Util rate Q

[kmacqua]

Hi all,

The concept of the utlization rate seems pretty straight forward: how much you owe divided by your credit line.  But actually calculating it can be a bit trickier. I want to make sure I understand it correctly.

Eg. 1

If my CL is $10,000 and in month x I make $8,000 in purchases (I like round #s!) and then pay $8,000 after the statement comes before the due date, is my util rate 80% or 0%?  Similarly, if I pay $7,000 and leave $1,000 balance, is my util rate 80% or 10%?

Eg. 2

If my CL is $10,000 and I leave $1,000 on the card from month x.  Then in month y, I charge $4,000, then pay $3,000 when the statement comes (leavign $2,000 balance) is my util rate now 50%? or 20%?

And a couple of follow-up questions:

Does the utilization rate for each account (or cumulative across all accounts) appear on my credit reports somewhere and I just haven't looked hard enough to find it? Or do I need to calculate it myself each month?

 What does the util rate "sweet spot" seem to be, as far as either FICO scoring or CLI (I'm most interested in my FICO)?  1-10%?

Thanks for helping me understand!

[vanillabean]

The due date has nothing whatsoever to do with utilization. It’s what’s reported and when that matters, and credit companies mostly report following the statement date, at the beginning of the new billing cycle.

The utilization does not appear anywhere on a credit report, which includes just the basic reported facts. Score reports on the other hand often display all kinds of funny bells and whistles such as the utilization.

People claim sweet spot levels across the board for utilization, but I have yet to come across any documented case of a higher score from a higher utilization, which is why I state one percent.