Equifax score better with fewer balances or lower utilization on more cards? (How to divvy up pmt?)

[Anonymous]

14 revolving lines total $113,000.  Limits 300 to 18,000.  Currently 12 with balances.  Total utilization in the 80+%.  Never any lates or negative credit (except high balances).

I am going to pay these down to 29% total utilization.  Only goal is to raise my Equifax credit score.  Interest rate is not a consideration.  I am going to refinance the remaining debt, thus the wish for the highest score.  Which of the following results of this paydown would be better in this regard?  Or another idea if you know a better one.

1.  End up with 2 lines at 49% utilization, 7 with 29%, and 5 with 0% utilization.

2.  End up with 5 lines (15K, 7K, 18K, 16K, and 10K) at 49% utilization and have 9 lines with 0% utilization.

3.  End up with 14 lines with 29% utilization.

For simplicity, I like #2.  I know individual utilizations per card matter as well as overall.  I just don't know the best mix.  I assume 100%, 100%, 100% and the rest zero would not be good.  Thank you.

[EAJuggalo]

The ratio of open accounts to accounts with 0 balances seems to matter more than the individual utilization.  I've got a thread going in the FICO Scoring forum detailing what has happened with my score as balances report paid.  This past weekend I had an individual card go from reporting 75 percent to reporting 5 percent and that moved my score 2 points, the next day I had a card go from reporting 4 percent to reporting 0 and my score went up 8 points.

[Anonymous]

I am new.  I knew there would be an answer to such a common question.  I just could not find it.  You not only kindly gave me your answer, but also pointed me to the best place to read on the subject.  Thank you so much.

[805orbust]

Yeah during the Pandemic, while paying down balances left over from our move, I noticed as accounts zeroed out I got a much bigger score boost. Especially when over half my accounts were at zero.  Also had BIG movement when everything was under 49%, 29%, and then of course, 9%.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

14 revolving lines total $113,000.  Limits 300 to 18,000.  Currently 12 with balances.  Total utilization in the 80+%.  Never any lates or negative credit (except high balances).

I am going to pay these down to 29% total utilization.  Only goal is to raise my Equifax credit score.  Interest rate is not a consideration.  I am going to refinance the remaining debt, thus the wish for the highest score.  Which of the following results of this paydown would be better in this regard?  Or another idea if you know a better one.

1.  End up with 2 lines at 49% utilization, 7 with 29%, and 5 with 0% utilization.

2.  End up with 5 lines (15K, 7K, 18K, 16K, and 10K) at 49% utilization and have 9 lines with 0% utilization.

3.  End up with 14 lines with 29% utilization.

For simplicity, I like #2.  I know individual utilizations per card matter as well as overall.  I just don't know the best mix.  I assume 100%, 100%, 100% and the rest zero would not be good.  Thank you.

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I believe 3 would be the best for your FICO 8's and 9's, while 1 would be best for mortgage scores.

[4sallypat]

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@805orbust wrote:

Yeah during the Pandemic, while paying down balances left over from our move, I noticed as accounts zeroed out I got a much bigger score boost. Especially when over half my accounts were at zero.  Also had BIG movement when everything was under 49%, 29%, and then of course, 9%.

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Yes, same thing to me - able to pay down debt during the pandemic as well.

When we were looking for a house, our mortgage broker guided us for a year and had us first pay down the major cards (not store cards, no synch co-branded) to under 25%.  Then he had us pay to zero small balance cards.  Then I ended up with a total of: 1 installment loan, 2 car loans, 4 open revolving cards. Finally, we went from overall 35% UT to 9% UT and saw huge increases in scores (mid 600's to mid 700's) for all scores (mortgage, auto, bankcard, general FICO).

[FireMedic1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

14 revolving lines total $113,000.  Limits 300 to 18,000.  Currently 12 with balances.  Total utilization in the 80+%.  Never any lates or negative credit (except high balances).

I am going to pay these down to 29% total utilization.  Only goal is to raise my Equifax credit score.  Interest rate is not a consideration.  I am going to refinance the remaining debt, thus the wish for the highest score.  Which of the following results of this paydown would be better in this regard?  Or another idea if you know a better one.

1.  End up with 2 lines at 49% utilization, 7 with 29%, and 5 with 0% utilization.

2.  End up with 5 lines (15K, 7K, 18K, 16K, and 10K) at 49% utilization and have 9 lines with 0% utilization.

3.  End up with 14 lines with 29% utilization.

4. End up with 1 line at 8% utilization

For simplicity, I like #2.  I know individual utilizations per card matter as well as overall.  I just don't know the best mix.  I assume 100%, 100%, 100% and the rest zero would not be good.  Thank you.

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I added a line for best results. And the money you'll save from paying interest will be nice.

[mgood]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

14 revolving lines total $113,000.  Limits 300 to 18,000.  Currently 12 with balances.  Total utilization in the 80+%.  Never any lates or negative credit (except high balances).

I am going to pay these down to 29% total utilization.  Only goal is to raise my Equifax credit score.  Interest rate is not a consideration.  I am going to refinance the remaining debt, thus the wish for the highest score.  Which of the following results of this paydown would be better in this regard?  Or another idea if you know a better one.

1.  End up with 2 lines at 49% utilization, 7 with 29%, and 5 with 0% utilization.

2.  End up with 5 lines (15K, 7K, 18K, 16K, and 10K) at 49% utilization and have 9 lines with 0% utilization.

3.  End up with 14 lines with 29% utilization.

For simplicity, I like #2.  I know individual utilizations per card matter as well as overall.  I just don't know the best mix.  I assume 100%, 100%, 100% and the rest zero would not be good.  Thank you.

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I believe 3 would be the best for your FICO 8's and 9's, while 1 would be best for mortgage scores.

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That's something I haven't seen discussed much. I wondered if different methods worked better for different scoring models. People often say [this] is the way to improve your score. But which score? All of them? FICO 8? What about the others? If I'm looking to apply with a specific lender, and I know what score they look at, then I could optimize my strategy to improve that score the most.