Util greater than 0 but less than 1%

[red259]

I am trying to maximize my credit score for January apps. I was shooting for 1% overall util however a CLI has posted after my statement cut date and now I am showing a balance of less than 1% but greater than zero. Is my credit score still the best it can be from a util perspective or with less than 1% used will it reflect almost as if I did not use the cards at all? I'm trying to decide if I need to wait until my statement updates again for my strongest apps. 

[irrational]

Util is rounded up. So, anything greater than 0, but less than 1% IS 1%.

[juggalo9er]

fico always rounds up i believe it will show 1% as 9.9 would show 10

[cobra]

I had to play with utility for 6 months before I found the "maximum" spot - for me it is 4%. If my utility was 6% my score went down a few points. Similary, if my utility hit 1%, my score went down a few points

4% is my high point. I believe the higher your FICO, the more sensitive it is to utility.

In  any event, point is with utility, there is a point of diminishing returns ............... just gotta find that point.

[user5387]

I have found that oscillating between 0% and 1% utilization, with good scores, changes my scores by around 9 points.

It's hard to give a general rule, because it may depend on factors such as how high your score is and various other aspects of your report.

The same is true for other parts of your score, for example the effect of an HP or new TL.

[GaTech]

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@irrational wrote:

Util is rounded up. So, anything greater than 0, but less than 1% IS 1%.

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+1

[Revelate]

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@user5387 wrote:

I have found that oscillating between 0% and 1% utilization, with good scores, changes my scores by around 9 points.

It's hard to give a general rule, because it may depend on factors such as how high your score is and various other aspects of your report.

The same is true for other parts of your score, for example the effect of an HP or new TL.

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To clarify as I'm confuzzled:

>0% = baseline

@0% = -9 points on some score

Is that correct or are you intimating there's a difference between say 0.3% and 0.8% utilization?

[user5387]

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@Revelate wrote:

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@user5387 wrote:

I have found that oscillating between 0% and 1% utilization, with good scores, changes my scores by around 9 points.

It's hard to give a general rule, because it may depend on factors such as how high your score is and various other aspects of your report.

The same is true for other parts of your score, for example the effect of an HP or new TL.

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To clarify as I'm confuzzled:

>0% = baseline

@0% = -9 points on some score

Is that correct or are you intimating there's a difference between say 0.3% and 0.8% utilization?

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> 0% is the baseline, with -9 points at 0%.  This is with high scores.

It's not clear to me how interdependent the pieces of the scoring model are, so I don't know if it's possible to generalize from this sort of example.

[masscredit]

I've been playing with my utilization to maximize my scores next week. The lowest I've had since I've really been watching my credit is 8%. That was last month. It gave me an EQ score of 702. Only one card was reporting a balance. Next week I'll be at 2.5% (rounded to 3%). Two cards will be reporting. One $414. and the other $6.  Cap1 charged me $6. interest for some reason so that kind of messed that one up. Don't know if that small balance will be worth a few points. I'm going to try different Util % over the next few months to see if there is a sweet spot for me.  There should defiantely only be one card reporting each month affer this one. 

[user5387]

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@masscredit wrote:

I've been playing with my utilization to maximize my scores next week. The lowest I've had since I've really been watching my credit is 8%. That was last month. It gave me an EQ score of 702. Only one card was reporting a balance. Next week I'll be at 2.5% (rounded to 3%). Two cards will be reporting. One $414. and the other $6.  Cap1 charged me $6. interest for some reason so that kind of messed that one up. Don't know if that small balance will be worth a few points. I'm going to try different Util % over the next few months to see if there is a sweet spot for me.  There should defiantely only be one card reporting each month affer this one. 

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The $6 might be residual interest, if you were carrying a balance previously.

The small balance won't hurt you by itself, except possibly that it means another card reporting a balance, and the proportion of CCs with balances is part of the scoring.