Where do you leave your Utl?

[Creditplz]

I'm asking this because I'm not sure what is the best Utl to let report for score optimizing. I currently left my Utl at 0% $6,00/79,850 of my total credit lines (I pay in full every month). I'm contemplating leaving a $1000-2000 balance on my NFCU 13,300 limit card. Would anyone advise against this?. I'm not planning on applying for anything just getting knowledge.

[Anonymous]

According to my most recent report it is 1%, but that wasn't by design on my behalf it just fell that way.  I let it float no higher than 10%.

[creditguy]

9% or lower is fine, but remember, any score change affected by utilization is only temporary. If you need to carry a balance then go ahead, your scores will return to normal once utilization returns to previous levels.

[Berk]

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@Creditplz wrote:
I'm asking this because I'm not sure what is the best Utl to let report for score optimizing. I currently left my Utl at 0% $6,00/79,850 of my total credit lines (I pay in full every month). I'm contemplating leaving a $1000-2000 balance on my NFCU 13,300 limit card. Would anyone advise against this?. I'm not planning on applying for anything just getting knowledge.

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I PIF every month and show a consistent 3%-5% utilization. I just pay the balance on the due date.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Creditplz wrote:
I'm asking this because I'm not sure what is the best Utl to let report for score optimizing. I currently left my Utl at 0% $6,00/79,850 of my total credit lines (I pay in full every month). I'm contemplating leaving a $1000-2000 balance on my NFCU 13,300 limit card. Would anyone advise against this?. I'm not planning on applying for anything just getting knowledge.

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Not an issue. Allow the amount to report and PIF by the due date to avoid interest fees. If you are needing to pay the minimum and let the remainder carry over to the next billing cycle, impact on score should be negligible. Even at a $2000 balance, your aggregate utilization is under 4% and the card's utilization is under 20%.

My advise maintaining aggregate utilization under 9% and utilization on any card under 30%. However, there is no lingering effect with utilization so feel free to test some higher levels to see how your profile reacts.

I allow my utilization to float naturally. Typical range is 1% to 4%. Highest its been is 6%. Not overly concerned with individual credit card utilization. I allowed one to report 50% one month and then 80% three months later. Always PIF after allowing balances to report on statements.

[disdreamin]

I worried about utilization for a while, but I've reached the point where I just don't care. If I need to apply for anything I might take a peek and try to optimize scores, but I was worried about it and got good advice from people here who basically said not to stress about it if your score is reasonable and you don't plan to apply for anything in the near future. FWIW, this past month I had $4k post on an account with a $20k limit. Didn't seem to do much to my score, so I'm not going to sweat it.

[Anonymous]

Right now mine is at 4%.

The highest it's been was 54%.

But I try to keep it below 10%.

[RonM21]

Betewwen 1-9%, but where the sweet spot may be differs for everyone.

[surferchris]

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@RM21 wrote:
Betewwen 1-9%, but where the sweet spot may be differs for everyone.

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Agreed.

[NattyPButter]

What's with this $2 trick I always be hearing about? I let $2 report on my credit report and I still see utilization at 0% but I see others say it should be rounded off to 1%. I rather it not show 0% since I've seen charts that show a score drop.