That's an excellent explanation. Let one card report a small balance, and your points will come back. The good news is that once you understand where the fluctuations come from, there'll be no need to panic. 
@Anonymouswrote:
I would think my CC’s behave the way you described. I have a Capital One and a Chase Unlimited Feedom. Honestly I don’t pay attention to statements very well as I always pay off the balances quite quickly. For example I had those balances from Christmas and paid them off in February. I guess I need to pay more attention to not keeping the balances zero. Just seems so odd that a zero balance for a card that’s obviously being used is a bad thing ...lol.
Use your Capital One to report a balance. Chase is a very different animal and it'll report a zero balance to the CRAs as soon as it's done, which can be a hassle if you're trying for maximum FICO points by using the AZEO method.
@Anonymouswrote:
Thank you so much. Yes both cards reported zero balance. The ‘no memory’ was what stood out for me. Great explanation! I was dismayed because I was thinking ‘ well last time my balances were $1000 and $2700... (utilization being shown) and now they’re zero ( dependenbility being shown). But I get what you’re saying. I probably don’t use them enough. I’ll use them for larger purchase then pay them off usually in less than 3 months. Would it be more beneficial, score wise, to use them for groceries, gas to show more usage yet maintain responsible payments? Thanks again!
It's not a question of how much you use them, it's a question of what the statement balance shows, since that balance is usually what is reported as "utilization". You can use the cards as much or as little as you like. But if you want to optimize your scores, you should have one reporting a small statement balance while the other reports a zero statement balance.
