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Is paying off the balance on my cc every month good or bad?

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smallfry
Senior Contributor

Re: Is paying off the balance on my cc every month good or bad?



@Anonymous wrote:
Pay off in full. Activity is the same as balance. They both force an update reflecting payment. PIF looks better. A personal opinion, 0% will give you a higher score than 10% UTL. There is a sweet spot for a few more points somewhere on the lower end of UTL.


I think it lays somewhere between 0-2% maybe under 1%. This business of leaving 10% balances is strange to me. I hope these guys are paying before they incur interest.
Message 11 of 16
fused
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Is paying off the balance on my cc every month good or bad?



masdeocho wrote:
Jbunny -- no impact at all on your future FICO score.  There is no historical utilization factor.  How much of your CL you use today does not matter when you pull your score in one year.  That's why I said this is fine tuning -- the utilization only matters at the point in time when your score really matters.  Otherwise it's just academic.


Exactly!
Message 12 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Is paying off the balance on my cc every month good or bad?



@fused111 wrote:


@Anonymous wrote:
Jbunny -- no impact at all on your future FICO score. There is no historical utilization factor. How much of your CL you use today does not matter when you pull your score in one year. That's why I said this is fine tuning -- the utilization only matters at the point in time when your score really matters. Otherwise it's just academic.


Exactly!



Yep. Smiley Happy I agree too.
Message 13 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Is paying off the balance on my cc every month good or bad?

so if you ask the ccc, they will know & tell you what day they update your bal & tell tu, ex and eq?
Message 14 of 16
andyaycw
Frequent Contributor

Re: Is paying off the balance on my cc every month good or bad?



@Anonymous wrote:
Pay it all off. The only time you want 1 - 9% utilization is when you are actually applying for credit. If you are getting a mortgage next year, it doesn't matter that you have a zero balance reported now. Better to be debt adverse and not pay extra $ to the banks.





So someone who maxes out their card for 11 months, then brings utilization down to 10% will have the same score as someone who maintained 10% utilization for all 12 consecutive months?

That doesn't make sense.

Starting Score: EQ 773, TU 766
Current Score (2/25/2017): EX 813, EQ 823, TU 818
Goal Score: 800


Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 15 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Is paying off the balance on my cc every month good or bad?



@andyaycw wrote:


@Anonymous wrote:
Pay it all off. The only time you want 1 - 9% utilization is when you are actually applying for credit. If you are getting a mortgage next year, it doesn't matter that you have a zero balance reported now. Better to be debt adverse and not pay extra $ to the banks.



So someone who maxes out their card for 11 months, then brings utilization down to 10% will have the same score as someone who maintained 10% utilization for all 12 consecutive months?

That doesn't make sense.

Correct.
 
It may seem counterintuitive, but hey, it's FICO.
 
Message 16 of 16
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