Do I still need to follow the 30% utilization rule if I pay the card off every month?

[Anonymous]

Hi! Long time lurker, this forum is a godsend! I tend to post sparingly when I can't find the answers.

I've been thinking about transferring all my expenses monthly to my CC and just paying it off 1 week before the due date. But do I still need to honor the 30% utilization rule if I'm paying in full every month before it reports? My thoughts are to use my cash back rewards on my new BoA Cash Rewards card to the full advantage. Also, would this give me a better chance of CLIs in the future?

to be clear I would never carry a balance 

 thanks

[chiefone4u]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi! Long time lurker, this forum is a godsend! I tend to post sparingly when I can't find the answers.

I've been thinking about transferring all my expenses monthly to my CC and just paying it off 1 week before the due date. But do I still need to honor the 30% utilization rule if I'm paying in full every month before it reports? My thoughts are to use my cash back rewards on my new BoA Cash Rewards card to the full advantage. Also, would this give me a better chance of CLIs in the future?

to be clear I would never carry a balance 

 thanks

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If you are paying in full before the statement cuts (causing statement balance to be $0.00) then you could use 100% of your limit multiple times a month.

If you are looking for optimal scores you just need that statement to cut with less than 30% utilization. 

[Anonymous]

@chiefone4u 

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@chiefone4u wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi! Long time lurker, this forum is a godsend! I tend to post sparingly when I can't find the answers.

I've been thinking about transferring all my expenses monthly to my CC and just paying it off 1 week before the due date. But do I still need to honor the 30% utilization rule if I'm paying in full every month before it reports? My thoughts are to use my cash back rewards on my new BoA Cash Rewards card to the full advantage. Also, would this give me a better chance of CLIs in the future?

to be clear I would never carry a balance 

 thanks

---

If you are paying in full before the statement cuts (causing statement balance to be $0.00) then you could use 100% of your limit multiple times a month.

If you are looking for optimal scores you just need that statement to cut with less than 30% utilization. 

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Awesome! Just what I was hoping, thanks!
Now, on the road to 720! 🤠🏇🌅

[omnicron]

How many cards do you have? They say the ideal amount is 3 and a mix of credit, like car loans and such. Also If you may want atleast one card to show a balance (1%) so you dont get the zero utilization penalty on your scores.

I'm sure others will correct me if I am wrong.

[Anonymous]

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@omnicron wrote:

How many cards do you have? They say the ideal amount is 3 and a mix of credit, like car loans and such. Also If you may want atleast one card to show a balance (1%) so you dont get the zero utilization penalty on your scores.

I'm sure others will correct me if I am wrong.

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BoA Cash Rewards ($1500)

Capital One Quicksilver upgraded from Platinum ($500)

Credit One, very crappy bad credit card that I hope to get rid of soon ($450)

Apple CC, just got approved.. though a low CL ($250)

Self Lender Secured CC ($400 for now but it will end up growing to $1k with the savings/collateral program they have)

And a handful of store cards as well as a car note

For context, 3 years ago I had nothing with 450-500 credit scores across the board

[Anonymous]

Good advice above thus far.  For optimizing your score you just want 1 of those cards to report a balance monthly and it should be a major bank card, not a store card.  I recommend a reported balance of $10-$20, something like that.  Use as much of the limit as you'd like, just drop your balance down to $15 or whatever before your statement cuts.  Your Fico scores will be optimized that way.  Nice job exhibiting Transactor behavior by always paying in full monthly.  That's the best sign of sound credit health and something BoA will like to see and will be considered when CLI opportunities present themselves.  Also you indirectly asked about spend on CLIs.  Generally speaking, the greater your spend (with PIF) the better the look you're giving BoA when it comes to CLI potential. 

[omnicron]

You'll do ok. Sept of last year I had 3 revolving accounts (5k total cl), 2 car payments and credit scores in the the 620 to 630 range. 5 months later I have a house payment, 1 car payment and 12 cards with a cl of $56,050 and my fico scores 740, 769 and 742. I have 4 junk cards to get rid of myself but it's hard when two of the are my oldest at 3.7 years (fingerhut 3k) and cap1 qs 600 at 3.5 years, I may just hold onto the QS as it will eventually grow to 1k in two more years... dang cap1and their buckets.

You might want to look into a local CU for credit products. I apped for a STCU Premier Rewards World Mastercard in November and was approved for 10k. For reference Navy gave me a 1k card, cli at 3 mo for 2k more and the new app for the More Rewards for a sl of 4700. My point is local CU's can be more generous then larger banks.

[Anonymous]

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@omnicron wrote:

You'll do ok. Sept of last year I had 3 revolving accounts (5k total cl), 2 car payments and credit scores in the the 620 to 630 range. 5 months later I have a house payment, 1 car payment and 12 cards with a cl of $56,050 and my fico scores 740, 769 and 742. I have 4 junk cards to get rid of myself but it's hard when two of the are my oldest at 3.7 years (fingerhut 3k) and cap1 qs 600 at 3.5 years, I may just hold onto the QS as it will eventually grow to 1k in two more years... dang cap1and their buckets.

You might want to look into a local CU for credit products. I apped for a STCU Premier Rewards World Mastercard in November and was approved for 10k. For reference Navy gave me a 1k card, cli at 3 mo for 2k more and the new app for the More Rewards for a sl of 4700. My point is local CU's can be more generous then larger banks.

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Thats very encouraging. I'm actually thinking of gardening for a bit because im sitting at 12+ HPs across all 3 bureaus.....I think TU is at 16 :yikes!:

But once they fall off I might look into my work's CU (federal job)