Should I let a balance report every now and then?

[DI]

I have no credit card balances reporting.  The only credit card debt I have is a $61 balance on my Cap 1 card.  The new statement generates 2/10.  Should l let the balance report to the CRAs or pay it off now? Whatever I decide to do, I  won't have to pay any interest if I pay the $61 by 3/7. 

[Anonymous]

Not sure about you, but I get a 5-10 point increase when i let a small balance report..

[LS1]

Unless I'm mistaken, it's recommended to keep 1 - 10% utilization showing on your reports for optimal FICO scoring?  Obviously some of the pro's will be able to chime in and correct me if I'm wrong!

[DI]

I noticed each time when there were no credit card balances to report my Credit Karma score decreased.  I assume the same thing happens with FICO scores and etc.

[fused]

Most people will gain some points by having all of their CCs reporting a $0 balance except for one. The one card reporting a balance should have util between 1-9%. Some report higher scores if the one card reporting a balance is closer to 1% util. 

OTOH, some people in the 800 club found they gained a few points for having no balances on all of their CCs reporting on TU. I happen to be one of those people. 

[android01]

It was my experience that I got a 15 point drop in my scores when I reported a zero balance on everything.  This was a while ago, and I remember a negative message that "I wasn't showing good use of my available credit."  I think this was on TU.

[fused]

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@android01 wrote:

It was my experience that I got a 15 point drop in my scores when I reported a zero balance on everything.  This was a while ago, and I remember a negative message that "I wasn't showing good use of my available credit."  I think this was on TU.

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I used to get the same message on TU before I hit the 800 club. I also remember losing about the same number of points as you did.

[android01]

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@fused wrote:

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@android01 wrote:

It was my experience that I got a 15 point drop in my scores when I reported a zero balance on everything.  This was a while ago, and I remember a negative message that "I wasn't showing good use of my available credit."  I think this was on TU.

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I used to get the same message on TU before I hit the 800 club. I also remember losing about the same number of points as you did.

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I'm at 790 on TU and 785 on EQ.  It's interesting to know about the difference after reaching 800.  It must be that bucketing deal I've read about. 

[fused]

Here's a thread discussing this topic.

Here's The Skinny On Zero Balances

[DI]

I went ahead and paid the $61 credit card debt to Cap 1.  I've gotten too use to not having monthly bills from banks!