A couple of months ago, I needed 740 FICO (mid bureau) to gualify for "no doc" cash out refi's on 2 of my rentals. (65% LTV). Note: because the real estate was in a severely declining market, the standards are quite high. Because of paying before the credit card statement cuts and my limiting inquiries (example: I paid a $100 utility deposit on a rental property instead of having them pull credit), I qualified. My mid bureau score was 744 so that saved me alot of $$ and paperwork hassles. ^ I could have easily qualified for full doc but I saved alot because they did not have to do appraisal/ rent surveys on all my rentals. ($500 a pop ).

Normally, anything over 720 FICO for owner occupied would be treated about the same for mortgage rates/points. For rentals, the standards are more stringent.

If debt to income ratios are tight, paying before the statement cuts would help. Even a rewards card where the spend is say 3K/month would have a $60/month min payment even though it always is PIF.