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Yes it would be 0 activity because you paid the balance before the statement date so nothing is due.
it doesn't matter how may cards report, utility is based on statment balance divided by CL. So one credit card may have a CL of $1,000 and the CL is $5,000, utl of 20% and you may have 2 other cards one report a bal. of $200 w/ a CL of $4,000 utl 5% and the other bal of $100 w/ CL of $5,000 utl 2% so your total utility for this month would be ($1,000+ $200 + 100) = $1,300 / CL of (5k+4k+5k) = 14k or 9.3% util.
So you don't have to have just one card report and if you report higher util in one month it would just affect your scores for that month. Utilization has no memory, so don't get so caughy up in micromanaging it.
@Anonymous wrote:
So I keep being told if I have 3 revolvers I should keep one under 9% UTI AND the others at 0 but wouldn't that just report as inactivity on the cards at 0%? What am I missing ?
The advice is for optimizing utilization such as when applying for new credit and you're looking for every possible point. This does not need to done all the time though some choose to do so anyway. I'd advise generally trying to stay under the 30% suggested max but that can be tricky with low limits.
The advice is based on these scoring considerations:
Inactivity isn't really relevant aside from a creditor closing an account due to inactivity. You need to confirm with each of your creditors what their policies are on the matter.
@Anonymous wrote:
a month wasted for no reason.
Building/rebuilding is a long, slow process. A month is no time at all in the credit world. As stated above, your revolving utilization is determined by the current balances and limits on your reports so prior data does not matter anyway.
@redpat wrote:Yes it would be 0 activity because you paid the balance before the statement date so nothing is due.
it doesn't matter how may cards report, utility is based on statment balance divided by CL. So one credit card may have a CL of $1,000 and the CL is $5,000, utl of 20% and you may have 2 other cards one report a bal. of $200 w/ a CL of $4,000 utl 5% and the other bal of $100 w/ CL of $5,000 utl 2% so your total utility for this month would be ($1,000+ $200 + 100) = $1,300 / CL of (5k+4k+5k) = 14k or 9.3% util.
So you don't have to have just one card report and if you report higher util in one month it would just affect your scores for that month. Utilization has no memory, so don't get so caughy up in micromanaging it.
+1!
like others have said, building takes a while. it definitely takes self control and when you start the journey, you have to keep your eyes on the bigger picture.
When I was rebuilding, I didn't really pay much attention to the 0 to 9 percent utilization strategfy until I was almost 2 years into my rebuild. By that time, I had established several cards and was able to strategize my game plan of letting one card report a small balance and the rest 0 balance.
When I applied for Chase Freedom with an almost 10 year old bankruptcy on my report and ficos in the 650-660 range, I was approved and I honestly think it was all due to utilization. Keep your payments ontime, use cards and before you are going to apply for something, strategize your application by making sure your reports are ready for optimal utilization. If you play the game of reporting every month it can get frustrating, just try and not go over 30 percent in genreal.
0 cards reporting = looks like no activity so there is nothing to judge on = lower score. 1 card reporting 1-9% shows you're using your credit, responsibly = better score. As long as you're using your cards, the c/c companies won't report them as inactive. Even if they did, it's better to show inactive than to show all 3 reporting, for optimum credit score.
I don't really plan on using my cards for anything (MAYBE in some kind of emergency, like one of my pets had to go to the vet or something) so there's no reason why i can't keep any and all cards at one or two percent. If I do use them at all I should be able to pay them down to 1%.
Keep in mind that everyone file are different and wont report the same. The past 6months I been testing my reporting balance and utilization and I found that paying off all my cards and have 1 report a small balance as to <9% doesnt work well with my file. I get 0-3point increase some month just simply no score increase.
Couple of months I paid off 1 card have it report 0 and the rest of my cards I let it report <20% on each cards, but my overall utilization are less then <10%. this is be far best report for me and I can get 8-10point each month.
Dont use the same card that reported 0...this month you report 0 on one card, next month pick another card and have it report 0. alternate the card, this work best for me not sure about others.
unfortunately its the only active card i have at the moment, so i REALLY wish it hadn't reported zero.... i have an active fingerhut freshstart account that i already bought something, but that was only a week ago and i have an opensky card that will be here in 7 to 10 days, none of them are reporing yet... i know in the long run it doesn't matter that much but it would have been nice to report an ontime payment and usage a month earlier than i am going to