Is there a difference as far as scoring goes?
Let's say I have 5 cards:
Card 1 - $2,000 CL
Card 2 - $2,000 CL
Card 3 - $2,000 CL
Card 4 - $2,000 CL
Card 5 - $20,000 CL
Let's say these are my balances:
Card 1 - $2,000 CL - $1,000 balance
Card 2 - $2,000 CL - $0 balance
Card 3 - $2,000 CL - $0 balance
Card 4 - $2,000 CL - $0 balance
Card 5 - $20,000 CL - $0 balance
So, card #1 is reporting a 50% utilization.
But with the overall available credit being $28,000, the utilization would be in that magic area of less then 10%
So, in that situation, would a score take a hit because of the 50% utilization reporting for that one card, or would it be fine because of overall avail credit?
You would indeed take a hit. UTIL is scored in two ways, your overall UTIL (across all accouts) as well as individual UTIL across each account. So your score in the above scenario would indeed be affected, although I can't say how much.
This was more of a hypothetical question so I can better understand the scoring system. Not really a situation I am in right now.
But thank you!
@MarineVietVet wrote:
@-NewGuy- wrote:You would indeed take a hit. UTIL is scored in two ways, your overall UTIL (across all accouts) as well as individual UTIL across each account. So your score in the above scenario would indeed be affected, although I can't say how much.
I agree with all this.
+2; however, to add, in my own testing I haven't seen a ding until I hit the maxxed out tradeline on my own ugly report which unfortunately the best resolution I have is somewhere between 76-93% single card utilization currently; however, YMMV especially with a cleaner report. Someday I'll be purchasing enough to actually run up some balances for testing purposes (or maybe I'll get one of those 0% fee convenience checks... yeah, right) to play with but won't happen anytime soon.
I still wouldn't leave a card at 50% though if I were trying to maximize my score if we're talking hypotheticals and eeking out the last few points on an application to hit a higher tier.
