0% Utility Showing... Too much of a good thing?

[NewYorkGuy]

My UTI has plummeted since my CLIs for this year started reporting. It was already hovering around 1%, but It is now showing as an aggregate 0% on my Experian report since some of the limits from my CLI spree reported. Not to say I don't have any debt... there is a $800 balance reporting on my CareCredit account (which will shrink to $400 once the statement cuts at the end of this month) but my total available credit as of today is $88, 100 -- so that translates to a 0.9% uti ratio which Experian reports as 0%. Furthermore, when my BofA and Discover CLI reports, my total available credit will rocket to $98, 600 while my balance will remain steady at $400. My CareCredit account has a limit of $18, 000 so the $400 balance on it only translates to a uti of 2.2% on the indidvidual account.

My concern is that a 0% uti as reported by the credit bureaus (although technically I have a small balance on one card) would affect my fico score optimization. How worried should I be about this. Should I charge something on one of my cards and allow it to report to bring my uti back up to 1%? Or should I just revolve the $400 balance on my CareCredit account for now? I am planning an app spree in May so I want to be in the strongest position possible.

[LS2982]

I wouldnt be concerned about it for now. When you do app try to leave a nice balance on 1 card to get it between 1-9% then app.

[MegaZX30]

I too am curious about this?

If for instance we go by CreditKarma's FAKO scores calculations

0% is a C Grading

1 - 20% is an A Grading

No Credit - NA %

When I'm not using my card, CK likes to report me at No Credit instead of 0% utility I don't know if Real FICO calculates scores in the same sense or not...?

According to this 1% would be probably be more optimal but again this is a FAKO score and not FICO

and I know there is differences but I'm not sure just how different.

Also I have a Credit Line through a bank which actual FICO Reports indicate as Revovling credit Utitity, but CK's FAKO considers it a Personal Loan type account...

[LS2982]

CK scores and advice are absolutely worthless. The knly real point of CK is to see TU report changes live everyday. Take any scores or advice with a big grain of salt!

[09Lexie]

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@LS2982 wrote:
CK scores and advice are absolutely worthless. The knly real point of CK is to see TU report changes live everyday. Take any scores or advice with a big grain of salt!

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+1

[lg8302ch]

Interesting question!  Please let us know what your experience will be. All I can confirm is that 0 balance reporting  on all cards is a bad idea and gets your score down. My loss is not from 0 balance reporting now but from app spree...wonder when it hits the end...anyway for me not important and I will experiment with balance and util in the course of 2013 as my next app should only be in 2013 for CSP hopefully. 

[NewYorkGuy]

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@lg8302ch wrote:

Interesting question!  Please let us know what your experience will be. All I can confirm is that 0 balance reporting  on all cards is a bad idea and gets your score down. My loss is not from 0 balance reporting now but from app spree...wonder when it hits the end...anyway for me not important and I will experiment with balance and util in the course of 2013 as my next app should only be in 2013 for CSP hopefully. 

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I have 0 balance reporting on all cards except 1. According to what I read around here, that is best for FICO optimization. My only issue is that my available credit has grown to such a high level that the $400 balance on my CareCredit account gets counted as a 0% balance on my credit reports when factored against my total available credit.

[MegaZX30]

Well, I'm still learning, please take note this is from a credit-noob so others whom have a higher knowledge then me may make a more appropriate response...

my two ideas:

1.  if the 0% utitity is that big a deal, can you afford to higher your utilities on your credit while still maintaining payments, etc. then I wouldn't see a problem with it.

2. I'm thinking a second less looked at option as most the time it seems higher credit limits are better but I believe you may ask your credit card companies for a Credit Limit Decrease and since it's a decrease you can ask specifically what you want it to be. That would decrease over all credit available and then make it easier to hit that 1% mark while you try to build before goin on your next app spree.

Again just thoughts by a credit noob, others feel free to dissect my post for what its worth on whether either option would be acceptable or not... lol.

[SnackTrader]

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@NewYorkGuy wrote:

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@lg8302ch wrote:

Interesting question!  Please let us know what your experience will be. All I can confirm is that 0 balance reporting  on all cards is a bad idea and gets your score down. My loss is not from 0 balance reporting now but from app spree...wonder when it hits the end...anyway for me not important and I will experiment with balance and util in the course of 2013 as my next app should only be in 2013 for CSP hopefully. 

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I have 0 balance reporting on all cards except 1. According to what I read around here, that is best for FICO optimization. My only issue is that my available credit has grown to such a high level that the $400 balance on my CareCredit account gets counted as a 0% balance on my credit reports when factored against my total available credit.

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I believe everything is rounded up for FICO scoring. So even $1 = 1% even if the actual percentage is 0.000001%. 

Just how I understand it based on the experiments of other forum members.

[calihlove75]

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@MegaZX30 wrote:

I too am curious about this?

If for instance we go by CreditKarma's FAKO scores calculations

0% is a C Grading

1 - 20% is an A Grading

No Credit - NA %

When I'm not using my card, CK likes to report me at No Credit instead of 0% utility I don't know if Real FICO calculates scores in the same sense or not...?

According to this 1% would be probably be more optimal but again this is a FAKO score and not FICO

and I know there is differences but I'm not sure just how different.

Also I have a Credit Line through a bank which actual FICO Reports indicate as Revovling credit Utitity, but CK's FAKO considers it a Personal Loan type account...

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Credit Karma also says that if I make on-time payments for 24 months, my score will tank 30 points..lol