AZEO

[KatSoDak]

---

@SUPERSQUID wrote:

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.

---

What exactly do you mean "trip a risk flag on your credit reports"?  

[Anonymous]

---

@calyx wrote:

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.

---

I think the big thing with the emphasis on AZEO is that most people come to the forums and ask "How can I get my score as high as possible for my upcoming application?", the easiest and most effective answer to that is AZEO. It optimizes number of accounts with a balance, it optimizes utilization, and it optimizes debt-to-income. I personally do not practice AZEO, I'm even in the middle of a mortgage application and I didn't implement AZEO, but if someone asked me for advice on how to improve their score AZEO is going to be one of the first recommendations I make. So that is why you see it emphasized so much, it combines several best practices into one concept and it is proven to improve both FICO8s and mortgage scores. 

[Yasselife]

@Anonymous  Azeo to me is more than optimizing scores. Azeo is the reason I have made all payments on time for 5yrs and raised to where I'm at, because of the control I get over the accounts. I will stick to that recipe specially if I have more than 5 lines. 
   I asked because I was concerned about how lenders would see multiple accounts with high exposure of credit report balances at one cycle. I can rest now after y'all responses that I shouldn't worry as long as uti is low and don't carry high balances while paying the minimum. I also learned that paying down should be consistent, circulating up and down on same balance can trigger AA.

[calyx]

AZEO for an application (as I mentioned) is totally reasonable - but I see the AZEO suggestion a lot in rebuilding in general.

I do think it can be beneficial to controlling finaces and getting into good habits (like being aware of where all of your cards stand), and if it works for you, I think it's great!    That said, I still maintain there's nothing wrong with not doing AZEO.  I'm currently at 9.  I have ~3year history and so far no one is spooked.

Now, if you ask me about paying high interest on credit cards when you don't have to, I'll become a hard-liner

[Yasselife]

@calyx Thank you; that was an important question I had and I agree on avoiding to carry balances and pay exorbitant money on interest; I did slipped 2 yrs ago due to mental illness even having the knowledge of how this system works, but I have fixed most of the damage done; aside of a car lease I'll be debt free in a couple of months. 
   I'm off topic though This felt more like we were having a conversation more than getting an advice, lol. See you around 

[CreditInspired]

---

@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?

---

Definitely less than half of your cards (for me it's 1 or 2 & only on 0% APR cards); and those reporting should be less than 8.9%, especially if scores are your primary concern. 

[SouthJamaica]

---

@Yasselife wrote:

   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.
 

---

It's not a question of being spooked. No one will be spooked by a profile that's at less than 1% utilization.

However, you will have slightly better scores if the majority of cards report zero balances.

And it's an especially important factor in the mortgage scores; if you ever need to optimize those you should go to AZEO.