"perfect" utility???

[Anonymous]

OK so I have been reading and using the information on this board and the rebuilding board, but I am still a little confused as to the "perfect" utility I should report, and when it reports...

The current cards I have are

Orchard Bank: $300 balance $65 was $0 last month Due Date 6/5 last statement 5/10

OB Sears Solutions: 300 Balance $104 was $0 last month Due Date 6/7 last statement 5/12

First national CC: 300 Balance $21 will be paid off this month Due 6/20 last statement 5/30

Capitol One: $500 $65 was $20 last month Due 6/10 last statement 5/15

Chase(added as joint account holder): 10,000 balance maybe $100

So this month I didn't have a payment due on the first 2 accounts, when should I pay them? Am I supposed to pay some before the "due date" and then pay the rest off anytime after that?? OR should I keep them all but 1 at $0, or let them all report $10? I am trying to increase my score to qualify for a house so I have a few months to play with it, but I want to see what I should be doing to "look" the best to FICO each month!!! Thanks soooooooooo much!!

If it makes any difference the top 2 also have now been taken over by capitol one and now report as that...

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

OK so I have been reading and using the information on this board and the rebuilding board, but I am still a little confused as to the "perfect" utility I should report, and when it reports...

The current cards I have are

Orchard Bank: $300 balance $65 was $0 last month Due Date 6/5 last statement 5/10

OB Sears Solutions: 300 Balance $104 was $0 last month Due Date 6/7 last statement 5/12

First national CC: 300 Balance $21 will be paid off this month Due 6/20 last statement 5/30

Capitol One: $500 $65 was $20 last month Due 6/10 last statement 5/15

Chase(added as joint account holder): 10,000 balance maybe $100

So this month I didn't have a payment due on the first 2 accounts, when should I pay them? Am I supposed to pay some before the "due date" and then pay the rest off anytime after that?? OR should I keep them all but 1 at $0, or let them all report $10? I am trying to increase my score to qualify for a house so I have a few months to play with it, but I want to see what I should be doing to "look" the best to FICO each month!!! Thanks soooooooooo much!!

If it makes any difference the top 2 also have now been taken over by capitol one and now report as that...

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There really is no one "perfect" number to shoot for. Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance.at any one time Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.

Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.

[Anonymous]

At the (high) risk of being Mr. Obvious, the most important thing is to make payments on all of your accounts on or before the due date.

[Anonymous]

MarineVet did better job than I would explaining. However I would try to have a card report between 1-9% of both your card and total utilization. Remember the round the percentages.

[Anonymous]

So I should have all the cards but 1 report $0, and the other card report between 5-9%, and see what happens? My "concern" is that to have it be 9% of total utility I would have to have a high balance report on the Chase account since it has a 10k limit. I am looking to get a mortgage in Nov/Dec so I want to try to get my score up as high as possible!!

Thanks for the advice!!

: )

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I should have all the cards but 1 report $0, and the other card report between 5-9%, and see what happens? My "concern" is that to have it be 9% of total utility I would have to have a high balance report on the Chase account since it has a 10k limit. I am looking to get a mortgage in Nov/Dec so I want to try to get my score up as high as possible!!

Thanks for the advice!!

: )

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That is your best bet.

Your concern of 9% utl seems a little misguided. You want to be at or under 9% not be exactly at 9%. The example of $100 reporting on your card with all other cards at a 0 balance is fine. If you want you can see if 1%-5% ($1-$500 reported on your Chase Acct) can give you an additional boost as opposed to 6%-9% ($600-$900 on your Chase acct) or vice versa. Never let your ult report at 0% it will have an adverse affect.

To add, for even more score boost power try having the total of all TL's under 5K if possible. A small part of your score is amounts owed. You can play with CC balances and any installment loans to get you under that number you should be golden.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice!!