Credit Karma and FICO scores are not the same. Credit Karma is based off the Vantage model - which is geared more towards consumer education, FICO is FICO. FICO is the score the majority (~90%) of lenders use to make credit decisions and should be the score one tracks during rebuild. Vantage and FICO respond differently to various credit factors - including changes in util. Many find their Vantage and FICO scores are wildly inconsistent with one another (higher / lower) -- I would suggest @Lion88 obtain and track their FICO scores to get a true picture of their credit.
For optimal FICO scoring - NEVER have all balances at zero as you will be penalized for "no revolving credit usage". You want to let one card (or 1/3 of your total number of cards) report a small balance (ideally less than 8.9% of its credit limit). All others should be at zero. To do this, you pay your balances down prior to the statement cut date. The one card that reports a small balance will need to have its remaining balance paid prior to the due date.
Utilization for FICO scoring follows thresholds, the higher the utilization percentage, the larger the score penalty. The thresholds are 8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, and 88.9%.
The advice about adding an installment account for credit mix would be good if OP didn't already have an installment loan - but OP has an auto loan so doesn't need another.
@Anonymous wrote:Hi Josh,
I have been recently rebuilding my credit and what I have seen is my score improve each month when I kept my credit card balance at $0. So pay your full bill before your statement closes. I read in another post that someone suggested keeping one credit card balance at less than 10% and I tried that but my Credit Karma score drop 2 points when I did that.
Another thing that has helped me is having an installment loan. This will vary your account types. I opened a loan at Self Lender. They do not pull you credit which can hurt your score. It took them 3 months before the credit bureas starting updating with my Self Lender account but now it has been updating regularly. I did the $500 loan for 12 months but I saw they have a 24 month loan now which I would do that. The longer your accounts are open the better. Many people say their scores have improved 60 points over a year. I have heard even more from others. My scores have improved quite a bit in the last few months but I also had a couple of negative accounts removed.
Josh -- First of all -- congrats on getting First Premier deleted -- that is a HUGE feat. I need to know what you emailed them to get them to remove it, lol - they are a thorn in my side as the only negative remaining on my reports and they will not budge no matter what I try.
Also - 696 FICO is excellent progress - nice work 
I would make sure First Premier has indeed been removed from all three reports prior to apping for anything new. You mentioned you got a 1B report - which bureau? You can try apping for a card that only pulls that one bureau -- you can search the forums for feedback on which bureau a specific creditor tends to pull. You can also simply call the creditor and ask.
Other than that, you seem to be doing just fine, you just need time. You say your credit history is 2 years - is that your average age of accounts (AAoA) or is that the age of your oldest account (AoOA)? What's the age of your youngest account (AoYA)?
Personally - if my AAoA was exactly 2 years, I'd wait a couple of months before getting a new card - just so once the new card is factored in, AAoA would stay above 2 years because if it drops below two, you'll probably see a pretty significant hit in score. Do the calculations first of your current AAoA vs. future AAoA with the addition of new accounts. If your AAoA will remain above 2 years, then go ahead and get one (or two) more card(s) and go to the garden to let them age. Strategic addition of accounts is important when your AAoA is low -- your goal should be to get that over 3 years - then eventually 5, then 7, etc.
For example, my AAoA is currently 3 years, 3 months -- if I were to add one new account this month, my AAoA would drop to exactly 3 years and I probably wouldn't see too much of a loss in score -- however, if I were to add 2 accounts this month, my AAoA would drop to 2 years 10 months, and I would likely see a pretty decent score hit for falling below 3 years.
@Anonymous wrote:First want to say thanks for all the people who contribute on here, I have learned alot in my lurking over the past year.
Quick snapshot of my "profile"
Haven't paid much attention to my credit in about 7 years. Did some dumb things while younger and honestly just kind of gave up on the thought of having any worthy credit. Fast forward to last year (11 months ago to be exact) and deceided it was worth a shot. I knew I had some outstanding things from years ago, but honestly my credit profile had been dormant for a long time. I could go on and on about all that, but will get to the point.
Last year, wanted to finance a newer car. Knew it would be a struggle, but went to try. I have a good job, have for years, always pay bills on time etc. I knew nothing bad would be on my report, other than things that may of still been lingering.
Was told I had no score, no credit history. Told me I had no "beacon score". Still don't know what that is, but really meant I needed a cosigner. My sister did that and that started the wheels for me.
Downloaded the Credit Karma app to track my credit (yes, I have learned since then, lol)....When I first started checking last year, I was around 580 with that car loan. Couple payemnts in, little above 600. So I went and applied for a secured card from CO. Been nursing that one, CLI to $500 after 6 months etc.
So as it stands right now, in the last year.....
CO Secured $500 (currently $0 balance)
CO Unsecured $300 ($15 balance atm)
CO Quicksilver One $500 ($0 balamce atm)
AMEX BCE $1000 ($300 balance atm)
The way I try to manage these is try to put a little on each card, pay them off either before statement or right when it's posted. Still unclear on the best way to do that.
Over the course of the past year, my score has bounced around as I have obtained these cards...everywhere from 600 to as of yesterday, 696 on the Fico app. Credit Karma has me at 654 as an average right now. :/ So this is kind of why I have finally deceided to post something. Last week I had a Fico of 653. Honestly I was pretty happy with progress to this point. I know this is not a overnight thing. I have been reading on Pay for Deletions. I had one thing on my report (my 1B) from 2012 stating an account that was Charged Off with a balance of $380. I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but I emailed them. This was with First Premiere Bank. So I emailed them on Monday, got a repsonse that day asking for my new address. I sent that. My new 1B report became available yesterday, I looked and my score is 696! That account which has been showing on my previous 1B, is no longer there from FPB. Coincedence or did it come off that fast? I assumed since it was a 2012 account, it wouldn't fall off until next year. Either way, I was pleasently suprised yesterday!
So on my 1B, the only accounts showing is the ones listed above along with my car loan. Before yesterday, the Fico app listed the items that could be holding my score down, and one of those was that FPB account. Listed as a +30, +60, etc.... That is no longer there. The only thing it is telling me now is short credit history and heavy use of revolving credit (I did have a utilization of 60% last month, have paid down since then).
All in all, just wanted to see if anyone sees something I am handling wrong, something I could do to help even more etc. Of course, I would love to apply for some "real" cards, but I also am willing to wait if I need too. I want it done the right way and don't want to hurt myself any.
So snapshot of account
696 Score as of now (Fico 8)
6 Inquiries listed
5 accounts listed (one is still yet to show, one of the CO cards)
0 Collections
0 Public Records
Says Credit History is 2 years
The AMEX card shows a balance of $600 on report, but it is actually $300, so that should help on next report
So my score just started showing as a 696 yesterday. Like I said, I would like to apply for a better card to add, but is it too soon. Recommend waiting more time? Not sure if I applied for something, what score they will see.
Thank you to everyone on here, I have learned alot from you guys and glas from just reading posts!
Josh
Your FICO scores respond positively to showing revolving credit usage if nothing but zero balances were reported prior. I gained 18 points when I reported a positive balance after reporting all zeros the previous month. "Revolving Credit Use" is part of the FICO scoring algorithm and showing 1% usage yields more points than 0%.
I did not suggest anyone carry a balance on their credit cards. Carrying a balance means not paying the card in full prior to the payment due date. This is not what I spoke of. My suggestion was to allow a balance (the statement balance) on one card to report to the credit bureaus and then pay that card in full prior to the payment due date. To control how much of a balance reports, you pay down the balance before the statement date; the new, remaining balance would then become your statement balance, and this is the amount that will be reported to the bureaus. You would then need to pay this remaining balance prior to the payment due date (the payment due date and account statement date are two different things). This is still considered paying in full each month (ie. not carrying a balance) and will yield the best possible FICO scoring.
Having ALL revolving credit cards report a zero balance does indeed cost you points - this has been proven repeatedly. This is why folks are advised to allow one card to report a small balance with all others at zero. You need to show revolving credit usage to achieve max FICO points.
@Anonymous wrote:My FICO score went up 20 points right after my report posted with the credit card balance but I didn't mention it because I think that much of a jump was probably due to other factors.
In regards to rather you should carry a balance or not I can only speak on what I saw on my report but here is an article discussing the topic I found helpful: https://www.thebalance.com/how-having-a-zero-balance-affects-your-credit-score-960530
@thornback