June 16, 2016 | By Greg Fisher

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@truthandfalsity.com]
To: Russell Cron, U.S. Army Garrison, Ansbach, Germany
Date: June 15, 2016
Subject: credit score, utilization ratio level, 30 percent

Russell Cron
Financial Readiness Program Manager
U.S. Army Garrison, Ansbach, Germany

You responded to the question "If I paid my credit card half off, how much would my credit score go up and how long will it take?"

You replied: "Just getting down below your credit limit won't boost your credit score. What WILL give you a boost will be when you get your credit utilization below 30%, which means less than $600 on that card." https://www.nerdwallet.com/ask/question/paid-credit-card-half-off-credit-score-go-up-and-how-long-46840

What is the name of the person or organization who is the source of your information?

What's so special about 30 percent? #Myth4 -- https://www.google.com/search?q=%23myth4&oq=%23myth4

Nothing I know. Fair Isaac, the FICO score company states, "The more you owe compared to your credit limit, the lower your score will be." http://www.creditscoring.com/myths/#myth4

The company also states: "There's no ideal utilization to shoot for, because as with most things, it depends on everything else on your report. But as a general rule, you want to try to keep your utilization on any one card, and across all of your credit cards, below 50% to avoid the risk of hurting your FICO score." http://www.creditscoring.com/myths/utilization-ratio/magic.html

This is important so I called you. Did you get my message? http://www.creditscoring.com/interaction/2015/11/09-utilization.html

--
Greg Fisher
Truth and Falsity
truthandfalsity.com
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342
mobile/text 937-681-3224

The Nerdwallet advisor replied, mentioning something called the IFCE.

From: Greg Fisher
To: Jeff Richardson, Vantagescore
Cc: Russell Cron, U.S. Army Garrison, Ansbach, Germany
Date: June 16, 2016
Subject: Re: credit score, utilization ratio level, 30 percent, Vantagescore advice 50 percent

You said

Keep balances below 30 percent of the credit limit on any account. http://your.vantagescore.com/improve

The answer is going to vary from person to person but, generally speaking, you’re going to want to ensure that the total of the balances on all your credit cards does not exceed 30 percent of the sum of all your credit card borrowing limits. http://thescore.vantagescore.com/article/219

For consumers looking for best-practices guidance, VantageScore Solutions suggests not exceeding 30% of your credit limits. http://thescore.vantagescore.com/article/174

One of the best ways to ensure solid credit scores is to make sure the information on your credit reports speaks glowingly of your credit management practices. That means you should always pay your bills on time, keep credit card balance low relative to your credit limits (VantageScore recommends staying at or below 30 percent of the limit), and apply for credit sparingly. http://thescore.vantagescore.com/article/145

Another page on your website links to an outside article that begins, "Forget the old 30% rule." http://www.vantagescore.com/news-story/37

It also states, "'If you keep your balance below 50 percent, your score is not negatively affected,' she [Sarah Davies, Vantagescore senior VP of research and analytics] says. http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-limit-utilization-ratio-use-charge-1267.php

What is the most number of points possibly lost going from 30 to 40%?

--
Greg Fisher
Truth and Falsity
truthandfalsity.com
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio 45409-0342
mobile/text 937-681-3224

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