QUESTION regarding UTI (and maximizing FICO scores).........

[I_SUFFER_FROM_FICO_ENVY]

The other day, I asked about 9% UTI and CC reporting dates.  Thanks again for all the responses. 

I have a few more questions on how BEST to maximize my FICO score.  I'm going to be doing a little science experiment mid August.  But, I need your advice.

I have FOUR credit cards.  Three of the four have roughly $1500-$2000 credit limits on them.  The other one, has a credit limit of $5000.  My TOTAL CREDIT LIMIT is $10,000.  I am going to choose an arbitrary 7% UTI (7 is my favorite number, that's all) unless you guys think otherwise.

Now, should I:

a)  place 7% on ALL FOUR CARDS;

b)  place 7% on my card with the highest credit limit (card with $5000 limit) and keep other three cards with ZERO balance;

I know from various literature that one can MAXIMIZE your FICO scores keeping UTI between 1-10%.  But, the information doesnt elaborate any more.  Here's the web site I used (and has a wonderful graph, btw) http://www.creditkarma.com/article/CreditCardUtilizationAndScore

Is it "a" or "b" that is the BEST route?   SUGGESTIONS?????

Thanks in advance

[pizzadude]

Part of FICO revolving scoring is also the number of cards with balances - so you won't want to choose option (a).

Option (b) should work as a starting point.    

Regarding credit karma, I would ignore their scoring advice, as FAKOs follow different scoring rules than FICO.

[I_SUFFER_FROM_FICO_ENVY]

Understood, regarding credit karma. 

But, don't you think their graph, generally speaking, holds true?  Maybe the numbers are SKEWED due to them possibly being FAKO.  But wouldn't the same trend be seen with FICO scores, regardless?

[pizzadude]

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@I_SUFFER_FROM_FICO_ENVY wrote:

Understood, regarding credit karma. 

But, don't you think their graph, generally speaking, holds true?  Maybe the numbers are SKEWED due to them possibly being FAKO.  But wouldn't the same trend be seen with FICO scores, regardless?

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I haven't looked at their advice or graph, but I would be inclined to think not.   FAKOs score utilization different than FICO.    They are known to exclude AUs, or closed accounts, etc.....so you just can't correlate them. 

[android01]

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@I_SUFFER_FROM_FICO_ENVY wrote:

The other day, I asked about 9% UTI and CC reporting dates.  Thanks again for all the responses. 

I have a few more questions on how BEST to maximize my FICO score.  I'm going to be doing a little science experiment mid August.  But, I need your advice.

I have FOUR credit cards.  Three of the four have roughly $1500-$2000 credit limits on them.  The other one, has a credit limit of $5000.  My TOTAL CREDIT LIMIT is $10,000.  I am going to choose an arbitrary 7% UTI (7 is my favorite number, that's all) unless you guys think otherwise.

Now, should I:

a)  place 7% on ALL FOUR CARDS;

b)  place 7% on my card with the highest credit limit (card with $5000 limit) and keep other three cards with ZERO balance;

I know from various literature that one can MAXIMIZE your FICO scores keeping UTI between 1-10%.  But, the information doesnt elaborate any more.  Here's the web site I used (and has a wonderful graph, btw) http://www.creditkarma.com/article/CreditCardUtilizationAndScore

Is it "a" or "b" that is the BEST route?   SUGGESTIONS?????

Thanks in advance

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Definately option b.  I've experimented with different utilizations and how they affect FICO scores.  I've found that my FICO scores max out if I let 1% report on one card. 

[KhuKhu]

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@android01 wrote:

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@I_SUFFER_FROM_FICO_ENVY wrote:

The other day, I asked about 9% UTI and CC reporting dates.  Thanks again for all the responses. 

I have a few more questions on how BEST to maximize my FICO score.  I'm going to be doing a little science experiment mid August.  But, I need your advice.

I have FOUR credit cards.  Three of the four have roughly $1500-$2000 credit limits on them.  The other one, has a credit limit of $5000.  My TOTAL CREDIT LIMIT is $10,000.  I am going to choose an arbitrary 7% UTI (7 is my favorite number, that's all) unless you guys think otherwise.

Now, should I:

a)  place 7% on ALL FOUR CARDS;

b)  place 7% on my card with the highest credit limit (card with $5000 limit) and keep other three cards with ZERO balance;

I know from various literature that one can MAXIMIZE your FICO scores keeping UTI between 1-10%.  But, the information doesnt elaborate any more.  Here's the web site I used (and has a wonderful graph, btw) http://www.creditkarma.com/article/CreditCardUtilizationAndScore

Is it "a" or "b" that is the BEST route?   SUGGESTIONS?????

Thanks in advance

---

Definately option b.  I've experimented with different utilizations and how they affect FICO scores.  I've found that my FICO scores max out if I let 1% report on one card. 

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Sorry to revise an old thread, but i want to make sure here: so with option B, letting 1% report on one card is actually better than letting it report 5%? I thought as long as it's between 1-9%, it should max out the same? If you're right, i'll start making my card report 1%.

[DaveSignal]

Not everyone's credit profiles are the same.  You would need to find out what works for your score by experimenting yourself.  For me, 9% and 1% both generate the same score.  I can also have these percentages spread across multiple cards, tested with 30% down to 10% of all cards showing a balance, and my score is still the same.  This might not be true for you though.

[KhuKhu]

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@DaveSignal wrote:

Not everyone's credit profiles are the same.  You would need to find out what works for your score by experimenting yourself.  For me, 9% and 1% both generate the same score.  I can also have these percentages spread across multiple cards, tested with 30% down to 10% of all cards showing a balance, and my score is still the same.  This might not be true for you though.

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Thanks for the info. I guess i'll do 1% for awhile, then do 9%, and see for myself. 

[Odiseous]

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@KhuKhu wrote:

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@DaveSignal wrote:

Not everyone's credit profiles are the same.  You would need to find out what works for your score by experimenting yourself.  For me, 9% and 1% both generate the same score.  I can also have these percentages spread across multiple cards, tested with 30% down to 10% of all cards showing a balance, and my score is still the same.  This might not be true for you though.

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Thanks for the info. I guess i'll do 1% for awhile, then do 9%, and see for myself. 

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This.

When I was experimenting with my scores with 1 - 9 % util, it didn't matter what my util was within that range, or even if my reported util was spread between 1 or 2 cards. But as soon as I spread 1% over 3 cards, I took a hit (even though it was only a couple of points).

My credit profile has changed drastically since then, so I don't know where I stand now. But I have a general idea now how it works.

[KhuKhu]

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@Odiseous wrote:

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@KhuKhu wrote:

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@DaveSignal wrote:

Not everyone's credit profiles are the same.  You would need to find out what works for your score by experimenting yourself.  For me, 9% and 1% both generate the same score.  I can also have these percentages spread across multiple cards, tested with 30% down to 10% of all cards showing a balance, and my score is still the same.  This might not be true for you though.

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Thanks for the info. I guess i'll do 1% for awhile, then do 9%, and see for myself. 

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This.

When I was experimenting with my scores with 1 - 9 % util, it didn't matter what my util was within that range, or even if my reported util was spread between 1 or 2 cards. But as soon as I spread 1% over 3 cards, I took a hit (even though it was only a couple of points).

My credit profile has changed drastically since then, so I don't know where I stand now. But I have a general idea now how it works.

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thanks for the data point. It looks like (in your case) it didn't matter what the UTL was (within 1-9%), but when it saw you were using 3 cards, you took the couple points hit...