How do you guys handle having multiple cards?

[Anonymous]

Ok wow, everyone has their own way of dealing with it. I guess the lot of you who let balances report to the bureaus on different cards see your credit score fluctuate pretty often, right?

I’m going to find some everyday uses for the cards I have. I’m not going to change how I live my life because I now have cards, I’ll just switch the debit for a credit.

[Anonymous]

If you're someone who isn't good with managing your accounts, no need to have more than 10 cards (even 10 is alot). No need to collect cards just cause you can and your score ables you to. Apply for cards that you will benefit from. And I personally don't think its a smart idea to replace your debit with credit cards. Having credit cards will make you believe you have the money you don't have and may change your spending habit. It maybe smart to use cc for large purchases to maximize points (that's if you can pay that purchase), but for small everday things its best to use cc because those small little things add up and are harder to keep track off until you receive your statements.

[Anonymous]

Even when balances report it doesn't seem to generate much day-to-day fluctuation for me...and I don't worry too much about it unless I'm trying to maximize my score to get a home loan or something big like that.  My numbers seem to hover in the 730s and 740s, which is good enough for anything I'm trying to do.  As long as my gross utilization stays under 10%, I'm good.

[Anonymous]

Small balances (less than 8.9% of limit) reporting doesn’t actually make your score fluctuate too much (except when you have a SUPER thin file, like just 1 card).  Obviously you REALLY want to avoid large balances reporting for score maximization.  To really dive into this topic, search the credit scoring topic for “AZEO” which means all zero except one.  The tldr is to do that right before applying for new credit, but otherwise no worry so much.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been using AZEO all year while waiting on my new home to close. (We closed on Tuesday) This month has been the first time I’ve had over a 700 credit score and the ability to get cards. I apped 3 this week so I’m trying to get some advice on how you guys use these cards. I believe at least 2 of these cards have those 3 months spend requirements so I wondered do people in this forum just swipe their credit cards for everything I typically used my debit card and cash for to meet these obligations.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Ok wow, everyone has their own way of dealing with it. I guess the lot of you who let balances report to the bureaus on different cards see your credit score fluctuate pretty often, right?

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@Anonymous not really, 4 months ago when I ended my AZEO experiments @ 3 out of 8 accounts reporting small balances (UTI 1%), my scores were Ex806, TU804 and EQ805. Last cycle I had 7 out of 8 cards reporting @ 4% UTI, my EX remained at 806, EQ dropped to 802 and TU dropped to 798. This cycle I still had 7 out of 8 cards reporting but my PenFed reported $2700 balance @ 28% due to a few bank account initial fundings (7% aggregate UTI), Ex dropped to 803, TU dropped to 792 and I haven't checked EQ yet. I suspect TU is probably more sensitive than others when it comes to percentage of accounts reporting as well as individual UTI.

Even if the score had fluctuated more it wouldn't matter, it's all temporary and can be gained back easily prior to major loan applications like mortgages or car loans. I certainly wouldn't pay a day earlier than necessary and sacrifice 4% APY from my payment checking account through grace period just to maintain highest possible score for no good reason.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I’ve been using AZEO all year while waiting on my new home to close. (We closed on Tuesday) This month has been the first time I’ve had over a 700 credit score and the ability to get cards. I apped 3 this week so I’m trying to get some advice on how you guys use these cards. I believe at least 2 of these cards have those 3 months spend requirements so I wondered do people in this forum just swipe their credit cards for everything I typically used my debit card and cash for to meet these obligations.

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Generally, people here will use the cc for everything, even when not meeting minimum spend.   (With obvious exceptions, such as when the merchant doesn't take cards, or there is a too big surcharge for using cards, such as with utilities in some places).

Debit cards should only be used when needed for rewards checking (and as part of MS, but not discussed here!) and even then, I would leave them at home and meet the requirements with gift card reloads on Amazon.   If your bank has an ATM card that is NOT also a debit card, that's worthwhile for emergencies when you need cash.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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I suspect TU is probably more sensitive than others when it comes to percentage of accounts reporting as well as individual UTI.

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A little off-topic, but does someone really know if the CRBs differ?   My impression was that FICO8 (say) was a standardized algorithm, run against the data held by each bureau, and any differences are due to the different data rather than by customization of the algorithm.....

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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I suspect TU is probably more sensitive than others when it comes to percentage of accounts reporting as well as individual UTI.

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A little off-topic, but does someone really know if the CRBs differ?   My impression was that FICO8 (say) was a standardized algorithm, run against the data held by each bureau, and any differences are due to the different data rather than by customization of the algorithm.....

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I honestly do not know other than going by my data point, TU does have 1 more scorable HP than others but that HP happened 3 months ago and my TU didn't drop then.

[Anonymous]

Edit: never mind

I believe old man was referring to the actual data on his TU report making his tu more sensitive, meaning that his tu file is thinner because something isnot reported there.