Overall vs. Indiv %Util

[RobertEG]

In listening to the recent FICO webinars, they state that overall revolv % util and indiv % util count the same.  I had never seen this before,and if true, could be significant factor in tweaking FICO just prior to apping for credit.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 05-21-2008 06:51 PM

[smallfry]

That's why it is a good idea to have more than a few cards that you can rotate even if you are a spendthrift like me. I never go more than 5% on any card. Ever.

[Anonymous]

i'm sorry, but are they no longer deducting points for a single maxed out cart? ex 100k worth of available revolving credit on 5 cards (ie 20k each), but one card w/20k balance. common knowledge said this 20% overall uti, but 100% individual uti was a score killer. has this changed and now you will only be scored on the 20% overall uti?

[RobertEG]

Ducky, it means just the opposite to me. 

The prior consensus seemed to be that overall %util was the most important, and that while indiv card util is also considered, it was not weighed as highly as overall %util...

I do not take it to mean that their is no distinction between indiv util and overall. 

It apparently means that being maxed on one card is very serious, even if overall %util is much lower.  It does not mean that the indiv and overall utils are all considered the same, it means that the affect of each is weighted the same. 

So being maxed on one card becomes more, not less, serious.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 05-21-2008 07:26 PM

[Anonymous]

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RobertEG wrote:

Ducky, it means just the opposite to me.  It apparently means that being maxed on one card is very serious, even if overall %util is much lower. 

I presume that it means that if you have multiple cards, then it means that each card util and the overall util each count equally.  Four cards, for example, would enter five equal weightings into the revolv %util scoring.

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ok, got it. overall and individual uti are still scored and apparently equally scrutinized.

now the only question is does spreading out the uti across multiple accounts hurt less? i am about 30% uti, but on 3 cards (out of about a dozen revolving accounts) and for the first time ever my tu cracked 700 (701 yay me) and sw sent me an alert yesterday saying i'm trending back up (678).

so at least for my profile less accounts reporting a balance is better than spreading the uti arround.

[RobertEG]

Again, the %util is not the only factor considered.  The number of cards with balances as a percent of total cards also counts, but to what level as compared to %util is just not known for sure.

At least the current FairIsaac clarification seems to clear up the indiv vs overall %util question, but does not answer all the questions about revolving balance scoring.

[Anonymous]

Yes- It has been posted here MANY times the indv utl counts the "same" as overall utl-

In my experiance overall utilization counts more-

[RobertEG]

Thanks, Timothy.  I guess the controversy is not yet put to rest.  Most advice previously given on here is that overall %util is primary, and that indiv card %util is somehow secondary. That does not appear to be the case.

I tend to listen when FairIsaac pontificates, but alas,  I am not the pontiff.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 05-21-2008 09:21 PM

[marty56]

In my profile, given the same total util,  more then 1 card reporting a balance causes a drop in score.  I am going to take my only reporting CC to below 10% util so we will see what happens.

[smallfry]

Since there is a possibility you might get a score ding for too many cards reporting a balance or individual utilization too high or overall U too high it just seems to make good sense to make sure you have enough cards, enough overall available credit and a high limit card to be able to juggle any foreseeable purchases w/o hurting your scores.

5 or 6 credit cards along with a store card should be enough to satisfy the number of accounts with a balance. Assuming your personal expenses don't exceed 5K monthly then 100K available credit is sufficient. Having a CC with a 20K limit should allow you to charge enough so you never go over the 9% threshold on any individual card.