As you can see from the screenshot below, I carry what is less than a 1% balance across my cards. I have been doing the AZEO thing a while, but PPMC's d@$n midcycle reporting keeps screwing that up (I actually had $-50.00 balance when the statement cut on the 16th due to the SUB credit) but they reported the $107 balance again on the 21st for reasons unknown to me.
I did this early on to try to have the best score possible. My BCP and my PNC cards aren't reporting yet, but I keep them at $0 as well.
My question is would I benefit in some way from carrying a larger balance on at least one card? And if so, what % would be optimum? I would obviously carry the balance on one of the cards with a 0% APR intro period (my new BB&T card comes to mind - 0% for 15 months) because it makes no financial sense to pay interest, but if carrying a balance helps me, I'm game as long as it doesn't cost me anything.
I don't need to do this in any way, but do lenders like to see cards being used a certain amount? Do other CCCs know if a card is in a introductory period? IOW, do they know (or care) that you aren't paying interest? I thought I remember reading that lenders like to see cards being used and I wondered how, if anything, does usage affect CLI's, SLs, etc.
What say the experts? Should I be "using" more of my 60K CL, even if really it's just on paper?
So, would letting $1K, $2 - whatever - report and then paying that off in full before the due date would be the best route?
Would it be best to do this on one card or several? Or would it be better to rotate cards? For example, I pay utilities with my BBVA card and I current have a balance of a little over $800 on it, but I always pay it off before the 15th when the statement cuts. Should I let that report this month and then and then let, say my BCP (typically around $700 monthly) report next month? Should I let one of them report at a time or let a couple of them per month report? My typically monthly spend is around $4500 across all 5 cards I’m currently using. I can move any of that around as needed if it benefits me.
Would it be best to do this on one card or several? Or would it be better to rotate cards? For example, I pay utilities with my BBVA card and I current have a balance of a little over $800 on it, but I always pay it off before the 15th when the statement cuts. Should I let that report this month and then and then let, say my BCP (typically around $700 monthly) report next month? Should I let one of them report at a time or let a couple of them per month report? My typically monthly spend is around $4500 across all 5 cards I’m currently using. I can move any of that around as needed if it benefits me.
Also, should I let the ones I’m trying to grow the most (Disco, PPMC, PNC) report the bigger balances or not? What gives me the best chances for CLIs?
I ask because I cycled $45K+ through my Disco this year, but never reported any significant balance and they refuse to approve any significant CLIs. I get denied monthly.😢
I ask because I cycled $45K+ through my Disco this year, but never reported any significant balance and they refuse to approve any significant CLIs. I get denied monthly.😢
Do you mean to carry a balance (month over month) or just allow a balance to report? Those are very different things.
Allowing a balance to report then PIF shows usage and ability to manage your credit. Allowing no balance to report means...you’re not using your cards (or could be seen as such).
It’s also somewhat mentally exhausting to manage zero reporting across multiple cards while monitoring for posted charges/posted payments/statement dates and attempting to maximize rewards (but knowing you should pay with such and such a card, but the statement cuts in 3 days but the charge won’t post for 2 and it takes 1-2 for the payment to post. Did you make it? Is it zero? Or did you choose to use a less desirable card (or no card) just to be safe and make sure the other reports zero). Or that was my experience and since abandoning that, my anxiety has dropped considerably. I no longer worry about how many times Synchrony decides to report in a given month.
If you can pay in full, and the balances that Report wouldn’t represent a large percentage of the CL, you might find it infinitely less stressful to just use your cards (focusing on maximizing rewards/benefits) and pay the bill in full after it posts. You won’t pay interest, you’ll show usage & ability to manage your cards and you’ll have oodles less stress (if you’re like me).
If you need to maximize your score for an application, you can AZEO for a month or so before you apply.
Allowing a balance to report then PIF shows usage and ability to manage your credit. Allowing no balance to report means...you’re not using your cards (or could be seen as such).
It’s also somewhat mentally exhausting to manage zero reporting across multiple cards while monitoring for posted charges/posted payments/statement dates and attempting to maximize rewards (but knowing you should pay with such and such a card, but the statement cuts in 3 days but the charge won’t post for 2 and it takes 1-2 for the payment to post. Did you make it? Is it zero? Or did you choose to use a less desirable card (or no card) just to be safe and make sure the other reports zero). Or that was my experience and since abandoning that, my anxiety has dropped considerably. I no longer worry about how many times Synchrony decides to report in a given month.
If you can pay in full, and the balances that Report wouldn’t represent a large percentage of the CL, you might find it infinitely less stressful to just use your cards (focusing on maximizing rewards/benefits) and pay the bill in full after it posts. You won’t pay interest, you’ll show usage & ability to manage your cards and you’ll have oodles less stress (if you’re like me).
If you need to maximize your score for an application, you can AZEO for a month or so before you apply.
@JNA1 wrote:
Also, should I let the ones I’m trying to grow the most (Disco, PPMC, PNC) report the bigger balances or not? What gives me the best chances for CLIs?
I ask because I cycled $45K+ through my Disco this year, but never reported any significant balance and they refuse to approve any significant CLIs. I get denied monthly.😢
You are in the garden. Your score does not matter until you apply for new credit. In just under 2 years, you've gathered a nice list of cards. The AU from Credit One raises questions but your own cards look good.
In some limited circumstances, letting 90% to 95% of your limit be used on one card ( high individual card utilization ) can cause issues, but in general, trying to pay everything before each statement is extra work that isn't benefiting you.
In the case of Discover, if your file is fairly new, that may be a limit on how fast they want the CL to increase. If look back at your Discover spend, if you had just let the spending stay on the Discover each month, and then pay the Statement Balance by the due date shown for that statement, how much would your max utilization have been, relative to the Discover limit at the time?
Are you continuing to use the Discover at that rate, or was that only during the CB Match period?
@I_Love_Cards wrote:
Do you mean to carry a balance (month over month) or just allow a balance to report? Those are very different things.
Allowing a balance to report then PIF shows usage and ability to manage your credit. Allowing no balance to report means...you’re not using your cards (or could be seen as such).
It’s also somewhat mentally exhausting to manage zero reporting across multiple cards while monitoring for posted charges/posted payments/statement dates and attempting to maximize rewards (but knowing you should pay with such and such a card, but the statement cuts in 3 days but the charge won’t post for 2 and it takes 1-2 for the payment to post. Did you make it? Is it zero? Or did you choose to use a less desirable card (or no card) just to be safe and make sure the other reports zero). Or that was my experience and since abandoning that, my anxiety has dropped considerably. I no longer worry about how many times Synchrony decides to report in a given month.
If you can pay in full, and the balances that Report wouldn’t represent a large percentage of the CL, you might find it infinitely less stressful to just use your cards (focusing on maximizing rewards/benefits) and pay the bill in full after it posts. You won’t pay interest, you’ll show usage & ability to manage your cards and you’ll have oodles less stress (if you’re like me).
If you need to maximize your score for an application, you can AZEO for a month or so before you apply.
+1 totally agree here. There is no need to do AZEO all the time. The one-time boost from AZEO can be gained right before you apply for something - no need to micromanage your accounts to maintain the AZEO benefit consistently. The average person (those not spending time in credit forums) with solid credit uses their cards, lets all balances report, and pays their statement balance in full by the due date - they don't even know AZEO is a thing.
Use your cards the way they are meant to be used, take advantage of the grace period before your payment is actually due - and only pay down before the statement cuts if your util will be extraordinarily high (and even then it's not necessary but it may make you feel better) - otherwise, if you're not apping, don't worry about it. You'll see a slight dtop in scores initially (mostly from losing the AZEO boost) but that's OK because you'll know why it happened and how to regain those points easily if needbe. Your scores will still rise over time and you'll show your creditors you can responsibly handle multiple lines and varying limits for the long term.
@I_Love_Cards - On carrying a balance vs letting the the cards report and then PIF - that’s what I didn’t know if one was considered best or whatever. Your post describes me to the T! 😔 I tell my poor wife a days before the statement “Don’t use the PPMC until the 16th!” Or “Don’t use the Discover until the 22nd!” A few days before the statement date. I had been doing that to maximize my score, but it is exhausting! I think I’ll loosen the reigns on that, especially if it will help me!
@NRB525 - I had myself removed as an AU from the Credit One, and disputed it so it doesn’t show up on my report at all now. That was a misstep that I was ignorant to. I’m not an AU on either of her cards now, I just have them listed because manage all of our cards and we are in this together. I’m building her profile too, and she’s more than content for me to handle all of it and just tell her which card to use on what! 😂
On the Discover, if I had let it report, most months it would have been nearly 90% utilization early on monthly and would have still been probably 70+% until last month, when I started spreading my spend out on other cards. I’ve made 5 or 6 payments per month on this card many times!
Starting this month, I’m mostly just using it for 5% categories now since my first year just ended. Do you think not almost any balance report these last 12 months has hurt my CLI chances?
@thornback - Thanks, that’s what I needed to hear. My wife will love it too! She says I stress her out sometimes! 🙈😂
@NRB525 - I had myself removed as an AU from the Credit One, and disputed it so it doesn’t show up on my report at all now. That was a misstep that I was ignorant to. I’m not an AU on either of her cards now, I just have them listed because manage all of our cards and we are in this together. I’m building her profile too, and she’s more than content for me to handle all of it and just tell her which card to use on what! 😂
On the Discover, if I had let it report, most months it would have been nearly 90% utilization early on monthly and would have still been probably 70+% until last month, when I started spreading my spend out on other cards. I’ve made 5 or 6 payments per month on this card many times!
Starting this month, I’m mostly just using it for 5% categories now since my first year just ended. Do you think not almost any balance report these last 12 months has hurt my CLI chances?
@thornback - Thanks, that’s what I needed to hear. My wife will love it too! She says I stress her out sometimes! 🙈😂