What are the high utilization percentages?

[Anonymous]

Howdy all,

We all know that if we use between 1% and 9% of our allowable credit limit but on less than half our revolving accounts we become financial saints but what are the high limits? I know anything above 90% is considered maxed out but how are the other percentages looked at? What does just less than 90% look like in contrast? What if half your cards are at 49% or if 1/3 of our cards are at 75% figuratively speaking? I have variable balances on 3 of 6 cards and 3 have no balance. I'm trying to manipulate balances in order to be in better position for a home loan. Example, I made two car payments in advance recently. Now that loan transforms from long tern status to short term status and is no longer considered in my Debt to Income Ration (DTI) and my Debt to income ratio drops from an iffy 40% to an excellent 33% DTI. That with only a $400 investment.

[Anonymous]

I would imagine when youre applying for a home loan, you've got an actual human being looking at your credit report.

I don't see how an actual human being would care at all how your debt is distributed amongst your cards.

They'd care how much debt you have compared to how much money you make.

To me, applying for a mortgage while you owe any significant money to credit card companies seems like not the greatest idea - you're saving money for a downpayment instead of paying off your super-high-apr (by comparison) credit cards?  Why?

[Anonymous]

Credit card distribution is a component of credit scoring, which is important to the human being for which I ask for credit. But I am not asking how that distribution looks to the other fellow. I am asking how high credit card use computing algorithms work as apposed to low credit card use computing algorithms. If 10% use of available credit scores "X" does 90% use of available credit score an equal but opposite weght for "Y" at the other end of the specrum like a sliding scale, or is there a curve.

My credit use is low. My credit scores are high. My DTI Frontend is 19% and my backend 33% and I have been pre-aproved for 15 yrs at 3.125%. I'm just trying to manipulate another nickel out of the deal before I sign on the bottom line.

[crunching_numbers]

Having high util %, I also would be interested to know the impact that bringing it down will have.  Will I see FICO increases at certain percentages?  Under 10% on one card is SO far from where I am, I am hoping that the baby steps I take will have some kind of impact. I really hope that for every 10% better I get, my FICO will show at least nominal improvement.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. I was here for many years under a different username and I never heard anything on this subject.

[Anonymous]

I also find it odd that so many on this site only want to talk about <9% and act like anything else is bad.   Which is really impractical for many.

I assume that utilization is statistically bucketed like the everything else in FICO scoring.   I suspect the buckets are large, like 20% per bucket between 10 and 90%.   I think I have seen this somewhere else, but I don't remember where.

[Anonymous]

I used CreditInform simulator.   It's score was very close to last FICO I got.  

It shows about 6 points decline per 10% utilization use.   And about a 10 point penalty if no account with 0 balance.    

[Anonymous]

Very interesting. That looks like a Cap1 app. I wasn't able to get to it but I can use the numbers you gave to get an idea. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

It is Capital One service,   It is included free when you get a Capital One secured card.   I have since closed the secured card, but I still get updates. 

[crunching_numbers]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I used CreditInform simulator.   It's score was very close to last FICO I got.  

It shows about 6 points decline per 10% utilization use.   And about a 10 point penalty if no account with 0 balance.    

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I have made some major moves that will affect my scores.  I will see if this formula holds up. (Removed myself as AU on several of DH's accts, and paid an acct in full.) If this is true my score should go up quite a bit. Keeping my fingers crossed!