% of utilization both individual and overall

[Anonymous]

All,

I am a STILL a bit confuse and I would like a simple clarification of what percentage is best for each credit card and overall.  Please give me a good sample.

What is the max individual utilization i should be at so it won't effect my score, how many %?

Also what is the max overall credit revolving I should be at so it wont effect my score, how many %

Here is a list of current credit and blance i have now. 

12,500K limit ........current balance 4,200 ========> 33% utilization

5,800K limit............curent balance 0 ============> 0% utilization

5K limit....................current balance 0 ============>0% utilization

3,800 limit...............current balance 1,400 ========> 37% utilization

3,300 limit ..............current balance 650 ==========> 20% utilization

30,400 total credit limit overall...........6,250 overall balance ======>21% overall utilization

Next couple of weeks ill be on vacation, I wont be able to pay every thing off.  However I would like to pay those current balance down to the ideal % so it doesnt effect my score.  Then when i come back from vacation ill be paying it down to <9%.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

All,

I am a STILL a bit confuse and I would like a simple clarification of what percentage is best for each credit card and overall.  Please give me a good sample.

What is the max individual utilization i should be at so it won't effect my score, how many %?

Also what is the max overall credit revolving I should be at so it wont effect my score, how many %

Here is a list of current credit and blance i have now. 

12,500K limit ........current balance 4,200 ========> 33% utilization

5,800K limit............curent balance 0 ============> 0% utilization

5K limit....................current balance 0 ============>0% utilization

3,800 limit...............current balance 1,400 ========> 37% utilization

3,300 limit ..............current balance 650 ==========> 20% utilization

30,400 total credit limit overall...........6,250 overall balance ======>21% overall utilization

Next couple of weeks ill be on vacation, I wont be able to pay every thing off.  However I would like to pay those current balance down to the ideal % so it doesnt effect my score.  Then when i come back from vacation ill be paying it down to <9%.

Thanks

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The absolute ideal is have one of your cards at <9% utilization and the rest at 0%. I've noticed changes in my score when going from 3% to 4%, so I'm guessing that the one card that has a statement balance should be around 1% to be ideal. However, utilization changes all the time, and the scoring system doesn't take into account past utilization. Therefore, if you aren't applying for something, it is usually too much effort to try to game the system that much. Instead, you should focus on paying down your cards and getting to a point where you can pay every statement before the due date. This is known as "paying in full," and it avoids interest charges. Which cards you should pay off, and in what order, depends on how much you can put towards paying them off and what interest rates you have on each card.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the reply...Like I've said at this point i have to same some money for my vacation so I would not pay it off all my card at this point.    I have tried to play with my scoring system where I paid off all my card to 0 and leave 1 card less then <9 % my score didnt move at all.  Reviser I leave 1 card at 0 balance and the rest  is <9% and my score move at most 8point each month.  

Back to my original question at this point and my situation now, which can should i pay down to what % of each card and over all for them not to effect my score.  I never leave each card more then 20%..Always paid in full and leave small balance.

[takeshi74]

Here's how the general advice breaks down.

• Both overall and individual revolving utilization matter.
• Do not exceed 30%, however, recognize that 30% is an upper limit and far from ideal.
• Lower is generally better as long as you don't have all 0 balances reporting.  For most, ideal will be under 10% and probably closer to 1% but you'd need to do testing to see how much you'd stand to gain for each % decrease.
• Number of balances plays a part as well.  Fewer is generally better.
• To eke out every possible point, such as when applying for new credit, allow only one balance to report at 10% or less.

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@Anonymous wrote:

What is the max individual utilization i should be at so it won't effect my score, how many %?

Also what is the max overall credit revolving I should be at so it wont effect my score, how many %

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Your score is always affected (not effected).  Utilization doesn't cease to be a factor at any %.  To what degree one's revolving utilization impacts one score is difficult to say aside from the general advice given above.  If you want to see the specific impact you'd need to do some testing and monitor your scores.  However, such testing can be tricky as other changes to your report data can happen and can impact your scores as well.

From a practical standpoint you have to find where you're willing to compromise between maximizing your score and micromanaging your utilization.  For me, my limits and spend currently put me at about 8% overall with individual cards varying from 0 to just under 30%.  Most of my cards report balances.  However, my FICO 8's are all right around 800 and I'm fine with that.  I also don't

 care for micromanaging utilization or number of balances.  Again, you'll have to find what works for you and you really won't find a cut and dry answer like you're looking for.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:

All,

I am a STILL a bit confuse and I would like a simple clarification of what percentage is best for each credit card and overall.  Please give me a good sample.

What is the max individual utilization i should be at so it won't effect my score, how many %?

Also what is the max overall credit revolving I should be at so it wont effect my score, how many %

Here is a list of current credit and blance i have now. 

12,500K limit ........current balance 4,200 ========> 33% utilization

5,800K limit............curent balance 0 ============> 0% utilization

5K limit....................current balance 0 ============>0% utilization

3,800 limit...............current balance 1,400 ========> 37% utilization

3,300 limit ..............current balance 650 ==========> 20% utilization

30,400 total credit limit overall...........6,250 overall balance ======>21% overall utilization

Next couple of weeks ill be on vacation, I wont be able to pay every thing off.  However I would like to pay those current balance down to the ideal % so it doesnt effect my score.  Then when i come back from vacation ill be paying it down to <9%.

Thanks

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The # of cards reporting a balance is a factor in scoring independent of utilization. Reporting a balance on more than one card may adversely affect score "too many open accounts reporting a balance".  That being said here are my observations on utilization.

1) Utilization on an individual card has very little, if any, negative influence on score if kept below 50%. The hit on score comes when the card gets maxed out (somewhere between 80% and 90% depending on the scoring model) . However, because card UT is confounded with aggregate UT, scoring changes associated with a shift in AG UT% are sometimes mistakenly attributed to a card UT% increase.

Case in point - You have about $30k overall CL. If you had a $1k limit card and reported a $600 balance on it (60% UT) with all other cards reporting 0 your AG UT would be 2%. In this scenerio your score would not be negatively impacted - based on my experience and posts with isolated data from others such as Revelate.

On the other hand, if you reported 60% on a $10k limit card your AG utilization would be 20% and this would affect score - because of the AG UT% change not specifically the card's UT%.

2) Data I have seen suggests an aggregate utilization of under 6% is best for score. There may be multiple thresholds for AG UT% under 30% but the big score penalties primarily kick in above 30%. This is a good factor to test on your own because its affect is point in time (no memory). However, to isolate influence, other factors such as: # cards reporting a balance and HP inquiry count need to be held constant.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply and clarification guys, I now understand more about utilization.  Really appreciated the time and effort for the explaination.

I just have a quick thought and I dont know if I should do this, i NEVER try this before is doing a BT  on my card.  Here is my thought.

Since ideals is to keep individual card <9% and overall credit <30% I was thinking to BT (balance transfer) to my highest limit card is 12,500 since it a 0 fee and 0 APR for 15months.

I was thinking to BT  below in RED and leave balanc <9% 

If I do that then my 12500 limit card would be at 45% utilization , and the rest of my card would be <9% but my overall still would be 21%..Would this work?  I'm just worry about my score hit while im away on vacation.  Im just trying to figure out a way to avoid any hit,  I never have my utilization more then 20% report balance, this is my first highest utilization.

12,500K limit ........current balance 4,200 ========> 33% utilization

5,800K limit............curent balance 0 ============> 0% utilization

5K limit....................current balance 0 ============>0% utilization

3,800 limit...............current balance 1,400 ========> 37% utilization

3,300 limit ..............current balance 650 ==========> 20% utilization

Your thought on this PLEASE.

[Simply827]

Are you planning to apply for something in the next month or two? If not, don't worry about it so much and enjoy your vacation.

[Anonymous]

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@Simply827 wrote:

Are you planning to apply for something in the next month or two? If not, don't worry about it so much and enjoy your vacation.

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This.  People need not worry so much about trivial things like making sure they hit that 9% or whatever utilization from month to month.  It is worthless unless one needs the best possible credit score they can have which should only happen if we are going to app.  It's a small difference anyways. 

[Anonymous]

I am gardening right now and I am not planning to apply for any credit card any time soon (But I am looking for mortage next year).  I work so hard to get my credit score to where I am now and i do get nervous and get anxious if my score drops.  I am just to worry.

[Anonymous]

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@Simply827 wrote:

Are you planning to apply for something in the next month or two? If not, don't worry about it so much and enjoy your vacation.

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Agreed Util has no memory and can easily be fixed at a later time. This seems to be unnecessary stress and worry. Enjoy your vacation!