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are there "tiers" of utilization?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

are there "tiers" of utilization?

i was at 31% or so last month, paid some balances down, got to 21% and my score went up 15-30 points depending on CA and score system.

last week or so i am down to 17% and my score hasn't changed. it will be down below 10% by the end of next week. 

 

anyone know if passing certain thresholds like 15% or 10% are more important than going from 14 to 11 (for example)?

Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?


@Anonymous wrote:

i was at 31% or so last month, paid some balances down, got to 21% and my score went up 15-30 points depending on CA and score system.

last week or so i am down to 17% and my score hasn't changed. That change in in utilization, is it reflected on your credit report?  I see that you received a 15-30 point increase based on your util going from 31% to 21%, but the drop to 17% is probably not reflected across your entire credi report yet, thus you will not see an additional reaction to your lowering of your util until next month most likely or when your lenders report?  it will be down below 10% by the end of next week. 

 

anyone know if passing certain thresholds like 15% or 10% are more important than going from 14 to 11 (for example)?  From a standpoint of lowering your utilization by any percentage is healthier for your credit profile, but as far as FICO is concerned, there is nothing that states that passing through any threshold will cause a more benefical result?


 

Message 2 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

i was at 31% or so last month, paid some balances down, got to 21% and my score went up 15-30 points depending on CA and score system.

last week or so i am down to 17% and my score hasn't changed. That change in in utilization, is it reflected on your credit report?  I see that you received a 15-30 point increase based on your util going from 31% to 21%, but the drop to 17% is probably not reflected across your entire credi report yet, thus you will not see an additional reaction to your lowering of your util until next month most likely or when your lenders report?  it will be down below 10% by the end of next week. 

 

anyone know if passing certain thresholds like 15% or 10% are more important than going from 14 to 11 (for example)?  From a standpoint of lowering your utilization by any percentage is healthier for your credit profile, but as far as FICO is concerned, there is nothing that states that passing through any threshold will cause a more benefical result?


 


those %'s quoted are straight from the equifax site's credit tracker (and match the myfico page, as well as CK) if the util drop was going to change my score, i should see it on the tracking sites, correct? i just did the math, and after a few other cards post, i should be under 7 percent. i paid down two cap1 accounts, and have a few CLI's coming in, including big ones from J crew and walmart

 

as for my 2nd question, my main goal right now is the fico score itself.

Message 3 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?

i'm mostly wondering if my previous jump in scores was from hitting 30% or 25% util -  i have seen a lot of sites using 30% as a warning level.

also i'm obviously wondering if hitting 15 or 10% will cause a similar jump in scores.

 

i'm getting anxious, as j crew usually reports on the 2nd, but none of the tracking sites have picked up on it yet. i know they usually take a day or two, and it won't really matter for me until the 9th/10 but it'll be nice to see what happens

Message 4 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?

This would make sense to me.
Message 5 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?

Update. Logged into experian tracker this am and they have my util down to 15%, and score increasing 7 points, from 682 to 689
Message 6 of 12
skigirl916
Established Contributor

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?

Without fail, I've noticed a drop as soon as any one card reports over 30%. I could be at 28-29% without issue, but as soon as I get to 30%, I take a hit. And as soon as it goes back below 30%, I see a bump. I don't see a bump again as the balance goes below that.

I also see a small decrease when a single card is greater than 0% and less than 10%. Weird.

I've noticed my own sweet spot is that if a card has a balance, to have it be 10-30%, but keep overall UTIL across all cards to be less than 10%.
Message 7 of 12
tonyjones
Valued Contributor

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?

Here is a chart! You always want to stay between 1-20%.

 

Current Fico Scores: (December 2023)
Message 8 of 12
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?


@tonyjones wrote:

Here is a chart! You always want to stay between 1-20%.

 


This appears to be from CK and that would apply to the Vantage score. It is not defiinite for application to a Fico score.

Message 9 of 12
joshall
Contributor

Re: are there "tiers" of utilization?


@tonyjones wrote:

Here is a chart! You always want to stay between 1-20%.

 


Is this 1-20% per credit card, or for 1-20% of all total credit line?

Message 10 of 12
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