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What do you mean when you say “keep balance at zero”? Do you pay it off even before your statement is available? Then there will be 0 balance reported on your credit report. The idea is to have a 20 to 30 percent credit utilization rate, so if you have a 20000 limit, ensure that at least 4000 is reflected as your balance on the statement date, then pay it off in full. If you feel uncomfortable with a 4K balance, spread it out among a few cards and work with each issuer to spread out each statement date. But I would spend more on the card that gets me the most rewards if I can, like the Chase Sapphire...
I am surprised the paid off mortgage immediately affects the score as I thought the record stays on for seven years, but FICO score algorithm is proprietary.
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