Utilization percentage - of the one card or total?

[gdale6]

If you are playing the utilization game then its 1-9% of an individual cards limit you want to let report all other revolvers at 0. Going further you will have to play with the percentages to find your sweet spot (its different for everyone). Mine right now is 2% of 1 cards limit but it can change when other changes are made to your CR.

[Anonymous]

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@tonyjones wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

+1

This here.  You can spend as much as you like (within your budget) and pay those amounts off before the statement date and show 0 on the other cards.  But, that is not what you are asking.  In my experience, I decreased the balance on all my cards and was showing 2% from 76% and my scores soared!  I am aware as of late, there are individuals who are experiencing different results.  I need about 3 months of testing to figure out one option versus another?  Since I've added 4 new cards since late January and accounts are still coming online(reporting on my CR) and balances are going from 0 to whatever, my scores are flucuating. So I am going to opt for less then on all accounts.

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How much increase in points did you see when you went from 76% to 2%?

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Look at my sig.
My scores in December were in the low 600s.  Having PFD'd the medical collections and paying down the cc to 2%, my scores all climb about 140+ in 34 days.  

[Anonymous]

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@masscredit wrote:

With all of the people that play the utilization "game" to maximize their scores, I'm surprised there isn't a solid answer to this. 

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I am sure that you are aware that each person's credit report is different?  And saying that, one person with a well established and thick file with zero baddies and not a lot of monthly changes on his/her report is going to respond differently than someone with an AAoA of 2 years, with 4 accounts and removing collections, flucuating balances and various payment situations.  

The only thing that anyone can provide is a microcosm of their situation based on their reports.  I gave you what mine is like and my experience?

[joshall]

That is a huge increase of 140+.

May I know your AAoA?

[Anonymous]

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@joshall wrote:

That is a huge increase of 140+.

May I know your AAoA?

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As of right now it is AAoA 1.1 years.  

I had an AAoA of 1.78 but added 5 new cards from December through February.  

My other cards BoA            Oct 2012

                         Express      Jan 2013

                         Cap One    June 2013

                         Credit One July 2013

Credit one has since been closed.  And nothing else on report.  

[cashnocredit]

I have about 3 years of experience with detailed tracking of balances and scores with EQ FICO.

I have never had a case where decreasing utilization from 10% or higher to 5% or less with one card reporting didn't provide score increases. I have seen significant variation on the impact of having all or most of my cards report small balances even with low utilization. In some cases 2 years ago this resulted in over a 60 point drop. However, as my accounts aged more the effect of the number of cards reporting balances has diminished and even more so with the FICO 8 change. I now see maybe a 10-15 point difference due to # cards reporting balances.

This, like any of our experiences is anecdotal and there may be significant variations based on what scorecard you fall into.

[masscredit]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am sure that you are aware that each person's credit report is different?  And saying that, one person with a well established and thick file with zero baddies and not a lot of monthly changes on his/her report is going to respond differently than someone with an AAoA of 2 years, with 4 accounts and removing collections, flucuating balances and various payment situations.  

The only thing that anyone can provide is a microcosm of their situation based on their reports.  I gave you what mine is like and my experience?

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I understand that.  I just thought there was a simple answer.  Either one way or the other.  I'm starting to play with mine now. The 1-2% that has been posting on one card each month might not be the best for my scores so I'm letting it climb 1-2% each month to see what that does.  I'll do that up to 9%. 

[vanillabean]

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@cashnocredit wrote:

I have about 3 years of experience with detailed tracking of balances and scores with EQ FICO.

I have never had a case where decreasing utilization from 10% or higher to 5% or less with one card reporting didn't provide score increases.

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"Reporting a balance on one card. Before, a utilization of 1% (rounded up) on the card and also 1% overall. After a balance increase, a utilization of 29% on the card and 5% overall. The score (EQ 08) did not change!"

Balance increase by 11000%, but no score change!

[masscredit]

Just thought of something. A lot of people want more cards to reduce their overall utilization. So why would that matter if it's about having less than 10% on one card?

[cashnocredit]

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@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

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@cashnocredit wrote:

I have about 3 years of experience with detailed tracking of balances and scores with EQ FICO.

I have never had a case where decreasing utilization from 10% or higher to 5% or less with one card reporting didn't provide score increases.

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"Reporting a balance on one card. Before, a utilization of 1% (rounded up) on the card and also 1% overall. After a balance increase, a utilization of 29% on the card and 5% overall. The score (EQ 08) did not change!"

Balance increase by 11000%, but no score change!

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Well I increased my util on one card having an $800 CL, running it up from 10% to over 90% of it's CL and my FICO score dropped just a few points. The reason probably was that at the time my overall util was only increased from around 6% to 7%.  Having a really high utilization on a card didn't have much affect but that was because the CL on the card was miniscule compared to my other card CLs.