@racer-x wrote:
@EW800 wrote:
@racer-x wrote:
Op said hes not worried about money and interest rates. He stated what was best for his score.
In my experience, the fewer cards having 0 balance the better. 49%utiliz on 2 cardsaint squat.Im carrying 82%, 45%, 48%, 28%,28% on my 5 cards out of 20.Im flirting with 720 across the board.Do you mean that as it sounds? The FEWER cards having $0 balance the better? That pretty much goes against all that I have learned here, and experimented through my own profile. I recognize that all profiles are different, however I have played with balance reporting quite a bit over the past year. In my case, I have found optimum scoring with ONE account showing a small balance, and all other accounts showing $0. I have found that if I let a second card report a small balance that I loose 4 to 5 points. I do not seem to loose any additional points going from 2 to 3 cards reporting a balance, however going beyond the three I really start to get hit.
EW- I didn't say ALL cards, I said the FEWER. 2 is fewer than 5 in the OP's case. Hell, I've never had just 1 card report a balance, ever, so I don't know how that 'fico fact' plays out with me personally.
And like you said, when more cards report balances, the more points you lose.
NRB- Jeez, gimme a break. Is paying over $20 LARGE in the last 45 days not enough for ya? That 82% was 97%. I haven't worked in 3 mos. for cryin' out loud. lol.
Longest seasonal layoff in my 25 yr profession.
Don't worry everybody, I'll be gone soon enough....12-16 hr days, 65-75 hr wks start tomorrow....I'll cyas next year.
I realize that, so the caveat that getting it below 82% doesn't work sometimes. But in the interest of pure FICO scoring, getting it down would help, in theory. But of course we don't live in a theoretical world 
EW: You probably got a small hit from letting cards report a balance, that is taking on new credit. You have to let them consistently report that balance, not just look at the first time they come out of zero mode. People think they get a score boost by going to zero balance on a card, and temporarily they do, but over time it isn't really helping the score. As soon as the card has to report a balance, the score hiccups. Then it recovers over the next few months, lf left to report consistently.
