UT Advice Needed

[GreatLife]

Hi All. I need help deciding which individual card utilizations are generally best for Fico scoring. I currently have balances on 4 of 15 cards with this UT:

47%, 45%, 45%, 17%

The 4 cards are on 0% promos but one is about to expire so I'm going to do some rearranging with a new 0% promo from an existing card. Which of the following two outcomes is best for Fico?

38%, 38%, 28%, 28%

38%, 38%, 38%

I'm at Fico 795 and hoping one of the above might keep me close to there. Aggregate UT will remain at 13%. Thanks!

[CreditBob]

Four or more accounts with balances is one factor. This includes either credit cards and or loans combined. The optimal is one or two. On your revolving debit, a balance on one credit card with a one percent utilization. I believe is a link. John worked at both Fico and  Equifax of at least 30 years combined

.https://youtu.be/M53wNlq6sro?si=_GdJrdBLVtfm12_i 

[SouthJamaica]

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@GreatLife wrote:

Hi All. I need help deciding which individual card utilizations are generally best for Fico scoring. I currently have balances on 4 of 15 cards with this UT:

47%, 45%, 45%, 17%

The 4 cards are on 0% promos but one is about to expire so I'm going to do some rearranging with a new 0% promo from an existing card. Which of the following two outcomes is best for Fico?

38%, 38%, 28%, 28%

38%, 38%, 38%

I'm at Fico 795 and hoping one of the above might keep me close to there. Aggregate UT will remain at 13%. Thanks!

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It would be better for all to be at 28% or less, but if that's not possible, it's not possible to gauge which scenario is better for you. The first one is better in terms of individual account utilization, but the second is better in terms of number of accounts with balances.

[FicoMike0]

Now, your high ut is less than 49%, either of the new scenarios will be as well. I don't think it will make a difference. If you could get the high under 29%, that should help,but I think you're fine as far as maintaining your present scores, which are already very good.

Any way you could do 29%, 29%, 29% 29% ?

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@GreatLife wrote:

Hi All. I need help deciding which individual card utilizations are generally best for Fico scoring. I currently have balances on 4 of 15 cards with this UT:

47%, 45%, 45%, 17%

The 4 cards are on 0% promos but one is about to expire so I'm going to do some rearranging with a new 0% promo from an existing card. Which of the following two outcomes is best for Fico?

38%, 38%, 28%, 28%

38%, 38%, 38%

I'm at Fico 795 and hoping one of the above might keep me close to there. Aggregate UT will remain at 13%. Thanks!

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Either approach will likely have the same outcome. Fico looks at card with the highest utilization and scores it relative to various utilization range categories. Getting all 3 or 4 cards below 29% crosses a threshold to reduced penalty. Certainly getting all below 29% and aggregate below 9% would boost score noticeably.

Fico does look at number of accounts and % of cards with balances. If you have an open loan, it is unlikely 4 of 15 reporting vs 3 of 15 would make a difference on score.

P.S. the speaker, John, in CB's video link above did not write the Fico algorithms used for scoring. Some of his statements are misleading. He inaccurately claims 4 or more accounts with balances prevent a profile from reaching an 850 Fico score. The same issue applies to his 1% utilization as a critical threshold statement. Perhaps he was thinking about VantageScore which is more sensitive to utilization than Fico 8 or Fico 9.