@Anonymous wrote:
The 80% is very likely the issue. If you’re shooting for 35%, try to dig a little deeper and try for 28%. That’ll drop you through an additional scoring threshold and kick in a few more points.
Thanks, @Anonymous . I've seen you post other similar numbers about thresholds but don't know the details. Do you work for a credit bureua or bank and have inside info? 
What are all the various thresholds?
I know I've seen the 8.9% number (I always just thought 10% or less was the lowest.) And I knew there were cuts around 30% (28%?) and I thought also 50% and 90%??? I've never seen detailed numbers outside of My Fico, to include the 8.9%. Just wondering ... I don't let my Utilization get that high any longer.
Lol everything I've ever learned has been from this site. I wish I had working experience inside a bureau - I'd be posting novels here
Breakpoints for scoring are at the following aggregate usage thresholds:
8.9%
28.9%
48.9%
68.9%
88.9% (this is considered maxed out)
Crossing a threshold up or down is typically worth 10-15 FICO points. For those who do carry or have balances and are paying them down, a better set of percentages would be 7/27/47/67/87, so that when interest is added at statement cut, the balances don't push the person back up over the threshold and cost them the points they just gained by paying to those x8.9 percentages.
In general speaking, talking about "less than 10%" conveys the idea, but FICO rounds up, and although the breakpoints specifically are likely 9/29/49/69/89, that cuts it too closely. A usage of 9.01% rounds to 10%, so the advice to avoid that is x8.9 as a landing point below the threshold. If one has a balance on 0% interest, then that's sufficient, but if there is interest, then paying to x7% keeps the balance under the breakpoint once interest is added.
I had 2 cards reporting over 50% (BTs) and overall utilization around 25%. Lowes SL was $500, put small spend on it for three months paying in full each month. At 6 month mark card was $12k. Have not used it since. But I will, I think it is a fantastic card. I love the option of 5% off or speacial financing.
@Anonymous wrote:Lol everything I've ever learned has been from this site. I wish I had working experience inside a bureau - I'd be posting novels here
Breakpoints for scoring are at the following aggregate usage thresholds:
8.9%
28.9%
48.9%
68.9%
88.9% (this is considered maxed out)
Crossing a threshold up or down is typically worth 10-15 FICO points. For those who do carry or have balances and are paying them down, a better set of percentages would be 7/27/47/67/87, so that when interest is added at statement cut, the balances don't push the person back up over the threshold and cost them the points they just gained by paying to those x8.9 percentages.
In general speaking, talking about "less than 10%" conveys the idea, but FICO rounds up, and although the breakpoints specifically are likely 9/29/49/69/89, that cuts it too closely. A usage of 9.01% rounds to 10%, so the advice to avoid that is x8.9 as a landing point below the threshold. If one has a balance on 0% interest, then that's sufficient, but if there is interest, then paying to x7% keeps the balance under the breakpoint once interest is added.
From my own experience, there isn't much difference in loss of points when going from 97% util on a card to 99.99%. I worked my Propel to 99.99% (31 cents short of the CL). That cost me around 40 pts going above 90%, but still was around 800. One of the reasons I did this is to see how it affected score.
I got a 2K CLI 9 months later that brought me to 83% util on the card. I gained about 16 pts from the CLI. Then got it back up to 90% util and lost 14 if those 16 I gained from the CLI. My other balances may have affected the score a little and maybe all of those gained points from the CLI were lost going to 90%.
So it might not matter if you are at 90% or 99%, or 80 or 89%, etc.
I can also attest total util from 6 to 7% results in several point loss.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Lol everything I've ever learned has been from this site. I wish I had working experience inside a bureau - I'd be posting novels here
Breakpoints for scoring are at the following aggregate usage thresholds:
8.9%
28.9%
48.9%
68.9%
88.9% (this is considered maxed out)
Crossing a threshold up or down is typically worth 10-15 FICO points. For those who do carry or have balances and are paying them down, a better set of percentages would be 7/27/47/67/87, so that when interest is added at statement cut, the balances don't push the person back up over the threshold and cost them the points they just gained by paying to those x8.9 percentages.
In general speaking, talking about "less than 10%" conveys the idea, but FICO rounds up, and although the breakpoints specifically are likely 9/29/49/69/89, that cuts it too closely. A usage of 9.01% rounds to 10%, so the advice to avoid that is x8.9 as a landing point below the threshold. If one has a balance on 0% interest, then that's sufficient, but if there is interest, then paying to x7% keeps the balance under the breakpoint once interest is added.
From my own experience, there isn't much difference in loss of points when going from 97% util on a card to 99.99%. I worked my Propel to 99.99% (31 cents short of the CL). That cost me around 40 pts going above 90%, but still was around 800. One of the reasons I did this is to see how it affected score.
I got a 2K CLI 9 months later that brought me to 83% util on the card. I gained about 16 pts from the CLI. Then got it back up to 90% util and lost 14 if those 16 I gained from the CLI. My other balances may have affected the score a little and maybe all of those gained points from the CLI were lost going to 90%.
So it might not matter if you are at 90% or 99%, or 80 or 89%, etc.
I can also attest total util from 6 to 7% results in several point loss.
Agreed that 97-99% shouldn't make any difference. It's maxed at anything above 88.9% so the damage is done. Gaining 16 points by falling through the max-out threshold makes sense. There should not be any difference with balances between 90-99 or 80-89 since you're not crossing a threshold. All of that lines up with what I was saying.
Its interesting to me that you found a semi-threshold at 7% though. A few people have mentioned finding or losing points in the single-digit usage range but they had very thin and/or young profiles, and my assumption was that yours is neither of those.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Lol everything I've ever learned has been from this site. I wish I had working experience inside a bureau - I'd be posting novels here
Breakpoints for scoring are at the following aggregate usage thresholds:
8.9%
28.9%
48.9%
68.9%
88.9% (this is considered maxed out)
Crossing a threshold up or down is typically worth 10-15 FICO points. For those who do carry or have balances and are paying them down, a better set of percentages would be 7/27/47/67/87, so that when interest is added at statement cut, the balances don't push the person back up over the threshold and cost them the points they just gained by paying to those x8.9 percentages.
In general speaking, talking about "less than 10%" conveys the idea, but FICO rounds up, and although the breakpoints specifically are likely 9/29/49/69/89, that cuts it too closely. A usage of 9.01% rounds to 10%, so the advice to avoid that is x8.9 as a landing point below the threshold. If one has a balance on 0% interest, then that's sufficient, but if there is interest, then paying to x7% keeps the balance under the breakpoint once interest is added.
From my own experience, there isn't much difference in loss of points when going from 97% util on a card to 99.99%. I worked my Propel to 99.99% (31 cents short of the CL). That cost me around 40 pts going above 90%, but still was around 800. One of the reasons I did this is to see how it affected score.
I got a 2K CLI 9 months later that brought me to 83% util on the card. I gained about 16 pts from the CLI. Then got it back up to 90% util and lost 14 if those 16 I gained from the CLI. My other balances may have affected the score a little and maybe all of those gained points from the CLI were lost going to 90%.
So it might not matter if you are at 90% or 99%, or 80 or 89%, etc.
I can also attest total util from 6 to 7% results in several point loss.
Agreed that 97-99% shouldn't make any difference. It's maxed at anything above 88.9% so the damage is done. Gaining 16 points by falling through the max-out threshold makes sense. There should not be any difference with balances between 90-99 or 80-89 since you're not crossing a threshold. All of that lines up with what I was saying.
Its interesting to me that you found a semi-threshold at 7% though. A few people have mentioned finding or losing points in the single-digit usage range but they had very thin and/or young profiles, and my assumption was that yours is neither of those.
Usually with me, all cards report balances, with the exception of Lowe's. Always having 8 or 9 cards out of 9 total reporting balances may have an effect.