If you only have this card for revolving utilization purposes, then buy something for less than $50, let it report on the 16th of Jan, and then pay the full bill any time before the due date (probably 12 February), while also making another purchase for less than $50 to report on 16 Feb.
If you are actually using this card for regular spending, then you will need to pay the bill by the due date, but also be paying close attention to current balances so that you can pay more than the last bill or make multiple payments so that the balance is where you want it on the 16th.
Less than 10% to report is great for utilization. It also helps to have 2 to 3 revolving accounts, but you should build some history on your secured to improve your chances for better cards.
EX:694 TU:744 EQ:777
OK. So buy $49 worth of gas. You will get a bill for $49 on 16 Jan that is due on 12 Feb. During the time up until 12 Feb, you should pay $49 and also make a similar gas purchase (for an example, lets say $45). It doesn't matter what order you do it, as long as the $49 bill gets paid by the 12 Feb due date. Then the remaining $45 from your new purchase will report on 16 Feb. You will pay this $45 before 12 Mar and also make a new purchase during this time. Continue this cycle and you will have great util for scoring purposes each month.
Well, for max utilization scoring, you don't want all of your cards to report balances. The best utilization scoring comes from having less than 10% on a single card (or small percentage if you have a lot of cards).
If you are carrying a 0% balance on your AAMCO card, then I would let the Capital One card report $0 for the best possible score each month. Utilization isn't based on history over time though, it is calculated based on the most recent reported balances of your cards. So you really don't need to be fixated on it unless you are about to apply for something new or ask for credit limit increases. Just know that the best utilization scores come from letting small balances report (less than 10%) on a small percentage of open cards.
If you are not carrying a balance on the AAMCO card, then the extra credit limit is helping your total utilization. Utilization is scored both total and per card, but the total utilization is more sigificant. This allows you to let higher balances report on either card and still keep the total utilization less than 10%, since 10% of $1500 is $150. Just don't max it out.
