Question about credit card utilization

[Anonymous]

I have 3 credit cards and the CL combined is $11,950 (10k, 1500k, 450) Last month I allowed $2400 carry over and my utilization was 22%, but my credit report said the balance was too high. This month I paid the balance off and allowed $107 carryover and my utilization was 1% and too low. What is a good amount to carry over without being penalize or considered high risk borrower?

[SpiceIslander]

The consensus here (MyFico) is 10% or just under. Elsewhere, the magic number is no more than 30%.

[Anonymous]

For credit score optimization (to apply for new credit), 1-9% usually works best according to veteran myfico members. If you're not planning to apply and just want to avoid lender's attention then <30% is most definitely safe.

[baller4life]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

For credit score optimization (to apply for new credit), 1-9% usually works best according to veteran myfico members. If you're not planning to apply and just want to avoid lender's attention then <30% is most definitely safe.

---

Not necessarily safe. I was under 20% util when I got cld by Barclays.

[Anonymous]

---

@baller4life wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

For credit score optimization (to apply for new credit), 1-9% usually works best according to veteran myfico members. If you're not planning to apply and just want to avoid lender's attention then <30% is most definitely safe.

---

Not necessarily safe. I was under 20% util when I got cld by Barclays.

---

That's nuts of Barclays right there

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

This month I paid the balance off and allowed $107 carryover and my utilization was 1% and too low.

---

Where did it say 1% was too low?  I don't think I've ever seen that before...

[takeshi74]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

What is a good amount to carry over without being penalize or considered high risk borrower?

---

All depends on credit profile but generally the lower the better as long as you're not allowing all 0 balances to report.

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Last month I allowed $2400 carry over and my utilization was 22%, but my credit report said the balance was too high. This month I paid the balance off and allowed $107 carryover and my utilization was 1% and too low.

---

Where are you getting these messages from?  Who is providing the reports and reasons?  1% shouldn't be too low.

How are you paying off a balance and carrying it?  Either you're doing one or the other.

---

@SpiceIslander wrote:

The consensus here (MyFico) is 10% or just under. Elsewhere, the magic number is no more than 30%.

---

30% is an upper limit as in "do not exceed".  It is, however, not anywhere near optimal.

[Anonymous]

I've been monitoring from month to month with different sites including credit karma, capital one credit tracker, cct, and etc. 

[Anonymous]

Each time my utilization went down my score went up a few points. Best is 1%, even when i went from 4% to 1% my score went up a few points. I have Equifax Complete. But I don't think Equifax Complete had provided my FICO score because when I was granted Discover it, the scores Discover gave me through the letter that came with the credit card package was 38 points higher.

[Anonymous]

Generally speaking (and there are a few threads I've read this on; if you do a search you should be able to find some), the best way to have utilization report is to have all your cards report a zero balance except for one card that's reporting around 1%.  I believe that anything below 1% is rounded up to 1%, so you could literally just have a balance of $1 if you wanted to on that last card.