2 cards vs 1 reporting

[Zoostation1]

Been reading a few other posts about the amount of score change from increases in the numbner of accounts reporting balances and I'm trying to estimate how much I'd lose going from my current AZEO (1-2% reporting on one card) to 2 of 4 cards reporting.  I'm planning to do AZEO for at least a bit longer till I request a CLI on my SavorOne in a couple months.  Beyond that I'm considering letting my next most frequently used card report a balance and not micromanaging quite as much until I'm ready to apply for a new card again (won't be doing that for a while).  Currently I'm reporting just under 2% on my AZEO card and 1% aggregate and would be going to 2 cards reporting with neither likely to exceed 8 or 9%.  Last time I went out of AZEO I lost 16pts on EQ8 (TU and EX were none to minor) and lost a bunch on FICO 9 scores (EQ9 -28 TU9 -35, EX9 -24).  That was with a thinner (2 cards only) even younger file though (went from 9% on AZEO, 6% aggregate to 10%, 6%, 9% aggrerate).  How much can I expect to lose on FICO 8 and 9 models if stop the AZEO?

[Thomas_Thumb]

No reason to speculate - test it! Now that you have 4 cards, it is likely 2 can report small balances without a score drop. However, if the 2nd card is newly reporting or has been classified inactive, there could be a short term score drop when it is reports.

If you have new accounts under 12 months age, no installment loan and lack a lengthy credit history; your profile will be react more strongly to changes in utilization. Young profiles without a loan on file might want to try AZE2 while maintaining utilization per card under 9% and under 5% in aggregate. Or, for the sake of simplicity, just go with under 9% for both individual and aggregate

Score drops associated with elevated utilization and a high percentage of accounts with balances have no lingering impact. Therefore, If the potential of up to a 15 point shift does not bother you, consider under 9% aggregate along with under 29% per card and 2 cards reporting as upper control boundries.

P.S.

EQ is more sensitive than other CRA to increases in number of accounts with balances. EX Fico 8 does not consider it to be an important factor.

The large drop in Fico 9 scores are unexpected and abnormal even though aggregate hit 9%. Could a new account have opened in between the score reports? It is always good to repeat tests to verify behavior.