AZEO

[Yasselife]

   I find AZEO too time consuming. Sometimes I feel to let all balances report and then pay in full after statement cut. Current overall utilization is <1%
   My question is: would It be a problem letting 5cards out of 9 total report a balance without Lenders(in my signature) being spooked? I won't be applying until next year that I renew my car lease.
 

[SUPERSQUID]

If you have many cards reporting a balance it will trip a risk flag on your credit reports. i know this because it happened to me.

[Yasselife]

@SUPERSQUID That's what concerns me, because I recently added 2 new lines and scores dropped significantly but still on the green zone. 
   What would you consider *too many balances* under lender's eyes?

[dragontears]

---

@Yasselife wrote:

@SUPERSQUID That's what concerns me, because I recently added 2 new lines and scores dropped significantly but still on the green zone. 
   What would you consider *too many balances* under lender's eyes?

---

People on this forum obsess over AZEO too much most of the time. 

I have cards from 4 of the 6 lenders you have and frequently let half my cards report a balance and have had no issues. 

For me, as long as my utilization is low I don't think lenders care much about the number of accounts with a balance even though the FICO algorithm docks a few points for it.

Plus I personally believe that by letting my actual spend be reported it increases the CLI (and SL) I get as lenders try to coax me into using their card instead 

[SUPERSQUID]

---

@Yasselife wrote:

@SUPERSQUID That's what concerns me, because I recently added 2 new lines and scores dropped significantly but still on the green zone. 
   What would you consider *too many balances* under lender's eyes?

---

I'm not sure what the threshold is but i had a small balance on a lot of different cards. also high amounts owed on loans can trip that red flag.

BTW - I never had the patience for that AZEO system

[Yasselife]

@SUPERSQUID I am tempted to convert my BCE into BCP and let my other cards rest on subscriptions. 

[tcbofade]

Unless you plan to apply for something big, AZE0 isn't worth the effort.

If you are going to apply for a mortgage, it matters!

Otherwise, its not worth worrying about...  and no, none of your existing lenders care if EVERY single account reports with a balance.  If you start maxing them out, they'll care...

[Taurus22]

---

@tcbofade wrote:

Unless you plan to apply for something big, AZE0 isn't worth the effort.

If you are going to apply for a mortgage, it matters!

Otherwise, its not worth worrying about...  and no, none of your existing lenders care if EVERY single account reports with a balance.  If you start maxing them out, they'll care...

---

I tend to agree with this for the most part.  I have 10 cards, which most have specific cashback purposes. Monthly, the balances I keep on each card applies to that specific cashback category and nothing else goes on that card. So usually about 6-7 of my cards report balances anywhere between $50-450 depending on the level of spend for that category.  I have all of my statements set to cut between the 1st-5th of each month, so when all of them cut they are PIF, rinse and repeat for the next month.

If I know I plan to apply for a new CC (or if my CLI cycle is coming up), I will plan a couple months ahead to pay balances down before statements cut and go to AZEO, in order to optimize my scores for approval chances. But I don't apply for new cards often (currently 16 mths in the Garden) so I'm able to plan easier than those who apply for new cards every 3-4 months.

But there's really no purpose for optimizing AZEO every single month unless you are just absolutely OCD about seeing your scores at their peak every month.

[Yasselife]

@Taurus22 Thanks for the info, and you may be right about the OCD thing. I like seeing AZEO on Mint app everyday; ended up converting to Amex BCP to get some peace; that and citi dc is all I need. Shopping doesn't happen often, traveling in my dreams only.

cheers

Yassel

[calyx]

All but one* of my accounts report "naturally," which is to say that I pay the statement balance of all of my cards** on the 27th of each month regardless of whether or not there are more charges (I get paid once a month and it's just easier for me to pay everything that day and not stress when the actual due dates are for my cards).  MOST months, I have 8 cards reporting, but it can vary between 7-10 reporting depending on the quarters and what card I've used for what.   I've never had any creditors get spooked.  I even let a 95% utilization card post (for funsies) and no one seemed too upset about it.  I keep my overall revolving Utilization 2-6% and I have two loans that are both ~50% (so also ~50 agg).

AZEO is a waste of time IMO, and I would only consider it if I need my mortgage scores to be maximized (FICO2 in the case of applying for something with a bank that uses it, or I might consider it if I ever got an actual mortgage).   I definitely think it is over emphasized on the forums.   If you need that kind of control over your spending/bills, that's fine, or need to eke out every point possible for a special application - I just don't think it should be recommended as much as it is.    I think most people need to focus on budgeting and keeping a savings account funded for emergencies over AZEO, but this is myFICO not r/PersonalFinance.   I honestly think that if you let them report 'naturally' (like the 8-10 accounts, I do), then they're less likely to "mind" when one reports high.

Exceptions:
* USB reports the balance on the last business day of the month, so I just pay the whole statement.  It's used for 2 recurring bills, so it's on autopay and other than one miscellaneous charge that happened on the last business day (I bought a tshirt at the gym), is almost always reports 0
** I have one 0% card that I'm riding out that's on autopay, so that one isn't PIFed, but has negligible impact at 720/25000, honestly.