3 ms·

I'm not sure that the "don't carry a balance at all" helps your credit score. I've heard some places say that a utilization of 1%-9% and the balance being paid

I'm not sure that the "don't carry a balance at all" helps your credit score. I've heard some places say that a utilization of 1%-9% and the balance being paid at end of each billing cycle will help increase one's credit score more than 0%. > On the other hand, using a low percentage of your available credit can have a positive impact. In some cases, a low credit utilization ratio will have a more positive impact on your FICO Scores than not using any of your available credit at all. [1] [1] http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/Amounts-Owed.aspx http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/Amounts-Owed.aspx

MrFoof 10y ago
FICO score in excess of 820 here. The difference in credit score if I were to have a small balance at a statement is literally < 1% of my score. I've done it as an experiment (having a non-$0 balance on statements to show utilization, not carrying a recurring balance and paying interest), and the difference has been typically 2 or 3 points. In my case, that's a fraction of a percent improvement. That is not a meaningful difference that would affect interest rates I could get from a lender. I would get the same rates at 828 as I would with 825 as I would with 790 as I would with 770. There is no meaningful positive difference that having a non-zero utilization provides to your FICO score.