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Having an in-depth knowledge of how credit utilization can affect your credit score will let you quickly increase your credit score and recognize why it deviates. Utilization actually accounts for 30% of your overall credit score mix (using FICO) and is one of the most collective reasons why many people’s scores go up and down each month. A person can boost their credit score by using the AZEO (all zero but one) method. Utilization is tracked for each individual credit card, as well as across all your cards.
For example, if you have one card with a $10,000 limit and you have a $1,000 balance you have a 10% utilization on that card. If you have another card, also with a $10,000 limit and no balance, then you have 5% utilization overall.Keeping your utilization between 1% and 9% on one card, while keeping your other cards at a zero balance is called the AZEO method (all zero but one). Boosting your credit score quickly is easy with this method.
Here's where it benefits the person. If a person has a high balance one month that negatively impacts their score, it can quickly be improved by paying down the balance and in the next month your score will rebound. Utilization has no memory of the month(s) prior. It does not matter how long a person has kept a balance, as soon as the balances drops down you will get a credit score improvement.
Here is a general guide to how your overall utilization impacts your credit:
No balance on any card – Slight penalty to your credit score (sucks but it is what it is)
Thanks for the write up. Here's a few tweaks/tips. Its a give/take type thing. Years of everyone putting their 2 cents in on what is the %'s.
Aggregate utilization thresholds: 8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, 88.9%
Individual utilization thresholds: 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, 88.9%
From one of our ole great posters @Anonymous
@Itgem679 wrote:Having an in-depth knowledge of how credit utilization can affect your credit score will let you quickly increase your credit score and recognize why it deviates. Utilization actually accounts for 30% of your overall credit score mix (using FICO) and is one of the most collective reasons why many people’s scores go up and down each month. A person can boost their credit score by using the AZEO (all zero but one) method. Utilization is tracked for each individual credit card, as well as across all your cards.
For example, if you have one card with a $10,000 limit and you have a $1,000 balance you have a 10% utilization on that card. If you have another card, also with a $10,000 limit and no balance, then you have 5% utilization overall.Keeping your utilization between 1% and 9% on one card, while keeping your other cards at a zero balance is called the AZEO method (all zero but one). Boosting your credit score quickly is easy with this method.
Here's where it benefits the person. If a person has a high balance one month that negatively impacts their score, it can quickly be improved by paying down the balance and in the next month your score will rebound. Utilization has no memory of the month(s) prior. It does not matter how long a person has kept a balance, as soon as the balances drops down you will get a credit score improvement.
Here is a general guide to how your overall utilization impacts your credit:
No balance on any card – Slight penalty to your credit score (sucks but it is what it is)
- 1% to 9% – Slight boost to your credit score ~ this is your best option to not get penalized for only using 1 or 2 cards.
- 10% to 30% – Neutral to slight penalty to your credit score
- 30% to 100% – Larger penalty to your credit score
- Over 100% – Huge penalty to your credit score
It would take a much longer post than I have time to write to tell you all the points on which (a) I disagree with things you have said (b) you have overly simplified and/or (c) you are saying things for which you have no basis.
I'm going to assume that's a clean score card. EX8 will reward me and my dirty scorecard with a point or two for being around 2% or less IIRC
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Itgem679 wrote:Having an in-depth knowledge of how credit utilization can affect your credit score will let you quickly increase your credit score and recognize why it deviates. Utilization actually accounts for 30% of your overall credit score mix (using FICO) and is one of the most collective reasons why many people’s scores go up and down each month. A person can boost their credit score by using the AZEO (all zero but one) method. Utilization is tracked for each individual credit card, as well as across all your cards.
For example, if you have one card with a $10,000 limit and you have a $1,000 balance you have a 10% utilization on that card. If you have another card, also with a $10,000 limit and no balance, then you have 5% utilization overall.Keeping your utilization between 1% and 9% on one card, while keeping your other cards at a zero balance is called the AZEO method (all zero but one). Boosting your credit score quickly is easy with this method.
Here's where it benefits the person. If a person has a high balance one month that negatively impacts their score, it can quickly be improved by paying down the balance and in the next month your score will rebound. Utilization has no memory of the month(s) prior. It does not matter how long a person has kept a balance, as soon as the balances drops down you will get a credit score improvement.
Here is a general guide to how your overall utilization impacts your credit:
No balance on any card – Slight penalty to your credit score (sucks but it is what it is)
- 1% to 9% – Slight boost to your credit score ~ this is your best option to not get penalized for only using 1 or 2 cards.
- 10% to 30% – Neutral to slight penalty to your credit score
- 30% to 100% – Larger penalty to your credit score
- Over 100% – Huge penalty to your credit score
It would take a much longer post than I have time to write to tell you all the points on which (a) I disagree with things you have said (b) you have overly simplified and/or (c) you are saying things for which you have no basis.
That's great. I was simplifying it for those that get confused by complicated explanations and lots of abbreviations. Its a starting point.
Sometimes, things can just be left unsaid. That way, you'd be considered less rude.
@FireMedic1 wrote:Thanks for the write up. Here's a few tweaks/tips. Its a give/take type thing. Years of everyone putting their 2 cents in on what is the %'s.
Aggregate utilization thresholds: 8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, 88.9%
Individual utilization thresholds: 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, 88.9%From one of our ole great posters @Anonymous
Thank you @FireMedic1 for the kind response.
@Itgem679 wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:Thanks for the write up. Here's a few tweaks/tips. Its a give/take type thing. Years of everyone putting their 2 cents in on what is the %'s.
Aggregate utilization thresholds: 8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, 88.9%
Individual utilization thresholds: 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, 88.9%From one of our ole great posters @Anonymous
Thank you @FireMedic1 for the kind response.
No problem @Itgem679 . Is there a dead set wriiten in stone util %? Nope. Maxed out and 0% is easy. The rest? Thats why were all here contributing. If we only knew it all about FICO.
Any non-zero account balance on a revolver (even $1 if it reports as such, not all lenders will) counts for utilization as non-zero.
No need to get to 1%, if I round upwards I'm at 0.01% right now and no issue.