@Anonymous wrote:I have two credit cards through Capital One. One has a credit limit of $500 and the other at $750. I very rarely use these and if I do I pay them off in full. I paid them both off to a zero balance last billing cycle and my score dropped. I purposely left a balance of $75 on the one with the $750 limit and have a balance of $120 on the $500 limit one. My billing cycle hits the 10th of every month. I got notice today that my Experian score increased 43 points to 661 and my Transunion went up 1 point to 644 because the balances have changed. My Eq is sitting hasnt changed and is at 624.I have no clue how this works, but from what I'm seeing should I leave this amount of balance each month? If so, will my score continue to increase this much each time? I am only trying to use these to my advantage and increase my score. I've had these cards since April. I've seen my overall score increase significantly since opening these accounts. Final question is, should I pay off these balances now and just use them to keep the end balance near where I had it this month for next billing cycle or is it safe to just keep it around this balance all the time without fully paying it off each time?
While it is possible to optimize your score by having only one of them report a balance, for regular monthly usage, you are fine letting them report something each month. As noted, both cards should not be zero. At least one has to have a balance for best scoring.
And, no, if you leave balances on the cards you won't see 40 point increases every month 
What you will see, if you use the cards consistently, is your score gradually climbing as you add months of payment history. The thing you must do is always pay on time. With these small limits, for now, it's tough to use the cards regularly and keep them at a low reported utilization. If you are using the cards only for daily spend, let that amount report on the statement, never go over the limit, and always pay the statement amount in full by the due date, that is a good base to start from for building your file. If you find yourself pushing the available limit, you must pay down the card to prevent going over the limit, whether that is after the statement prints, or every week during the month.
After you get some more history, and you want to optimize your file to prepare for another card app, you can try to get one card reporting only the 1% - 10% amount. It will probably give you a few extra points.
The main thing that is going to increase your score is never missing payments, and the passage of time. Utilization does have a temporary effect on the score, but your fundamental score is based on your not missing payments.
Good luck!
@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I have two credit cards through Capital One. One has a credit limit of $500 and the other at $750. I very rarely use these and if I do I pay them off in full. I paid them both off to a zero balance last billing cycle and my score dropped. I purposely left a balance of $75 on the one with the $750 limit and have a balance of $120 on the $500 limit one. My billing cycle hits the 10th of every month. I got notice today that my Experian score increased 43 points to 661 and my Transunion went up 1 point to 644 because the balances have changed. My Eq is sitting hasnt changed and is at 624.I have no clue how this works, but from what I'm seeing should I leave this amount of balance each month? If so, will my score continue to increase this much each time? I am only trying to use these to my advantage and increase my score. I've had these cards since April. I've seen my overall score increase significantly since opening these accounts. Final question is, should I pay off these balances now and just use them to keep the end balance near where I had it this month for next billing cycle or is it safe to just keep it around this balance all the time without fully paying it off each time?
While it is possible to optimize your score by having only one of them report a balance, for regular monthly usage, you are fine letting them report something each month. As noted, both cards should not be zero. At least one has to have a balance for best scoring.
And, no, if you leave balances on the cards you won't see 40 point increases every month
What you will see, if you use the cards consistently, is your score gradually climbing as you add months of payment history. The thing you must do is always pay on time. With these small limits, for now, it's tough to use the cards regularly and keep them at a low reported utilization. If you are using the cards only for daily spend, let that amount report on the statement, never go over the limit, and always pay the statement amount in full by the due date, that is a good base to start from for building your file. If you find yourself pushing the available limit, you must pay down the card to prevent going over the limit, whether that is after the statement prints, or every week during the month.
After you get some more history, and you want to optimize your file to prepare for another card app, you can try to get one card reporting only the 1% - 10% amount. It will probably give you a few extra points.
The main thing that is going to increase your score is never missing payments, and the passage of time. Utilization does have a temporary effect on the score, but your fundamental score is based on your not missing payments.
Good luck!
+1 Great advice... & Good Luck !!!!!!
@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I have two credit cards through Capital One. One has a credit limit of $500 and the other at $750. I very rarely use these and if I do I pay them off in full. I paid them both off to a zero balance last billing cycle and my score dropped. I purposely left a balance of $75 on the one with the $750 limit and have a balance of $120 on the $500 limit one. My billing cycle hits the 10th of every month. I got notice today that my Experian score increased 43 points to 661 and my Transunion went up 1 point to 644 because the balances have changed. My Eq is sitting hasnt changed and is at 624.I have no clue how this works, but from what I'm seeing should I leave this amount of balance each month? If so, will my score continue to increase this much each time? I am only trying to use these to my advantage and increase my score. I've had these cards since April. I've seen my overall score increase significantly since opening these accounts. Final question is, should I pay off these balances now and just use them to keep the end balance near where I had it this month for next billing cycle or is it safe to just keep it around this balance all the time without fully paying it off each time?
While it is possible to optimize your score by having only one of them report a balance, for regular monthly usage, you are fine letting them report something each month. As noted, both cards should not be zero. At least one has to have a balance for best scoring.
And, no, if you leave balances on the cards you won't see 40 point increases every month
What you will see, if you use the cards consistently, is your score gradually climbing as you add months of payment history. The thing you must do is always pay on time. With these small limits, for now, it's tough to use the cards regularly and keep them at a low reported utilization. If you are using the cards only for daily spend, let that amount report on the statement, never go over the limit, and always pay the statement amount in full by the due date, that is a good base to start from for building your file. If you find yourself pushing the available limit, you must pay down the card to prevent going over the limit, whether that is after the statement prints, or every week during the month.
After you get some more history, and you want to optimize your file to prepare for another card app, you can try to get one card reporting only the 1% - 10% amount. It will probably give you a few extra points.
The main thing that is going to increase your score is never missing payments, and the passage of time. Utilization does have a temporary effect on the score, but your fundamental score is based on your not missing payments.
Good luck!
That's the ticket.
@NRB525 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I have two credit cards through Capital One. One has a credit limit of $500 and the other at $750. I very rarely use these and if I do I pay them off in full. I paid them both off to a zero balance last billing cycle and my score dropped. I purposely left a balance of $75 on the one with the $750 limit and have a balance of $120 on the $500 limit one. My billing cycle hits the 10th of every month. I got notice today that my Experian score increased 43 points to 661 and my Transunion went up 1 point to 644 because the balances have changed. My Eq is sitting hasnt changed and is at 624.I have no clue how this works, but from what I'm seeing should I leave this amount of balance each month? If so, will my score continue to increase this much each time? I am only trying to use these to my advantage and increase my score. I've had these cards since April. I've seen my overall score increase significantly since opening these accounts. Final question is, should I pay off these balances now and just use them to keep the end balance near where I had it this month for next billing cycle or is it safe to just keep it around this balance all the time without fully paying it off each time?
While it is possible to optimize your score by having only one of them report a balance, for regular monthly usage, you are fine letting them report something each month. As noted, both cards should not be zero. At least one has to have a balance for best scoring.
And, no, if you leave balances on the cards you won't see 40 point increases every month
What you will see, if you use the cards consistently, is your score gradually climbing as you add months of payment history. The thing you must do is always pay on time. With these small limits, for now, it's tough to use the cards regularly and keep them at a low reported utilization. If you are using the cards only for daily spend, let that amount report on the statement, never go over the limit, and always pay the statement amount in full by the due date, that is a good base to start from for building your file. If you find yourself pushing the available limit, you must pay down the card to prevent going over the limit, whether that is after the statement prints, or every week during the month.
After you get some more history, and you want to optimize your file to prepare for another card app, you can try to get one card reporting only the 1% - 10% amount. It will probably give you a few extra points.
The main thing that is going to increase your score is never missing payments, and the passage of time. Utilization does have a temporary effect on the score, but your fundamental score is based on your not missing payments.
Good luck!
That was some solid advice. Thank you.