Finally cracked the code on my credit utilization after 8 months of guessing wrong

I kept paying off my card before the statement hit and wondered why my score barely moved - turns out letting a small balance report then paying it off actually boosted me 45 points in 2 months. Has anyone else had their lender give them different advice than what actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler_kim153d ago

Your lender ever tell you one thing but the credit gods do the opposite? I paid off my card to zero for six months straight like a good little sheep, only to watch my score flatline. Then I let $12 report on my $500 limit and suddenly I'm up 30 points. Now I just treat my card like a hot potato - let a tiny balance hit the statement, pay it off fast, repeat. Feels stupid but hey, whatever works for the algorithm.

robin8363d ago

Hate when that happens, it's like the system is rigged to keep you guessing. I did the same thing once, paid everything off early for months and got nowhere. Now I just let like $5 show up on the statement every month and my score actually moves.

the_robert3d ago

Not quite zero though, if you close the account with a zero balance they sometimes ding you for having no active credit usage. Gotta keep that $5 showing up to play their game.