Fico Simulator with paid credit cards

[Settemio]

If that is so, how would you 'leave' money on your CC? Becuase if they reported after the statement is done, I would have to charge something in between when my payment was due, and when the statement was sent... that would be a pain to manage every month.. is it really worth it to leave a balance somewhere?

Sorry to hijack original poster...

[MarineVietVet]

---

@Settemio wrote:

If that is so, how would you 'leave' money on your CC? Becuase if they reported after the statement is done, I would have to charge something in between when my payment was due, and when the statement was sent... that would be a pain to manage every month.. is it really worth it to leave a balance somewhere?

Sorry to hijack original poster...

---

When it's talked about "leaving a small balance on one card" that's exactly what you did. You let a small amount on one card report on the monthly statement and then pay in full before the due date. The reasons you let just one card report a balance is (1) You show activity and (2) whatever the balance is on the statement (for most cards) is what is used to calculate utilization for the month. You want the utilization to be as little as possible.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Settemio]

OK, thanks for clarifying that.

[ficofox]

Since it's ideal to report a $0 balance on all of your cards except one, I ensure that each credit card shows a $0 balance when I know that the CC will report to the bureaus.  With only one of the cards, I will let it report with a small balance showing.  I let the one with a small balance report, and then pay it off. 

Yes, it can be a juggling act, however, I've also learned that many credit card companies allow you to choose your own due date.  Choose the same due date for each card, figure out their statement cut dates and bureau reporting schedule and then set yourself up on a similar schedule. After a while, it will become second nature. It's worth it because utilization percentage is such a huge slice of the scoring calculation.

If you have a relatively manageable number of cards, this will be easier to keep track of, and I expect everyone has a slightly different method of playing this utilization game.

[MarineVietVet]

---

@Settemio wrote:

OK, thanks for clarifying that.

---

I agree that it can get tiresome and it really doesn't have to be done at all if you're not looking to apply for any new credit in the foreseeable future.

Some people do it as a hobby and others to see just how high they can get their scores by tweaking.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Settemio]

I have a account that auto bills this CC 12.95 a month. so this should be easy to manage. I will let it charge, then when i get the statement, that amount should be submitted to CCAs, I think CAP1 reports to all 3? Then I pay the amount before due...

[MarineVietVet]

---

@Settemio wrote:

I have a account that auto bills this CC 12.95 a month. so this should be easy to manage. I will let it charge, then when i get the statement, that amount should be submitted to CCAs, I think CAP1 reports to all 3? Then I pay the amount before due...

---

I know that mine does.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Settemio]

I am saying that becuase if it doesnt, then I need to do something similar for a card that reports to each CCA... if Cap1 does all three, that makes it easy then.

[Anonymous]

Hi all.

First post here.

Thought I would chime in on this topic. I have two credit cards, a Cap One with a $750 limit and a HB with a paltry $300 limit. I had been running these at about 70% utilization. I paid them both  down to zero over the last two weeks. Today, I pulled my FAKO score for Experian through another monitoring service and it jumped overnight from 586 to 637 -- a 51 point increase! The only difference was the reporting of my new credit card balances. Utilization is huge.

However, I also applied for and got three low-limit department store cards to mix up my rather thin post-BK file. I will soon have the above two "major" credit cards, three dept store cards, an auto loan, and a large student loan. I'm not sure what will happen to my scores once the new department store cards hit the fan.

[gagum129]

I went back to he simulator today to play around some more and was surprised that running the same information through the simulator I am getting different results. I am not complaining too much since the results are showing higher but I am really anxious for my cards to report so I can see how close it is. Pretty odd though that I have not had any score watch alerts from yesterday but I am getting different results a day later. I will have to run it again tomorrow just to see what it comes up with.