<i>Once you get it, always pay your balance before statement cuts and let only 1%-9% of the balance report to the bureaus.
...what does this mean?</i><p>A rule of thumb is to always keep utilization under 30% for a good score. The credit score like all other things are &#x2F;can be manipulated.  So the 1%-9% balance reporting instead of 30% is the best to get the best percentage of the amounts which is factored into getting your overall credit score.<p>This is how scores are calculated - Payment history[35%], amounts owed [30%], length of credit history [15%], new credit [10%] and types of credit used [10%].<p>The balance owed counts for 30% in calculating the overall score.  So the lower the balance, the better.