@cr101 wrote:I'm at 14%, but I always see this "tip" from EX. I'm supposed to look more creditworthy if I'm under 6%. Do you guys ignore it? Have you noticed any increase in your score at under 6% util? Do creditors see this as a magic number?
"Consider reducing credit usage
Experts recommend an ideal credit usage of below 6%. Yours is on the right track, but the lower your usage, the more creditworthy you appear."
My experience was that the ideal aggregate utilization for FICO 8 was at 2-3%.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@cr101 wrote:I'm at 14%, but I always see this "tip" from EX. I'm supposed to look more creditworthy if I'm under 6%. Do you guys ignore it? Have you noticed any increase in your score at under 6% util? Do creditors see this as a magic number?
"Consider reducing credit usage
Experts recommend an ideal credit usage of below 6%. Yours is on the right track, but the lower your usage, the more creditworthy you appear."My experience was that the ideal aggregate utilization for FICO 8 was at 2-3%.
Eh. I give up. LOL. I'm only willing to go to 8.4%....So, if someone has a $1,000 credit limit, they would only want you to use $30? 
@cr101 wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@cr101 wrote:I'm at 14%, but I always see this "tip" from EX. I'm supposed to look more creditworthy if I'm under 6%. Do you guys ignore it? Have you noticed any increase in your score at under 6% util? Do creditors see this as a magic number?
"Consider reducing credit usage
Experts recommend an ideal credit usage of below 6%. Yours is on the right track, but the lower your usage, the more creditworthy you appear."My experience was that the ideal aggregate utilization for FICO 8 was at 2-3%.
Eh. I give up. LOL. I'm only willing to go to 8.4%....So, if someone has a $1,000 credit limit, they would only want you to use $30?
No.
1. I thought we were talking about aggregate utilization, not individual account utilization.
2. I thought we were talking about FICO scores, not what "someone would want you to use"
3. How much credit you use, and what your reported balance is, are 2 entirely separate things. FICO scores base utilization on the reported balance, not on usage.
Also I'm not setting a rule, I was talking about my experience. My experience has been that once I went over 3% it seemed that I was losing points for every rounded percentage point over that. I don't think I ever experienced a particular threshold at 6% or 9%, just a general principle that the higher my aggregate utilization went, the lower my score went. But I do think it's safe to say that 9% is very good and 6% is great.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@cr101 wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@cr101 wrote:I'm at 14%, but I always see this "tip" from EX. I'm supposed to look more creditworthy if I'm under 6%. Do you guys ignore it? Have you noticed any increase in your score at under 6% util? Do creditors see this as a magic number?
"Consider reducing credit usage
Experts recommend an ideal credit usage of below 6%. Yours is on the right track, but the lower your usage, the more creditworthy you appear."My experience was that the ideal aggregate utilization for FICO 8 was at 2-3%.
Eh. I give up. LOL. I'm only willing to go to 8.4%....So, if someone has a $1,000 credit limit, they would only want you to use $30?
No.
1. I thought we were talking about aggregate utilization, not individual account utilization.
2. I thought we were talking about FICO scores, not what "someone would want you to use"
3. How much credit you use, and what your reported balance is, are 2 entirely separate things. FICO scores base utilization on the reported balance, not on usage.
So sorry. I'm a bit confused. I used $1,000 as an example of someone who only has 1 card and that card has a limit of $1,000. When you say that usage and balance are not the same thing, are you just referring to the fact that I could hypothetically max out that $1,000 card before the statement cut, but my util wouldn't be 100%; my util would be whatever the balance-to-limit ratio is when the cc company actually reports the balance? I hope that's what you meant. Otherwise, I don't know nearly as much as I thought I did. 
Usage refers to how much you spend over a period of time. Your balance is how much you owe at a specific time. By paying frequently, you can have quite a bit of usage and fairly low balances.
I've been testing to find out exactly which dollar amount causes my scores to ding. A balance of $146 gives me my AZEO scores across the board. A balance of $148 causes my Experian 98 scores to drop by two or three points apiece. This month, the goal is to test $147. 
To keep things under control, I've been testing on the same 24k card. Total limits are currently 72k and have been at that level since early this year. When I have scores that show apparent aging points, I make a return trip to AZEO (for me, a $7 balance) to ensure that I'm comparing apples to apples. I don't think aging has gotten in the way of these tests, though. The high water mark for these scores hasn't risen in over a year.
$146 on 24k limit & 72k total limits:
- Experian 98 (FICO 2) Classic: 825
- Experian 98 (FICO 2) Auto: 807
- Experian 98 (FICO 2) Bankcard: 845
$148 on 24k limit & 72k total limits:
- Experian 98 (FICO 2) Classic: 822
- Experian 98 (FICO 2) Auto: 805
- Experian 98 (FICO 2) Bankcard: 842