Credit glossary
All zero except one (AZEO)
A forum-born utilization tactic: pay every card to $0 before its statement closes except one, which reports a small balance.
AZEO comes from consumer credit forums, not from FICO, and no scoring company endorses it by name. It targets the utilization snapshot. FICO has said that 0% utilization can keep a file from earning the maximum points, so leaving one small balance avoids that while every other card shows nothing owed. FICO's broader guidance is simpler: lower utilization is generally better, and staying below 10% tends to help.
Because most scores read only the latest reported balances, any gain from AZEO lasts only while the low balances keep reporting. That makes it a short-term move for the month or two before a loan application. You still owe each statement's minimum by its due date, and a missed payment would cost far more than a perfectly tuned ratio.
Example
Say you have three cards with limits of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000. Before each statement closes, you pay two of them to $0 and leave $100 on the third. Overall utilization is $100 รท $10,000 = 1%, and only one card shows a balance.
Guides that go deeper
- The AZEO method, with the math and the trade-offs shownAZEO means letting every card report $0 except one with a small balance. A worked 3-card example, what it costs, and when it's worth doing.
- Is there a best credit utilization percentage?Everyone quotes a different utilization target: 30%, 10%, 1%. What FICO and VantageScore actually say, and how to pick a target for your situation.
Sources
- What Should My Credit Utilization Ratio Be? (myFICO release), myFICO via Business Wire
- How to AZEO (forum thread, November 2018), myFICO Forums
- What is Amounts Owed?, myFICO
This is education, not legal or financial advice. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.