cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Zync Charge Card Utilization

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

Zync Charge Card Utilization

Hi. So I got my Amex Zync card about 5 months ago, and I never put a whole lot of use on the card, maybe 300 max. Now in my credit report I saw that my score was being affected because my debt utilization % was very high on my card because I was charging the same amount every month. Can anyone tell me how important your utilization % is when calculating your credit score, and if it will hurt my score significantly to put $1000 or so on the card in a month to raise my limit/lower my utilization in the future? Thanks a lot

Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
BungalowMo
Senior Contributor

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

 


@Anonymous wrote:

Hi. So I got my Amex Zync card about 5 months ago, and I never put a whole lot of use on the card, maybe 300 max. Now in my credit report I saw that my score was being affected because my debt utilization % was very high on my card because I was charging the same amount every month. Can anyone tell me how important your utilization % is when calculating your credit score, and if it will hurt my score significantly to put $1000 or so on the card in a month to raise my limit/lower my utilization in the future? Thanks a lot


 

Is this the only card you have??  What was your util% when you pulled that score?

 

How much you charge each month has no effect on your score.  What does affect it is how much (what util%) is showing when the statement cuts. 

 

For instance, say you have 3 cards, all have a 1k limit.  Optimally, each month, it's best to have cards #1 & 2 paid in full by their statement cut date (not to be confused with the DUE date), then leave a small balance on card #3...somewhere around 7 to 9% (in this case, about $70 to $90), then after statement cuts, pay that card off. 

 

Even under the 7 to 9% is ok, just don't keep showing $0 bal on all cards.  For the last many months, one of my positive factors showing on my "scale" is "current credit card use".  They want to see you can use your credit wisely.

BK 7 discharge 06.24.2020 No Fico score at all. Smiley Sad
Message 2 of 12
jforsyth
Regular Contributor

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

 


@BungalowMo wrote:

Even under the 7 to 9% is ok, just don't keep showing $0 bal on all cards.  For the last many months, one of my positive factors showing on my "scale" is "current credit card use".  They want to see you can use your credit wisely.


 

Does anybody know this for a fact? I'm fairly sure that this is still widely disputed.

 

 

Personally, I don't think current credit card use has anything to do letting a balance post at the end of the month. All of the major CRAs give final balance for the month AND the high balance for that month.

 

They can tell if you've been using the card even if you PIF before the balance reports. 

 

 

Why would a risk assessment system reward people who pay their bill later? Explain that to me.

___________________________________

EQ FAKO: 779 (03/26/15)
TU FAKO: 785(03/26/15)
Citi Double Cash | Citi Forward | BankAmericard Cash Rewards | Amex Zync
Message 3 of 12
BungalowMo
Senior Contributor

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

 


@jforsyth wrote:

 


@BungalowMo wrote:

Even under the 7 to 9% is ok, just don't keep showing $0 bal on all cards.  For the last many months, one of my positive factors showing on my "scale" is "current credit card use".  They want to see you can use your credit wisely.


 

Does anybody know this for a fact? I'm fairly sure that this is still widely disputed. 


Personally, I don't think current credit card use has anything to do letting a balance post at the end of the month. All of the major CRAs give final balance for the month AND the high balance for that month.

 

They can tell if you've been using the card even if you PIF before the balance reports. 

 

Why would a risk assessment system reward people who pay their bill later? Explain that to me.


 

Actually, yes, it is a fact. We had members here be the guinea pig, so to speak.  They tried different scenarios & it was proven that a small balance gave xxx score, then the next month, all cards posting $0 made the score drop.  No other changes in reports...just the util% posted.  I'm sure it is widely disputed, but so is nearly everything until the facts are proven.

 

Yes, I agree. 

 

Why??  I have no idea.  I just know what was proven to be the case by a few different people.

I do know that we had some members try different scenarios.  Show a small balance at cut date   score was xxx, next month all was paid to $0, score dropped a few points. 

 

No one knows exactly how the FICO algorithms work...and it's not always the same for everyone, because no 2 reports are exactly alike.  It's a mystery...just like crop circles & bigfoot!  Smiley Very Happy

BK 7 discharge 06.24.2020 No Fico score at all. Smiley Sad
Message 4 of 12
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

 


@jforsyth wrote:

 


@BungalowMo wrote:

Even under the 7 to 9% is ok, just don't keep showing $0 bal on all cards.  For the last many months, one of my positive factors showing on my "scale" is "current credit card use".  They want to see you can use your credit wisely.


 

Does anybody know this for a fact? I'm fairly sure that this is still widely disputed.

 

 

Personally, I don't think current credit card use has anything to do letting a balance post at the end of the month. All of the major CRAs give final balance for the month AND the high balance for that month.

 

They can tell if you've been using the card even if you PIF before the balance reports. 

 

 

Why would a risk assessment system reward people who pay their bill later? Explain that to me.


 

It's not disputed by any long time poster I am aware of who has tried different techniques. Can you give examples of this vast dispute?

 

 

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
6/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Whats In Your FICO Score

 

 

 

Message 5 of 12
tray
Valued Contributor

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

I have a premier gold charge card from AMEX and I make sure every month it reports a $0 balance as for my situation I noticed if I do not my TU score definitely will drop due to utilization.


Starting Score: EQ 546 TU 566
Current Score: EQ 693TU 08 729 EX 08 738Need to Garden/New Accounts
Goal Score: 800
Message 6 of 12
BungalowMo
Senior Contributor

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

 


@tray wrote:

I have a premier gold charge card from AMEX and I make sure every month it reports a $0 balance as for my situation I noticed if I do not my TU score definitely will drop due to utilization.


What was the util%?  On how many cards?  What was the score drop?

 

BK 7 discharge 06.24.2020 No Fico score at all. Smiley Sad
Message 7 of 12
Tazman81
Established Contributor

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

Mo:  For the trials that you were talking about.  The same people that paid off their credit cards and saw their scores drop, if they put the 7%-9% utilization back on the card, did they then see those points return?  I am just trying to figure out the best way to juggle everything because I currently pay all my cards off in full each month.


Current Score: Eq: 823 Tu: 830
Goal Score: Eq: 850 Tu: 850

Wallet: PenFed Power Cash 50k | AMEX Blue Cash (AU) 49.5k | Cap One QSMC 26.5k | AMEX Platinum NPSL | USAA Signature Visa 25k
Message 8 of 12
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

 


@Tazman81 wrote:

Mo:  For the trials that you were talking about.  The same people that paid off their credit cards and saw their scores drop, if they put the 7%-9% utilization back on the card, did they then see those points return?  I am just trying to figure out the best way to juggle everything because I currently pay all my cards off in full each month.


I'm certainly not answering for Mo (She can take care of herself  Smiley Happy ) but play around with the numbers yourself and see what works best for you.

 

You say you PIF all cards each month. Next month pay off all of them except one with a small utilization and see if there is any change up or down to your score.

 

Perhaps let more than half your cards report a balance to see how that affects the score. Try different scenarios over a period of perhaps 3-6 months to find out what technique is right for you.

 

 

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
6/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Whats In Your FICO Score

Message 9 of 12
Tazman81
Established Contributor

Re: Zync Charge Card Utilization

Thanks for the advice Marine.  I just wasn't sure if there was a 1 size fits all type of thing because I had heard both.  I'd heard that its better to PIF, but then I've also heard to carry a less than 10% balance on your cards for a higher score.


Current Score: Eq: 823 Tu: 830
Goal Score: Eq: 850 Tu: 850

Wallet: PenFed Power Cash 50k | AMEX Blue Cash (AU) 49.5k | Cap One QSMC 26.5k | AMEX Platinum NPSL | USAA Signature Visa 25k
Message 10 of 12
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.