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I think Travel Punks is off in one respect. Having literally 0% utilization causes a small penalty to your credit score. The exact amount varies depending other factors like average age of accounts and/or derogatories, but in general I think the penalty is roughly 7-10 points. To optimize your score perfectly, I think you have to have more than $10.00 balance on just one card. But be careful to keep the balance under 9% of the total credit limit on the card, since more than that will cause other deductions from your score. You can avoid paying interest by paying off this balance during the grace period before interest starts accruing on the balance. Note: if practical have just one small balance on just one card, as multiple balances also leads to penalties, even if just a few pennies, particularly on recently opened credit cards. It's stupid but that is how most of the Fico scoring models work, including Fico 8. A way to work things out optimally is to pay a regular bill each month with the same card on roughly the same date, then pay off the balance after the statement prints.
Want to find out how to apply for all these credit cards and NOT get rejected? Check out our "HOW NOT TO GET DECLINED" series! Here's the first video: th-cam.com/video/xVwqb_u8_FI/w-d-xo.html
I think Travel Punks is off in one respect. Having literally 0% utilization causes a small penalty to your credit score. The exact amount varies depending other factors like average age of accounts and/or derogatories, but in general I think the penalty is roughly 7-10 points. To optimize your score perfectly, I think you have to have more than $10.00 balance on just one card. But be careful to keep the balance under 9% of the total credit limit on the card, since more than that will cause other deductions from your score. You can avoid paying interest by paying off this balance during the grace period before interest starts accruing on the balance. Note: if practical have just one small balance on just one card, as multiple balances also leads to penalties, even if just a few pennies, particularly on recently opened credit cards. It's stupid but that is how most of the Fico scoring models work, including Fico 8.
A way to work things out optimally is to pay a regular bill each month with the same card on roughly the same date, then pay off the balance after the statement prints.
I've heard something along those lines too. Thanks for weighing in. -Paul