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What do you do?  Let $2 report on a single credit card.  All of your other cards should report $0, which means you must pay them to $0 before the statements close.

Why $2?  Because you want the lowest amount possible to report that is greater than $0.  $2 is the most reliable number to use that will generally report and not be credited to $0.

Does this work with any cards? Do not do this with Chase, Discover or charge cards.  Chase often updates mid cycle if you pay a balance to $0, leaving you with nothing reporting.  If you want to use Discover, you need to use $3 because they will credit $2 to $0.  Charge cards are counted much differently for utilization, and it varies by scoring model.

But MyFico and CreditKarma say that my utilization is 0%.  Credit Karma is a FAKO, and although even MF will give you this number as a percentage, it is calculated as a ratio by FICO.  $2 counts as usage.

What is the goal of the $2 trick?  The goal is to get the most points possible out of FICO for the utilization portion of your scores AND to maintain it all the time.  The "all the time" part is the reason you don't use Chase cards.


More Detailed Explanation At CreditBoards

https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=544017

$2 Trick Will Not Work With A Charge Card https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=557648

« Last edited by Mendelssohn on April 12, 2016, 12:43:40 PM »

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Author Topic: $2 trick to increase FICO score.  (Read 115751 times)

Offline Josef.koney

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #220 on: July 23, 2015, 09:37:04 PM »
How does charge cards work with credit utilization?
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Offline Jm1248

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #221 on: July 23, 2015, 09:43:24 PM »
Is it confirmed that it's better for your credit to have most cards with $0 balances then $2 on each?
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Offline TimT

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #222 on: July 23, 2015, 09:46:08 PM »
Quote from: Jm1248 on July 23, 2015, 09:43:24 PM
Is it confirmed that it's better for your credit to have most cards with $0 balances then $2 on each?
The point of the OP was that ALL cards should have 0 balance besides 1 that has $2.
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Offline Jm1248

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #223 on: July 23, 2015, 09:48:03 PM »
Quote from: TimT on July 23, 2015, 09:46:08 PM
The point of the OP was that ALL cards should have 0 balance besides 1 that has $2.
Right but I'm assuming that it's better for most cards to have $0 balances even if a few do have balances. Meaning you definitely shouldn't specifically try to have some sort of balance on each cc. Correct?
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Offline Josef.koney

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #224 on: July 23, 2015, 10:18:45 PM »
Quote from: Jm1248 on July 23, 2015, 09:48:03 PM
Right but I'm assuming that it's better for most cards to have $0 balances even if a few do have balances. Meaning you definitely shouldn't specifically try to have some sort of balance on each cc. Correct?
Yes doesn't mean u shouldn't use every card just make sure to pay b4 the statement comes out
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Offline Jm1248

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #225 on: July 23, 2015, 10:24:53 PM »
Quote from: Josef.koney on July 23, 2015, 10:18:45 PM
Yes doesn't mean u shouldn't use every card just make sure to pay b4 the statement comes out
The point im trying to bring out is that I used to think it was a good thing to have a small balance on each cc so it processes as a bill paid on time. From the above posts my understanding is that I was incorrect and its better to have 5 (for example) cards with $2 balances and rest with nothing as opposed to charging $2 on each card. Makes sense?
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Offline Josef.koney

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #226 on: July 23, 2015, 10:29:27 PM »
Quote from: Jm1248 on July 23, 2015, 10:24:53 PM
The point im trying to bring out is that I used to think it was a good thing to have a small balance on each cc so it processes as a bill paid on time. From the above posts my understanding is that I was incorrect and its better to have 5 (for example) cards with $2 balances and rest with nothing as opposed to charging $2 on each card. Makes sense?
Not 5. U should have only one card
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Offline Jm1248

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #227 on: July 23, 2015, 10:44:57 PM »
Quote from: Josef.koney on July 23, 2015, 10:29:27 PM
Not 5. U should have only one card
Lol. Guess I'm not explaining myself clearly. Let's say I did have balances on more than one card. Is keeping $0 balances on as many cards as possible the next best option?
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Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #228 on: July 24, 2015, 01:38:55 AM »
Quote from: Jm1248 on July 23, 2015, 10:44:57 PM
Lol. Guess I'm not explaining myself clearly. Let's say I did have balances on more than one card. Is keeping $0 balances on as many cards as possible the next best option?
Not a simple answer and wrong thread for that question.
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Offline ayman

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #229 on: July 24, 2015, 02:28:30 AM »
Which thread is the correct one, Maestro?
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Offline TimT

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #230 on: July 24, 2015, 02:48:08 AM »
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Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #231 on: July 24, 2015, 06:07:02 AM »
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Offline yitzy93

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #232 on: July 30, 2015, 08:34:07 PM »
Quote from: Adam101 on May 20, 2015, 11:24:53 PM
Are there any cards that this won't work for? Discover is $3 minimum. They will credit $2 to $0. Cards over $50K are not counted in utilization and also do not count.
So does that mean if I spend a total of $2.99 in a billing month, that my statement will close with a $0 balance?
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Offline Jm1248

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #233 on: July 30, 2015, 09:08:24 PM »
Quote from: yitzy93 on July 30, 2015, 08:34:07 PM
So does that mean if I spend a total of $2.99 in a billing month, that my statement will close with a $0 balance?
It means it will be reported as 0. You will still have to pay the $2.99
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Offline David Smith

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #234 on: July 30, 2015, 10:33:42 PM »
Quote from: Adam101 on May 20, 2015, 11:24:53 PM
This discussion had come up several times recently, so I thought we would have a clear thread on this subject.

Who does this help? People with clean reports.

What does it do? It helps you eek out every point possible from the utilization portion of FICO scoring.

What do you do?  Let $2 report on 1 card and have the rest report $0.

Why $2? Because you want non-zero utilization reporting on 1 card that is included in FICO utilization calculations. Experimenting with amounts lower than $2 has often resulted in the balance being credited to $0, so $2 is the smallest "non-zero" amount to use reliably.

Are there any cards that this won't work for? Discover is $3 minimum. They will credit $2 to $0. Cards over $50K are not counted in utilization and also do not count.

I verified all of this with BobWang via email. I'm not going to post the emails, but if for some reason that is not good enough, I will forward the emails to Breeze and let her verify the authenticity of this information.
I just had $2.99 balance on discover post as $2. I'm assuming if it appeared on my credit report it was reported.
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Offline yitzy93

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #235 on: July 31, 2015, 09:28:01 AM »
Quote from: Jm1248 on July 30, 2015, 09:08:24 PM
It means it will be reported as 0. You will still have to pay the $2.99
Do you know that for a fact?? Because untill now I've been spending $1/month on that card and the statement always closes with $0 balance. That's why I'm asking...
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Offline Venilla

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #236 on: December 25, 2015, 12:32:43 PM »
Quote from: Adam101 on May 20, 2015, 11:24:53 PM
Are there any cards that this won't work for? Discover is $3 minimum. They will credit $2 to $0. Cards over $50K are not counted in utilization and also do not count.
Sorry for bringing up such an old post.
Just to make sure I understand that correct. If I have one card with a 10k limit and reported balance is 2k and one card with a 50k limit with reported balance $0 will my report show 20% utilization? Why is that?
« Last Edit: December 25, 2015, 12:37:22 PM by Venilla »
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Offline David Smith

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #237 on: December 25, 2015, 12:33:53 PM »
Quote from: Venilla on December 25, 2015, 12:32:43 PM
Sorry for bringing up such an old post.
Just to make sure I understand that correct. If I have one card with a 10k limit and reported balance is 2k and one card with a 50k limit with reported balance $0 will my report show 75% utilization? Why is that?
No. Your utilization is 3.33%.
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Offline Venilla

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #238 on: December 25, 2015, 12:39:43 PM »
Quote from: David Smith on December 25, 2015, 12:33:53 PM
No. Your utilization is 3.33%.
What's what does that mean?
Quote from: Adam101 on May 20, 2015, 11:24:53 PM
Cards over $50K are not counted in utilization and also do not count.
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Offline Marko Rubio

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Re: $2 trick to increase FICO score.
« Reply #239 on: December 25, 2015, 12:45:14 PM »
Quote from: David Smith on December 25, 2015, 12:33:53 PM
No. Your utilization is 3.33%.
this will be your overall utilization, but you have to focus to keep also low utilization on each card
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