Credit MDtR-Chicago

"Some of the advice you've received in this (the former) thread is good and some is quite inaccurate.

In summary, the most popular/best tested theory on highest FICO score is:

(1) Pay off every card to $0 before the statement cuts (or before the 1st, for USBank and a few others)
(2) Except, leave one card reporting a small balance (under 10% of its credit line but not $0)

In the original example...
Quote:
Real world example, in my hands is a Mastercard bill. Billing Cycle was 12/4/13-1/4/14. I received the bill in the mail about 1/10/14 maybe. The payment due date is 2/1/14.
...you would want to pay the entire amount so that the payment posts by 1/4/14, so that the statement you receive on 1/10/14 says $0 balance due. (Unless this is the one card you want to report, then you'd pay it down so it reports <10% of its credit line.)

There is some debate on the specifics and also on how much of an effect this will actually have, so please read the thread referenced above and post further questions there. Thank you."