MAX Credit Score and CC Utilization & CC Balance Reporting

[Anonymous]

Hello,

My first question is very basic:

What utilization of CC's results in the HIGHEST fico score?

 I have heard some people say 1-5 percent, others say 9 perrcent, others say 20 percent, and others say 30 percent.  Does anyone have a SPECIFIC answer to this question?  This isn't a trick question.

When to CC companies report your balance?

Do CC companies report a balance as a SNAPSHOP of a random time in the month, a snapshop of a set time in the month?  Or do they always report the LAST reported balance you got on your CC statement?  

Is the grace period on a CC the number of days you have to pay from the time you make a PURCHASE or the amount of time from when you get your billing statement?

Thanks for all of your help.

Justin-

[smallfry]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello,

My first question is very basic:

What utilization of CC's results in the HIGHEST fico score?

 I have heard some people say 1-5 percent, others say 9 perrcent, others say 20 percent, and others say 30 percent.  Does anyone have a SPECIFIC answer to this question?  This isn't a trick question.

When to CC companies report your balance?

Do CC companies report a balance as a SNAPSHOP of a random time in the month, a snapshop of a set time in the month?  Or do they always report the LAST reported balance you got on your CC statement?  

Is the grace period on a CC the number of days you have to pay from the time you make a PURCHASE or the amount of time from when you get your billing statement?

Thanks for all of your help.

Justin-

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It can vary but between 0 or 1% to just under 9% utilization is best. Number of accounts reporting balances as well as individual utilization of revolving accounts matters. Balances are based on the statement cut date for most accounts this is monthly. Grace period is the period between the statement cut date and the payment due date.

[marty56]

Most people feel that having 1 CC card reporting a balance of 9% or less of its CL is the best.  For my credit profile, TU likes 0% util while EQ and EX want something to report which is I usually have 1%.  Always PIF'ing of course.

Most companies report to the CRAs after the statement date.  Some dont report a 0 balance unless its the 2nd month of it and some report at the end of the month.

IMHO grace period is the time between the statement date that the item is added to the account and the date you must make the mnimum payment to avoid interest.  This could be over a month if you make the purchase the day after the statement drops.

[Anonymous]

So how much will it hurt me to have 30 percent utilization?

I just got my first credit card and want to MAX out my fico score so I can get the best FHA rate possible on a couple properties I am buying.  

I want to use the most of the 2,000 limit as possible so I can place everything on my card and then get one statement at the end of the month.

This allows me to max out my CASH BACK and to neatly organize all of my payments each month.

HAVING AN OUTSTANDING BALANCE IS NOTHING I EVER PLAN TO HAVE.  I DONT CARE IF CC'S CHARGE 200 PERCENT INTEREST.

Justin-

[smallfry]

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@marty56 wrote:

Most people feel that having 1 CC card reporting a balance of 9% or less of its CL is the best.  For my credit profile, TU likes 0% util while EQ and EX want something to report which is I usually have 1%.  Always PIF'ing of course.

Most companies report to the CRAs after the statement date.  Some dont report a 0 balance unless its the 2nd month of it and some report at the end of the month.

IMHO grace period is the time between the statement date that the item is added to the account and the date you must make the mnimum payment to avoid interest.  This could be over a month if you make the purchase the day after the statement drops.

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If you go to Citi's website and look at the terms and conditions of their credit cards they state grace periods of 20-25 days. Clearly this is the period between when the statement cuts and when the payment is due. Otherwise your grace period could be close to 50 days or the time from when the purchase is made to when a minimum payment is due on the account. Semantics I agree. 

[smallfry]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So how much will it hurt me to have 30 percent utilization?

I just got my first credit card and want to MAX out my fico score so I can get the best FHA rate possible on a couple properties I am buying.  

I want to use the most of the 2,000 limit as possible so I can place everything on my card and then get one statement at the end of the month.

This allows me to max out my CASH BACK and to neatly organize all of my payments each month.

HAVING AN OUTSTANDING BALANCE IS NOTHING I EVER PLAN TO HAVE.  I DONT CARE IF CC'S CHARGE 200 PERCENT INTEREST.

Justin-

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30% is very high. Get all your revolving accounts under 9% if score matters to you.

[MattH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So how much will it hurt me to have 30 percent utilization?

I just got my first credit card and want to MAX out my fico score so I can get the best FHA rate possible on a couple properties I am buying.  

I want to use the most of the 2,000 limit as possible so I can place everything on my card and then get one statement at the end of the month.

This allows me to max out my CASH BACK and to neatly organize all of my payments each month.

HAVING AN OUTSTANDING BALANCE IS NOTHING I EVER PLAN TO HAVE.  I DONT CARE IF CC'S CHARGE 200 PERCENT INTEREST.

Justin-

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Since you pay in full anyway, all you need to do is modify the timing of your payments.  First, check your reports carefully to see when your credit card company reports.  Some report the balance as of the first day of the month, or the last day of the month, or whatever.  Probably the most common choice among CCCs is to report the balance as of when they issue the monthly statement.  Anyway, to control what balance the report you simply check your balance and pay them a few days before the day on which they report the balance to the credit reporting agencies.  The one thing to look out for is, if some charge hits just after your payment then you might need to make a second small payment once the statement arrives so you won't incur a late fee.  For example, shortly before my most recent Amex statement was issued I had gone online, found that my balance was a little under $1600.00, and paid $1600.00 using my bank's online bill pay service.  But when the statement appeared it had a balance of about sixteen dollars due to a small charge that I had forgotten would hit my Amex account just after my payment.  So I'll about to make a payment of about sixteen dollars.