@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:t cut with no more than $17.80 (8.9%) but no less than $5 so you can stay in the optimal utilization range. I would let the statement cut with a different balance each month so like $15 one month, $10 the next, $12, etc, so it shows some pattern of usage and consistently keeping the utilization reported low if it was me.
While I am against micromanagemetn anyway, this bit seems way too much! Discover knows all your charges anyway, so this is for other issuers (perhaps at some later point). Why do you think that anyone is looking for different reported balanced each month? If I have a constant $20 subscription on a card, and that's all that reports, to my mind that shows adequate responsible credit card usage.
It’s absolutely for different issuers and not Discover. It makes it look more like you’re using the card if you’re having random amounts reporting though instead of the same recurring charge that could mean that you’ve sock drawered the card with just a monthly subscription. That looks fine when you’ve got another card you use regularly but what credit card company wants someone who has one card that they only put one charge on a month? They want those swipe fees. Just seems like a common sense thing to me but that’s why it says that is what I would do if it was me. I am very deliberate in the way I do just about everything in life and I have OCD (which I suspect a number of us have lol) so I do tend to micromanage things but I don’t ever want to end up caught like I did when I had to file Chapter 7 so if being an OCD micromanager is what it takes, oh well! 
@Anonymous wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:t cut with no more than $17.80 (8.9%) but no less than $5 so you can stay in the optimal utilization range. I would let the statement cut with a different balance each month so like $15 one month, $10 the next, $12, etc, so it shows some pattern of usage and consistently keeping the utilization reported low if it was me.
While I am against micromanagemetn anyway, this bit seems way too much! Discover knows all your charges anyway, so this is for other issuers (perhaps at some later point). Why do you think that anyone is looking for different reported balanced each month? If I have a constant $20 subscription on a card, and that's all that reports, to my mind that shows adequate responsible credit card usage.
It’s absolutely for different issuers and not Discover. It makes it look more like you’re using the card if you’re having random amounts reporting though instead of the same recurring charge that could mean that you’ve sock drawered the card with just a monthly subscription. That looks fine when you’ve got another card you use regularly but what credit card company wants someone who has one card that they only put one charge on a month? They want those swipe fees. Just seems like a common sense thing to me but that’s why it says that is what I would do if it was me. I am very deliberate in the way I do just about everything in life and I have OCD (which I suspect a number of us have lol) so I do tend to micromanage things but I don’t ever want to end up caught like I did when I had to file Chapter 7 so if being an OCD micromanager is what it takes, oh well!
For swipe fees, its the amount that matters, and a sock-drawered constant $15 per month is going to be as good a a random amount that averages that. My point was more that what you suggests requires extra work (varying the amount) and I wanted to know if there is any evidence that anyone would detect this or care. I guess basically I don't think it is common sense, any more than other things, such as making sure that the purchases are in different categories each month to ensure that it looks like you are using the card for a wide range of purchases. I can certainly argue that should help! But I would probably be wrong and the effort wouldn't be time well spent.
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:t cut with no more than $17.80 (8.9%) but no less than $5 so you can stay in the optimal utilization range. I would let the statement cut with a different balance each month so like $15 one month, $10 the next, $12, etc, so it shows some pattern of usage and consistently keeping the utilization reported low if it was me.
While I am against micromanagemetn anyway, this bit seems way too much! Discover knows all your charges anyway, so this is for other issuers (perhaps at some later point). Why do you think that anyone is looking for different reported balanced each month? If I have a constant $20 subscription on a card, and that's all that reports, to my mind that shows adequate responsible credit card usage.
It’s absolutely for different issuers and not Discover. It makes it look more like you’re using the card if you’re having random amounts reporting though instead of the same recurring charge that could mean that you’ve sock drawered the card with just a monthly subscription. That looks fine when you’ve got another card you use regularly but what credit card company wants someone who has one card that they only put one charge on a month? They want those swipe fees. Just seems like a common sense thing to me but that’s why it says that is what I would do if it was me. I am very deliberate in the way I do just about everything in life and I have OCD (which I suspect a number of us have lol) so I do tend to micromanage things but I don’t ever want to end up caught like I did when I had to file Chapter 7 so if being an OCD micromanager is what it takes, oh well!
For swipe fees, its the amount that matters, and a sock-drawered constant $15 per month is going to be as good a a random amount that averages that. My point was more that what you suggests requires extra work (varying the amount) and I wanted to know if there is any evidence that anyone would detect this or care. I guess basically I don't think it is common sense, any more than other things, such as making sure that the purchases are in different categories each month to ensure that it looks like you are using the card for a wide range of purchases. I can certainly argue that should help! But I would probably be wrong and the effort wouldn't be time well spent.
I mean when these banks do their computer generated SP credit report exams, I guess none of us know what criteria they have. I don’t really find it that difficult to have varying payment amounts through organic use of the card. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had a statement that reported the same unless it was a $0 balance because I tend to naturally gravitate towards AZEO - it’s just habit of mine to only have a balance on one card, long before I learned about it here.
@Anonymous wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:t cut with no more than $17.80 (8.9%) but no less than $5 so you can stay in the optimal utilization range. I would let the statement cut with a different balance each month so like $15 one month, $10 the next, $12, etc, so it shows some pattern of usage and consistently keeping the utilization reported low if it was me.
While I am against micromanagemetn anyway, this bit seems way too much! Discover knows all your charges anyway, so this is for other issuers (perhaps at some later point). Why do you think that anyone is looking for different reported balanced each month? If I have a constant $20 subscription on a card, and that's all that reports, to my mind that shows adequate responsible credit card usage.
It’s absolutely for different issuers and not Discover. It makes it look more like you’re using the card if you’re having random amounts reporting though instead of the same recurring charge that could mean that you’ve sock drawered the card with just a monthly subscription. That looks fine when you’ve got another card you use regularly but what credit card company wants someone who has one card that they only put one charge on a month? They want those swipe fees. Just seems like a common sense thing to me but that’s why it says that is what I would do if it was me. I am very deliberate in the way I do just about everything in life and I have OCD (which I suspect a number of us have lol) so I do tend to micromanage things but I don’t ever want to end up caught like I did when I had to file Chapter 7 so if being an OCD micromanager is what it takes, oh well!
For swipe fees, its the amount that matters, and a sock-drawered constant $15 per month is going to be as good a a random amount that averages that. My point was more that what you suggests requires extra work (varying the amount) and I wanted to know if there is any evidence that anyone would detect this or care. I guess basically I don't think it is common sense, any more than other things, such as making sure that the purchases are in different categories each month to ensure that it looks like you are using the card for a wide range of purchases. I can certainly argue that should help! But I would probably be wrong and the effort wouldn't be time well spent.
I mean when these banks do their computer generated SP credit report exams, I guess none of us know what criteria they have. I don’t really find it that difficult to have varying payment amounts through organic use of the card. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had a statement that reported the same unless it was a $0 balance because I tend to naturally gravitate towards AZEO - it’s just habit of mine to only have a balance on one card, long before I learned about it here.
It's not organic use if you're trying to fake use by varying the total being reported. Most banks don't care what the amount being reported is as long as it gets used and they're not maxed out. And even then, most banks won't flinch at high utilization.
@Anonymous wrote:It really depends on what you're looking to do.
1. It comes with nice rewards (don't know if Discover IT secured comes with rewards) that you can benefit from - Pay the balance off weekly so you can charge more on it, rinse and repeat but leave some balance to report to the statement, make sure to pay off the remaining "statement balance" by due date to avoid interest.
2. Using it for immediate scoring boost for upcoming credit application - Pay off most before statement date but allow a balance of < 8.9% to report to statement, pay off the rest by due date.
3. Using it for profile rebuilding with no immediate credit application on the horizon - let everything report to statement then set your autopy to pay the full statement balance by due date.
The secured cards are basically the same as regular cards they're secured and are bucketed when they unsecure.
There are a lot of good debatable points in this thread related to whether to micromanage or go more the AZEO route, or just handle when and how much you pay another way. Neither is wrong in my opinion.
To me, it comes down to your profile and what you can and/or want to handle. If you feel the needs to try and squeeze every extra point, then by all means go the route you want to do so. If not, then as long as you don't go past due and pay what you need to pay to keep the balances down where you want, then that is fine also. Then, there are some who choose to do it a certain way just because that is what makes them feel comfortable, or even responsible in their own mind.
Either way, as long as the job is getting done to where you are not damaging your credit, that is what really matters. Choose what method works best for you 
