topic Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39% in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:00:10 GMT

Experian finally updated and I've learned to make sure my CC is paid before each closing date as a recurring charge was keeping from AZEO1 and I didn't realize it. Path to 800 continues.

Crossed below 40% aggregate utilization (now 38.5%) and got 11 pt bump. Couple more months to get below 29%.

New Experian score

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

JoeRockhead — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:12:27 GMT

What was your reported aggregate prior to the 38.5%

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

Varsity_Lu — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:23:00 GMT

Glad to see your scores rise. Also glad that utilization has short/no memory from month to month.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:32:31 GMT

Was 44%. No other available changes. Next month I'll see singular data point of AZE1 impact by paying my Marriott card in full prior to the closing date as just learned that trick yesterday watching YouTube video.

3 card accounts. Next month will be 1 of 3 with balance.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:41:49 GMT

@Varsity_Lu wrote:
Glad to see your scores rise. Also glad that utilization has short/no memory from month to month.

It's looking like once I'm below 29% util I'll crest past 780 threshold and then once below either 6 or 9% I'll be in the 800s. While I have old accounts I only have few cards and one open loan so pretty easy to track the reason for score improvement and magnitude. I'll also gain something back once my only HP from last December ages off.

Once I get over 740 thats when the seemingly continuous credit card offers in mail started.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

SouthJamaica — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:59:47 GMT

@FICOdawg wrote:
Was 44%. No other available changes. Next month I'll see singular data point of AZE1 impact by paying my Marriott card in full prior to the closing date as just learned that trick yesterday watching YouTube video.

3 card accounts. Next month will be 1 of 3 with balance.

How is it possible to experience a 5 1/2% drop in aggregate utilization without other changes, such as, e.g., changes in individual account utilization?

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:13:40 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@FICOdawg wrote:
Was 44%. No other available changes. Next month I'll see singular data point of AZE1 impact by paying my Marriott card in full prior to the closing date as just learned that trick yesterday watching YouTube video.

3 card accounts. Next month will be 1 of 3 with balance.
How is it possible to experience a 5 1/2% drop in aggregate utilization without other changes, such as, e.g., changes in individual account utilization?

Based on observation, unless you are >89% for individual card, for my acct I have seen ZERO FICO8 change on individual cards util. In fact, even in the various CRA on reports and category definitions they only reference aggregate and not individual. I've been watching my score and factors in detail. Ind card at 89% I got 5 points. 69% ind card util threshold got zero points and was only threshold crossed at that time. From what I see as I am paying my last card off, aggregate is the major factor and ind util doesn't matter. I'll keep track and advise if otherwise once my card gets to 49%.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:27:05 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@FICOdawg wrote:
Was 44%. No other available changes. Next month I'll see singular data point of AZE1 impact by paying my Marriott card in full prior to the closing date as just learned that trick yesterday watching YouTube video.

3 card accounts. Next month will be 1 of 3 with balance.
How is it possible to experience a 5 1/2% drop in aggregate utilization without other changes, such as, e.g., changes in individual account utilization?

^ Agreed. One or two individual card utilizations must have changed either due to CLIs or balance paydowns. Highest UT on cards is a scoring metric.

Always mention highest card UT and number of cards with balances out of total cards. Those scoreable metrics are important regardless of threshold perceptions.

Whether or not a score change happens crossing a UT or cards reporting threshold is file/scorecard dependent. Scorecard assignments can change over time. Something previously inconsequential can become significant. I know! Such a change happened to me ever since my mortgage closed.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

SouthJamaica — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:26:49 GMT

@FICOdawg wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@FICOdawg wrote:
Was 44%. No other available changes. Next month I'll see singular data point of AZE1 impact by paying my Marriott card in full prior to the closing date as just learned that trick yesterday watching YouTube video.

3 card accounts. Next month will be 1 of 3 with balance.
How is it possible to experience a 5 1/2% drop in aggregate utilization without other changes, such as, e.g., changes in individual account utilization?
Based on observation, unless you are >89% for individual card, for my acct I have seen ZERO FICO8 change on individual cards util. In fact, even in the various CRA on reports and category definitions they only reference aggregate and not individual. I've been watching my score and factors in detail. Ind card at 89% I got 5 points. 69% ind card util threshold got zero points and was only threshold crossed at that time. From what I see as I am paying my last card off, aggregate is the major factor and ind util doesn't matter. I'll keep track and advise if otherwise once my card gets to 49%.

The only thresholds of which I am sure are in individual utilization -- 29% and 49%.

In aggregate utilization I have never detected a threshold. However I believe I have detected that as aggregate revolving utilization goes down, my scores go up. But it's been gradual in either direction. No sudden bumps or thresholds.

In OP's case the change wasn't necessarily just crossing the 40% line, it was a substantial 5 1/2% drop from 44% to 38.5%. Gaining 11 points in FICO 8 for a 5 1/2% drop in utilization sounds about right to me.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:38:33 GMT

@Thomas_Thumb wrote:
^ Agreed. One or two individual card utilizations must change either due to CLIs or balance paydowns. Highest UT on cards is a scoring metric.

The question is the buckets for UT on individual card. 89% mattered (+5), 69% level last month zero score change. Last month did not cross aggregate utilization threshold either.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:12:25 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:

The only thresholds of which I am sure are in individual utilization -- 29% and 49%.

In aggregate utilization I have never detected a threshold. However I believe I have detected that as aggregate revolving utilization goes down, my scores go up. But it's been gradual in either direction. No sudden bumps or thresholds.

In OP's case the change wasn't necessarily just crossing the 40% line, it was a substantial 5 1/2% drop from 44% to 38.5%. Gaining 11 points in FICO 8 for a 5 1/2% drop in utilization sounds about right to me.

Even within the Experian app, they reference aggregate as the factor to car about not individual. Watching all my reports, the major movement came from crossing 89/69/39 aggregate thresholds.

This isn't opinion that is what happened as I paid my CC debt down.

Experian's own input is to focus on aggregate.

I'm sure individual util matters but haven't seen movement from it yet.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

Varsity_Lu — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:40:05 GMT

@FICOdawg wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
The only thresholds of which I am sure are in individual utilization -- 29% and 49%.

In aggregate utilization I have never detected a threshold. However I believe I have detected that as aggregate revolving utilization goes down, my scores go up. But it's been gradual in either direction. No sudden bumps or thresholds.

In OP's case the change wasn't necessarily just crossing the 40% line, it was a substantial 5 1/2% drop from 44% to 38.5%. Gaining 11 points in FICO 8 for a 5 1/2% drop in utilization sounds about right to me.
Even within the Experian app, they reference aggregate as the factor to car about not individual. Watching all my reports, the major movement came from crossing 89/69/39 aggregate thresholds.

This isn't opinion that is what happened as I paid my CC debt down.

Experian's own input is to focus on aggregate.

It could also be that you just dropped your utilization such a significant amount each month that the point gains appear as thresholds even though they are actually moving on a gradient. If you had dropped your utilization 89/79/69/59/49/39 you may have seen a very gradual change in your score.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:00:05 GMT

That's more or less what happened as I've paid down the debt. The only other change during all this was I got a 6 point last month for my only loan (car) went below 90% balance. This is about as good of data as you can get with single acct balance changing.

Next big data point will be crossing 29% which will be about 3+ months to cross. I plan to use my bonus to clean off the final amount in December so won't see the "final" score until January. If biz changes and bonus doesn't pay out then anothe 3-4 months long to PIF (but will still stay AZE1).

The only reference I've seen to indivical card metric is inside the Chase Credit Journey app, when I have it give the improve credit plan it actually states get my since card under 50%. NOTE: This is for VANTAGE SCORE 3.0

We can assume the individual card below 49% is a threshold.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

SouthJamaica — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:23:01 GMT

@Varsity_Lu wrote:
@FICOdawg wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
The only thresholds of which I am sure are in individual utilization -- 29% and 49%.

In aggregate utilization I have never detected a threshold. However I believe I have detected that as aggregate revolving utilization goes down, my scores go up. But it's been gradual in either direction. No sudden bumps or thresholds.

In OP's case the change wasn't necessarily just crossing the 40% line, it was a substantial 5 1/2% drop from 44% to 38.5%. Gaining 11 points in FICO 8 for a 5 1/2% drop in utilization sounds about right to me.
Even within the Experian app, they reference aggregate as the factor to car about not individual. Watching all my reports, the major movement came from crossing 89/69/39 aggregate thresholds.

This isn't opinion that is what happened as I paid my CC debt down.

Experian's own input is to focus on aggregate.
It could also be that you just dropped your utilization such a significant amount each month that the point gains appear as thresholds even though they are actually moving on a gradient. If you had dropped your utilization 89/79/69/59/49/39 you may have seen a very gradual change in your score.

Exactly the point I was trying to make @Varsity_Lu

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

SouthJamaica — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:31:45 GMT

@Thomas_Thumb wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@FICOdawg wrote:
Was 44%. No other available changes. Next month I'll see singular data point of AZE1 impact by paying my Marriott card in full prior to the closing date as just learned that trick yesterday watching YouTube video.

3 card accounts. Next month will be 1 of 3 with balance.
How is it possible to experience a 5 1/2% drop in aggregate utilization without other changes, such as, e.g., changes in individual account utilization?
^ Agreed. One or two individual card utilizations must have changed either due to CLIs or balance paydowns. Highest UT on cards is a scoring metric.

Always mention highest card UT and number of cards with balances out of total cards. Those scoreable metrics are important regardless of threshold perceptions.

Whether or not a score change happens crossing a UT or cards reporting threshold is file/scorecard dependent. Scorecard assignments can change over time. Something previously inconsequential can become significant. I know! Such a change happened to me ever since my mortgage closed.

I know you don't believe me @Thomas_Thumb but I firmly believe that the number of high utilization accounts is another factor affecting the FICO 8 scores. For awhile I went through a period with aggregate utilization remaining more or less constant, and highest individual utilization remaining more or less constant, with a group of accounts hovering at 50%. It was clear to me that the number of 50% accounts that went over 50% was another scoring factor.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:58:45 GMT

@FICOdawg wrote:

Even within the Experian app, they reference aggregate as the factor to car about not individual. Watching all my reports, the major movement came from crossing 89/69/39 aggregate thresholds.

This isn't opinion that is what happened as I paid my CC debt down.

Experian's own input is to focus on aggregate.

I'm sure individual util matters but haven't seen movement from it yet.

It would be helpful if you can get a few aggregate data points on the way down such as: above 30 to below 29, above 20 to below 19, above 10 to below 9 and above 6 to below 5. Since 10/9 and 6/5 are considered likely thresholds, not crossing both at the same time would be informative. Also, try to avoid the 49% and 29% individual card thresholds when testing aggregate thresholds.

....

I just read a poster mention gaining 15 points for aggregate going from 16% to 14% due to a CLI on a $0 balance card. So no card UT change and no AG balance change. The CLI was a trigger event for a pull but, the score may have been influenced by a prior, non trigger, event. Otherwise 15% could be an AG threshold.

Let's assume aggregate UT has no thresholds and the above 11 point gain is from a 2% drop in AG UT. That suggests each 20% change in AG UT would impact score 150 points. Anyone buy that?

Fico mentions intervals are used for scoring metrics such as utilization. Going from one interval to another means crossing a boundry point (threshold)

Another factor to consider is aggregate balance. It is not as influential as utilization but still plays a roll.

Fico's reason codes list and Fico employees mentioned during a Q&A that: Fico considers aggregate balance in scoring. Unfortunately, this is rarely considered when data is presented so we have very little information on this metric.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 21:21:26 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:

The only thresholds of which I am sure are in individual utilization -- 29% and 49%.

-----------------------------------

I recall a recent thread of yours with some data supporting the view that a card threshold exists at 100%. That threshold is also discussed in the Birdman/CassieCard thread.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

Varsity_Lu — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:55:24 GMT

@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

I just read a poster mention gaining 11 points for aggregate going from 16% to 14% due to a CLI on a $0 balance card. So no card UT change and no AG balance change. The CLI was a trigger event for a pull but, the score may have been influenced by a prior, non trigger, event. Otherwise 15% could be an AG threshold.

Let's assume aggregate UT has no thresholds and the above 11 point gain is from a 2% drop in AG UT. That suggests each 20% change in AG UT would impact score 110 points. Anyone buy that?

Are we certain the data on the post you mentioned above is accurate? Not sure everyone is buying the story of that 11 point jump with the only trigger being a 2% util drop.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

FICOdawg — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:00:19 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@FICOdawg wrote:
Was 44%. No other available changes. Next month I'll see singular data point of AZE1 impact by paying my Marriott card in full prior to the closing date as just learned that trick yesterday watching YouTube video.

3 card accounts. Next month will be 1 of 3 with balance.
How is it possible to experience a 5 1/2% drop in aggregate utilization without other changes, such as, e.g., changes in individual account utilization?
^ Agreed. One or two individual card utilizations must have changed either due to CLIs or balance paydowns. Highest UT on cards is a scoring metric.

Always mention highest card UT and number of cards with balances out of total cards. Those scoreable metrics are important regardless of threshold perceptions.

Whether or not a score change happens crossing a UT or cards reporting threshold is file/scorecard dependent. Scorecard assignments can change over time. Something previously inconsequential can become significant. I know! Such a change happened to me ever since my mortgage closed.
I know you don't believe me @Thomas_Thumb but I firmly believe that the number of high utilization accounts is another factor affecting the FICO 8 scores. For awhile I went through a period with aggregate utilization remaining more or less constant, and highest individual utilization remaining more or less constant, with a group of accounts hovering at 50%. It was clear to me that the number of 50% accounts that went over 50% was another scoring factor.

I do believe 50% on individual card matters.

But, this aggregate datapoint is crystal clear. No other data changed, no CLI landed on the report as I can see all of that in Experian app.

Re: Datapoint: Aggregate utilization below 39%

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 21:23:58 GMT

@Varsity_Lu wrote:
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

I just read a poster mention gaining 11 points for aggregate going from 16% to 14% due to a CLI on a $0 balance card. So no card UT change and no AG balance change. The CLI was a trigger event for a pull but, the score may have been influenced by a prior, non trigger, event. Otherwise 15% could be an AG threshold.
Let's assume aggregate UT has no thresholds and the above 11 point gain is from a 2% drop in AG UT. That suggests each 20% change in AG UT would impact score 110 points. Anyone buy that?
Are we certain the data on the post you mentioned above is accurate? Not sure everyone is buying the story of that 11 point jump with the only trigger being a 2% util drop.

Actually the point gain listed in the other thread was 15 points, not 11. The 11 points was this OP. I got it crossed.

Do I believe there is a major aggregate UT threshold at 15%, highly unlikely - imo. However, the AG UT variable appears well isolated due to a CLI with nothing else changing. Unless ... the boost actually came from a past, non trigger, event. On the surface that data appears to be as "crystal clear" as this OP's

The point I was attempting to make in my prior post is utilizations are scored in discrete intervals - not continuous y = f(x). If it were continuous there would be no double digit "jumps" associated with some minor UT changes and no score movement with other minor UT changes.

Hypothesized thresholds need to be validated through repeatability - ideally from the initial tester getting an additional set of data points above/below. Then further datapoints from multiple independent testers before being adopted as "official". This is easy for highest card UT and not so hard for low AG thresholds. Much more difficult for high AG UT thresholds.