Hi All i hope you would not mind letting me know the best payment strategy to get the best scores. Here is the situation:
CC1: utilization 8.6%
CC2: utilization 9.9%
CC3: utilization 13.2%
Store credit: utilization 18.1%
In terms of CLs, CC3 (highest) > Store credit > CC1 > CC2
Actually CL on CC3 = Store + CC1 + CC2
I can pay CC3 down to 1% and reduce Store credit to 9.3%. I will make the minimum payments on CC1 and CC2 and keep the utilization the same.
This way I will have everything under 10% and low balance on CC3 will give me more available credit.
Or
I can spend the same amount of money to reduce CC1, CC2, and Store to 0% and CC3 to 10%.
Which way sounds better? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Starting Score: 540
You don't want to have balances displaying on all four cards. That hurts your scores ("too many accounts with balances"), and it's not necessary to make your CCC's happy.
I'm not sure if you're letting balances display because you think each card needs to show one on your reports, or if you're in the process of paying off debt.
If you're paying off debt, I'd snowball them by paying minimums on three and the minimum plus every penny you can find on the lowest balance card. Then when it's paid off, take that same amount of money and start on the next-lowest balance, continuing to pay minimums on the others. The alternative snowball is to target the highest-interest card first, then next-highest, and so on. The first version (lowest balance first) will have cards reporting $0 sooner.
As a long-term goal, I'd aim toward having all of the lower CL cards usually reporting $0, and letting CC#3 (the highest CL card) report a balance of 9% or less. Do let one card report a balance. I just lost twelve points on EQ from having all report $0. 
Hope I read your question right. I'm never sure when I read posts about people trying to have each card report a certain amount.
edited to clean up mystifying typo
