topic Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase in Understanding FICO® Scoring

From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Objectivist — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:00:29 GMT

Last month I had a utilization of 117% :smileysurprised:...Now it's at 1%. My score at the time was 657 for TU... How much of an increase should I expect? Any guesses? I'll post the results when I see them.

Hint: I have no baddies with one revolving line and AAoA is 1.5. My revolver is 3 years old. I've had 5 inquiries since then (being dumb).

Edit: Fixed numbers.

Re: From 110% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

my-own-fico — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:01:43 GMT

200 points? I don't have a clue; it depends on lots of stuff. What takes your AAoA down? You had just that one credit card, you said?

You said something about high balance and utilization being a snapshot in time. Yes to with FICO, but CCCs may view it differently.

Re: From 110% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Objectivist — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:10:04 GMT

Ok. So are my historical balances listed on my credit report? If so, that's a bummer. How long do they stay on there? My student loans bring down my AAoA. I'm still in school and don't need to pay them off yet.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

llecs — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:13:41 GMT

If you only have one CC then the impact would be much lower than if you had a good mix of credit with 3 or more CCs. Now you're over the limit and getting below 100% will return some points. Getting from below 100% down to 1% counts too. I'd guess 40. If you had 3 or more CCs, and got overall util down to that, then I'd guess 130+ on EQ and less on TU. The biggest indicator aside from mix is on your FICO reports. If util is listed in the top 1 or 2 slots in items that hurt your score the most, then you stand to see bigger gains.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Objectivist — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:46:29 GMT

Yeah, it's listed on top of everything (even history), so hopefully I will see big gains. A 700+ score would be pretty nifty.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

llecs — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:53:07 GMT

I think hitting 700 is possible.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

eyeruh — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 03:51:42 GMT

You could get close to 700. I was at a 90-95% credit utilization due to my wedding spread over 4 cards. I'm down to 8% and my fako TU/TR score shot up nearly 30 points to the low-mid 700s.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Objectivist — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 23:19:43 GMT

UPDATE: My score went from 657 to 736. From 117% to 1% in a month.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%..My scores' increase

Epcot — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 23:23:18 GMT

That's fantastic, Congrats! :smileyvery-happy:

I have my utilization around 80% and will be bringing it down to 30-40% within the next month with the hopes of under 15% by early next year. Seeing your example has me excited for what increase I may see.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%..My scores' increase

Objectivist — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 00:24:22 GMT

Epcot wrote:
That's fantastic, Congrats! :smileyvery-happy:

I have my utilization around 80% and will be bringing it down to 30-40% within the next month with the hopes of under 15% by early next year. Seeing your example has me excited for what increase I may see.

Thanks! You'll definitely see a huge boost. Also, I was at high utilization for almost the whole time I had the card which was 3 years, so it definitely just takes a present moment snapshot.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

llecs — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:13:23 GMT

Objectivist wrote:
UPDATE: My score went from 657 to 736. From 117% to 1% in a month.

I'm sorry I was off by 40 points. :smileysad:

But wrong in your favor. Congrats!! :smileyvery-happy:

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Shogun — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:56:36 GMT

I think that's a good indicator of how much util affects your score. Congrats!!!

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Starsandbucks — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 03:07:45 GMT

This is amazing! I just paid off my biggest credit card two days ago in one fell swoop and I can't wait to see how much my score goes up. After that I'm going to pay my lower balance cards down to zero in the next month or so. Your post has me so excited and hopeful. My util was about 95%.

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Epcot — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 03:10:59 GMT

Welcome Starsandbucks, Congrats on paying your biggest balance. That's gotta feel great!

Re: From 117% utilization to 1%...My scores' increase

Settemio — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:42:14 GMT

Yes, Util has a big impact on Score. I was at 85% in Jan, I am at 25% now and my scores went up 53 pts.