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re: How to get FICO to 800?

Posted on 11/15/17 at 9:55 am to
Posted by REG861
Ocelot, Iowa
Member since Oct 2011
36486 posts
Posted on 11/15/17 at 9:55 am to
How big of a deal is utilization really? My credit score is good but there's always room for improvement. I use the hell out of my Southwest card because I'm trying to rack up points for flights. So i guess my utilization is high, but I pay the balance off in full without fail every billing cycle. I don't know why this would affect me negatively. Should I be using it less and maybe split up my spending among other my other cards to lower my utilization?
Posted by GenesChin
The Promise Land
Member since Feb 2012
37709 posts
Posted on 11/15/17 at 10:39 am to
quote:

So i guess my utilization is high, but I pay the balance off in full without fail every billing cycle. I don't know why this would affect me negatively



Credit utilization is based on reported balance to credit bureaus. This is most commonly once a month reporting of your monthly "statement balance" So paying off "in full" has no impact on credit utilization if you have new charges afterwards

Identical Utilization Examples- 0% APR card


Scenario #1: $1000 statement balance, pay full $1000, charge $500, Final Balance: $500
Scenario #2: $1000 statement balance, pay $500 Final Balance: $500

Both of these accounts report final balance of $500 that will be factored into credit utilization despite "Paid in full" for scenario #1

quote:

Should I be using it less and maybe split up my spending among other my other cards to lower my utilization?



No, just pay your bill to $0 before your statement is released. Then your utilization will be 0% if your reported balance is 0%
This post was edited on 11/15/17 at 10:41 am
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