There are volumes written here about utilization, and every file is different in how much it will affect you. The best practice I've seen is to:
1. Make sure you only show a balance on 1 card. Pay off remaining cards before statement cut dates to report zero balance.
2. Allow 1 card to post between 1 and 3 percent of your total avail credit as a statement balance. This will put your overall utilization as 1-3%
3. Use a higher limit card for your one balance. For example, if you have a 10k card and a 1k card, let the 1k be zero, and post the balance on the 10k.
Don't worry about fine tuning utilization unless you are trying to optimize your score. You don't have to do this every month, just when you plan to apply for credit. And you shouldn't apply for credit unless it's planned. Works better that way, even though it's hard.
