@ficofido1414 wrote:Hello myfico I am seeking advice on paying monthly cc balances as to which method would be best for my credit score and activity. in the past and up to this month I have always paid all balances in full on all cards by the closing date, perhaps 1,2 or 3 may have closed and posted with a small balance as to posting right at cutoff. so due to this payment method my utilization has been quite low typically 1-3 percent. but moving forward next month I am planning on paying off all balances at the end of the month after closing dates but before due dates?
(example) I have six cards that I use, my monthly spend is the same from month to month give or take a couple hundred. would i be better off spreading my spend among all six cards so they all have activity but also all report balances or spread spend on three cards one month and alternate to the other three the next month, which means three cards are getting activity every other month but only showing balances on three vs six. 50% vs 100%. not worried about utilization as balances to limits are small both on any giving card and all combined. just trying to picture score changes going from a few with balances to all with balances. as this would be unusual payment history to the bureaus.
thanks in advance
The overall score issue would come from utilization for FICO8 & 9. If you are worried about older FICO scores (mortgage scores 5, 4 & 2) the total number of cards reporting a balance will affect your score.
AZEO will maximize your mortgage scores, but no reason to practice it monthly unless you are in the market to buy soon.
Utilization and number of cards reporting a balance has no memory for scoring purposes for FICO9 and earlier versions. I have read articles that starting with FICO10 and Vantage 4.0 utilization and number of cards with balances DOES have a memory.
I have not yet encountered a lender using FICO10 or newer, and Synchrony is the only lender I've encountered using Vantage 4.0.
I vote, pay and use however is easiest on you until you are within 90 days of a planned loan application (at which point I'd practice AZEO).
To minimize risk of account closures, you should run a transaction through every card every 6 months or less. Some lenders will leave the account alone for two years, some reduce limits after 6 months of no use.
@ficofido1414 wrote:Hello myfico I am seeking advice on paying monthly cc balances as to which method would be best for my credit score and activity. in the past and up to this month I have always paid all balances in full on all cards by the closing date, perhaps 1,2 or 3 may have closed and posted with a small balance as to posting right at cutoff. so due to this payment method my utilization has been quite low typically 1-3 percent. but moving forward next month I am planning on paying off all balances at the end of the month after closing dates but before due dates?
(example) I have six cards that I use, my monthly spend is the same from month to month give or take a couple hundred. would i be better off spreading my spend among all six cards so they all have activity but also all report balances or spread spend on three cards one month and alternate to the other three the next month, which means three cards are getting activity every other month but only showing balances on three vs six. 50% vs 100%. not worried about utilization as balances to limits are small both on any giving card and all combined. just trying to picture score changes going from a few with balances to all with balances. as this would be unusual payment history to the bureaus.
thanks in advance
They're not going to notice the fact that it changed; the scoring algorithms are based just on what is in the data at any given moment in time.
I believe the FICO 8 and 9 scores are likely to be little changed, but the mortgage scores would likely drop a bit when you move to all accounts reporting balances.
Best way is never have all accounts report a balance or no accounts report a balance. Less than half reporting is ideal. Since your responsible. You can experiment with AZEO and see where you'd sit if you wanted to apply for credit. Each month have 1 more account report a balance. As more report. See where your best place to sit would be. If you get a few point ding once you pass a certain amount of cards reporting. Then drop it by 1 account. Play with the sysytem. Everyone has a comfort zone. None of us match on a credit report.
@chiefone4u wrote:
@ficofido1414 wrote:Hello myfico I am seeking advice on paying monthly cc balances as to which method would be best for my credit score and activity. in the past and up to this month I have always paid all balances in full on all cards by the closing date, perhaps 1,2 or 3 may have closed and posted with a small balance as to posting right at cutoff. so due to this payment method my utilization has been quite low typically 1-3 percent. but moving forward next month I am planning on paying off all balances at the end of the month after closing dates but before due dates?
(example) I have six cards that I use, my monthly spend is the same from month to month give or take a couple hundred. would i be better off spreading my spend among all six cards so they all have activity but also all report balances or spread spend on three cards one month and alternate to the other three the next month, which means three cards are getting activity every other month but only showing balances on three vs six. 50% vs 100%. not worried about utilization as balances to limits are small both on any giving card and all combined. just trying to picture score changes going from a few with balances to all with balances. as this would be unusual payment history to the bureaus.
thanks in advance
The overall score issue would come from utilization for FICO8 & 9. If you are worried about older FICO scores (mortgage scores 5, 4 & 2) the total number of cards reporting a balance will affect your score.
AZEO will maximize your mortgage scores, but no reason to practice it monthly unless you are in the market to buy soon.
Utilization and number of cards reporting a balance has no memory for scoring purposes for FICO9 and earlier versions. I have read articles that starting with FICO10 and Vantage 4.0 utilization and number of cards with balances DOES have a memory.
I have not yet encountered a lender using FICO10 or newer, and Synchrony is the only lender I've encountered using Vantage 4.0.
I vote, pay and use however is easiest on you until you are within 90 days of a planned loan application (at which point I'd practice AZEO).
To minimize risk of account closures, you should run a transaction through every card every 6 months or less. Some lenders will leave the account alone for two years, some reduce limits after 6 months of no use.
I agree with this.
