Balances on Existing Cards affecting Credit Apps

[Anonymous]

Hello All -- New to the boards and have been researching before I apply for a new card. As a recent college grad, I currently have a Discover More at $2000CL and a Capital One MasterCard at $750. The last application said I was denied because of my 'high balance on both cards'. I had a few hundred balance on each existing, but I just cleared out the balance on my Discover. So my question is, if I were to apply right now, having just paid off my one balance completely, would that be reflected immediately on the credit report that is run for the application? Or is there a specific length of time I would have to carry the balance at 0 for it to be "settled in" so to speak. Any help would be greatly appreciated! These forums are all so helpful and I am really enjoying browsing!

[improvingmycredit]

Hi and Welcome to the FICO Forums!

Typically, most credit card companies report to the credit bureaus after the statement cut.  It usually takes a couple of days for the credit bureaus to reflect the new balance.  To be safe, I would give it at least 5 working days after the statement cuts before apping.  Hope this helps. 

[anybodii]

You can call your credit card company after the payment has been applied and they can "refresh" your score. It usually is updated on your report after only a few days. I had Chase do it and took 3 days.

[namvet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello All -- New to the boards and have been researching before I apply for a new card. As a recent college grad, I currently have a Discover More at $2000CL and a Capital One MasterCard at $750. The last application said I was denied because of my 'high balance on both cards'. I had a few hundred balance on each existing, but I just cleared out the balance on my Discover. So my question is, if I were to apply right now, having just paid off my one balance completely, would that be reflected immediately on the credit report that is run for the application? Or is there a specific length of time I would have to carry the balance at 0 for it to be "settled in" so to speak. Any help would be greatly appreciated! These forums are all so helpful and I am really enjoying browsing!

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  Your new balance will be sent to the credit bureaus on your statement date.  So take a look at your statement and the date will shown.  Your creditors will report your balance once a month.

[logan_720]

Yeah, I was denied a Barclay Card because of my "high balances" I guess 7% utilization or $435 is just toooo high. But I was approved via recon. As to your question about it being reflected on the credit report, you will have to wait until the statement cuts then the reports update, so every month. If you make a payment, its not going to be instantly reflected on the bureau's end, but may take a few days.

[bichonmom]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello All -- New to the boards and have been researching before I apply for a new card. As a recent college grad, I currently have a Discover More at $2000CL and a Capital One MasterCard at $750. The last application said I was denied because of my 'high balance on both cards'. I had a few hundred balance on each existing, but I just cleared out the balance on my Discover. So my question is, if I were to apply right now, having just paid off my one balance completely, would that be reflected immediately on the credit report that is run for the application? Or is there a specific length of time I would have to carry the balance at 0 for it to be "settled in" so to speak. Any help would be greatly appreciated! These forums are all so helpful and I am really enjoying browsing!

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If you still owe a few hundred on Cap One, that is going to hurt your score because your CL on that CC is so low. I'd try to get that down to 9% or less BEFORE I apply for a CC (which would be ~$70 balance). Or, conversely, I'd leave 9% on the Discover and 0 on the Cap One -- that would allow a larger balance. It's really just a numbers game. Kind of a pain, but that's how FICO read it. If your bal on your Cap One is around 50% of the CL on that CC, it's going to look like you're close to maxing out.

Beyond that, as others have said, usually a few days after the statement cuts, the new balance is reported to the CRBs. It does vary from CCC -- some are different -- but most report when your statetment cuts. BTW, you need to allow at least a week for TU to update -- they're always several days behind EX and EQ for some reason.

[Anonymous]

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@anybodii wrote:

You can call your credit card company after the payment has been applied and they can "refresh" your score. It usually is updated on your report after only a few days. I had Chase do it and took 3 days.

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So are you saying the 'refresh' would be even before the statement? I am trying to plan my apps because both of my newest statements will run the first week of March. One on the 3rd and another on the 4th. So is there a way to get it updated before those dates? Or I need to keep it that way until the statements run at the beginning of the month, and then it will update.  Thanks for all your help thus far everyone!

[pizzadude]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@anybodii wrote:

You can call your credit card company after the payment has been applied and they can "refresh" your score. It usually is updated on your report after only a few days. I had Chase do it and took 3 days.

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So are you saying the 'refresh' would be even before the statement? I am trying to plan my apps because both of my newest statements will run the first week of March. One on the 3rd and another on the 4th. So is there a way to get it updated before those dates? Or I need to keep it that way until the statements run at the beginning of the month, and then it will update.  Thanks for all your help thus far everyone!

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That's correct.   Not all companies will do this, but it never hurts to ask.   They send an out of cycle update to the CRAs to show your current balance on the account.