Over time, many tactics and techniques have been honed to get the best possible credit score. The most common approach is the All Zero Except One method, or the AZEO method. Is this still effective as we close out 2021? Should this method still be utilized?
The AZEO Method. Brilliant in it’s Simplicity.
Hear me when I say there are dozens of ways to approach the AZEO method. This convolutes the message. While you can use various forms of this approach to get optimal credit scoring the main variable is the same.
- Keep a small amount of reporting credit debt on one card.
- Show all other cards as zero balance.
This is easier said than done. First, don’t simply use and pay down one card every month. Depending on when this card reports, it may not actually show the debt. Reminder, FICO scoring loves to see credit usage because, after all, it is a CREDIT SCORE. When you show no credit usage, it will actually drop your score.
One of the easiest ways to ensure it reports it to have one small subscription on one card. Make sure you set up automatic payments on this card, and voila, you have one card showing small debt every month!
All versions of FICO will reward you by using AZEO method, but FICO 9 seems to respond the most to this approach.
How Far Can I Go With AZEO?
Well, if you look at the MyFICO forum, you can get VERY in the weeds with AZEO. The scoring algorithm will reward differently based on variables. Some of the most common ones are listed below.
- On the one card, keep the balance showing between 5% and 6.9%
- Make sure the card showing this balance is your oldest card.
- Make sure this debt reporting is less than 2% of your TOTAL available credit card balances.
- This is only for revolving debt.
Loans and Mortgages Don’t Matter for AZEO.
I want to be clear. Loans, such a student loans and auto loans, and mortgages are not a part of AZEO. While these loans obviously impact other elements of credit scoring, they are in a different buck that revolving. This means they will not impact your AZEO method. This makes it ideal for quick gains in scoring.
How quick?
If you are reporting total utilization on 5 credit cards of, let’s say, 70 percent. The debt equals $2400. If you paid that debt off, and kept one card showing a small debt, you could easily see credit score gains of 50 points or more, and it will happen within a month or so. This isn’t a myth, and this is how credit repair companies claim “quick score improvement”.