to 20.)
Aren't you glad you asked? 
--
Malcolm X, "I'm sorry to say that the subject I most disliked was mathematics. I have thought about it. I think the reason was that mathematics leaves no room for argument. If you made a mistake, that was all there was to it."
@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:
But no, reporting the secord card being zeroed gave her 8 points and me 7 points. That's not fair
Biased scores 
...j/k....Any difference would be due to the differences in both of your and her report, and is especially due to differences in your scoring bucket vs. hers. To use another example, if, God forbid, a CA appears on both of your reports, at the same day and at the same time. Assuming neither of you have any baddies, your score change would be different than hers.
@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:
To make matters worse, we'll zero her card tomorrow, that fourth one. We're going for the complete $0 baseline.
Just remember, you can lose points by hitting $0 across all CCs vs. letting one report a small balance with the rest at $0. However, any damage isn't permanent and a $0 baseline is a going spot to increase util on one card to 1%, then 2%, then 3% and so on to find that sweet spot. Of course we are only talking about single digits here I guess between the increments.
@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:
Yesterday's question was about the potential score increase for a util dropping from 30% to 20%. It may be nothing, given my real life has entered only one of three cards having a balance bringing about an increase of a mere 7 points.
When you threw out numbers yesterday, there are several things that get factored in. You mentioned specific $$$ amounts. You mentioned one card w/ a $1000 CL going from a $300 to a $200 balance. If it drops by 10% overall, you could see an increase, but if you have 10 other CCs all maxed out at 99% util and paying this CC by $100 reduces your overall util by 1%, then you won't see any score change. Conversely, if you have $100k in CLs, with all CCs at $0, paying this once CC by $100, probably wouldn't do anything either. That's why I was wondering about overall util and individual balances, CLs, util, etc. There's too many missing variables. FICO looks at your overall util change, your individual util change (e.g. bringing a card out from being maxed out will net you some points), and lastly the number of cards reporting a balance in relation to your total # of open CCs reporting. BTW, the mix of credit (CC type) may be a factor into util too. Not sure though.
Thank you very much for the helpful SW alert clarification.
llecs wrote:
"Biased scores ...j/k..."
Very much so!
It keeps getting worse. DW just got yet another score increase, from the 4th card that she has whose util went from 38% to 30%. A full FIVE points.
It's so disgusting in fact that the myFICO simulator after a mere 3 months puts the upper end of her range at a clean 850, at which time an inquiry is still less than a year old.
"There are two types of alerts: score and credit. The score alert comes every 7-10 days or so as SW picks up on EQ's changes, as your DW experienced. The other are credit alerts and those come almost immediately and cover stuff like new inquiries, new TLs, account changes, etc."
I received the expected score alert yesterday, so my view on myFICO SW has been fully restored 
Thanks again for your clarification.
@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:
"There are two types of alerts: score and credit. The score alert comes every 7-10 days or so as SW picks up on EQ's changes, as your DW experienced. The other are credit alerts and those come almost immediately and cover stuff like new inquiries, new TLs, account changes, etc."
I received the expected score alert yesterday, so my view on myFICO SW has been fully restored
You're welcome. IMO, they could have designed that service better, and make it less confusing. I do know that myFICO's SW is dependent on EQ and they may be the oddball culprit that prevents myFICO from making a better product.