Utilization <30% or <9% for credit card applying?

[JoshSF]

Hi all,

From what I've read so far, it seems that having balances on your credit cards above 8.99% of total credit can adversely affect the FICO score... and above 30% can reduce one's chances of getting approved for new credit. 

I'm planning to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. CreditKarma says my current FICO is TU 740, Exp 719, with 39% utilization. That's the only thing really impacting the score, with a few credit pulls being the other. 

I paid enough extra on my cards to get my utilization to ~24%, but is it worth it/important for the credit application process to get it under 9%? I really want this card, so I want to do everything I can to improve my chances of being approved. Thought it wouldn't hurt to ask for your opinions/experiences though. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

Lowering your utilization is always a good thing and can help you get better limits and such. Me personally im not going to be so specific of a number of utilization on a card to apply for a credit card, you can and nothing wrong with that, its just having your overall profile in shape is just as important.

Find out your true fico scores and work on your utilization which seems you have. Make sure the card works for you and understand the qualities they normally look for in approving the card. Income, other comparable limits, etc . Id imagine only having 1k limits , a Csr, might be a stetch as the lowest limit given is 10k. Good luck on getting your card

[joltdude]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Lowering your utilization is always a good thing and can help you get better limits and such. Me personally im not going to be so specific of a number of utilization on a card to apply for a credit card, you can and nothing wrong with that, its just having your overall profile in shape is just as important.

Find out your true fico scores and work on your utilization which seems you have. Make sure the card works for you and understand the qualities they normally look for in approving the card. Income, other comparable limits, etc . Id imagine only having 1k limits , a Csr, might be a stetch as the lowest limit given is 10k. Good luck on getting your card

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if you are going to try for a CSR which i woudnt quite recommend.. id check Chase for some preapprovals for even a CSP.... even if i dont get that card.. before biting for a CSR.. either way id pay it down to below 9% and wait for it to report if im going to try for a CSR .......still would see what your prequalify offers you.. to get a feel of your standing with chase..

[JoshSF]

Curious why you don't recommend it. It seems like the best travel rewards card around. For my purposes it seems to have the edge over the Amex Paltinum.

[joltdude]

if they only other card you have is 1k... you have a thin file and the min credit limit on the csr is 10k.... 

hence why im hesitant to have you try for a card with a SL of 10K...  unless we are missing some other data...

youll be denied if you dont get at least 10k... but we also dont know your aaoa, and possibly other factors....

CK scores are practically useless.. very few banks or CUs use them for cards....

Need some fico scores and getting credit is more than just a score... what do you have for tradelines and limits on those?

[Anonymous]

My two cents here would be that it's advisable to wait until your utilization is very low before you apply for anything. Generally this will lead to higher starting limits, lower APR, and could make the difference between an approval or denial.

[Anonymous]

CreditKarma offers a "credit score" that isn't a real one used by lenders.  In fact, TransUnion offers people the same BS "credit score" and the CPFB fined and penalized them for millions of dollars this year over that score.  Throw it away.  You need to go to CCT and pay the $1 trial to see your FICO08 scores.

Chase will not give you the CSR if you don't have history with other large limit cards.  Chase hates to be your first large limit creditor.  Go get some large credit card limits first elsewhere (Capital One, Discover, etc) after posting your real FICO08 scores here so we can tell you what to try for.

For me, Credit Karma told me my "credit score" was 696 but my FICO08s were over 100 points less -- 570 in one case.

[SouthJamaica]

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@JoshSF wrote:

Hi all,

From what I've read so far, it seems that having balances on your credit cards above 8.99% of total credit can adversely affect the FICO score... and above 30% can reduce one's chances of getting approved for new credit. 

I'm planning to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. CreditKarma says my current FICO is TU 740, Exp 719, with 39% utilization. That's the only thing really impacting the score, with a few credit pulls being the other. 

I paid enough extra on my cards to get my utilization to ~24%, but is it worth it/important for the credit application process to get it under 9%? I really want this card, so I want to do everything I can to improve my chances of being approved. Thought it wouldn't hurt to ask for your opinions/experiences though. 

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1. It's best to have overall utilization at 9% or less, and to have no single card at greater than 29%.

2. Credit Karma does not give you FICO scores, it gives you Vantage scores, which are often very different.

3. 39% overall utilization is not good.

4. 24% isn't great; yes it is worth your while to get to 9% before applying for a CSR.

[Anonymous]

Lower utilization is always better when apping for a card.  It will give you the best possible look for the most favorable starting terms.

[JoshSF]

Thanks folks. 

So here is more info:

CCT reports the following scores:

Exp 750, TU 741, Eq 716

Revolving credit usage currently at 24%

AAoA = 12.7yrs (Exp), 13.6 years (TU/Eq)

Cards & Limits

Barclay Apple Visa - $8500

Capital One Visa - $750

Looking at my Target store card - $1300 - it looks like it's not reported on my CR.