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Okay I have a Macy's store card and haven't used it in about 9 months. I noticed they game me a real generous CLI of +1500 bringing me to a total CL of $1800. So I go on a shopping spree of $213. My plan was to let it post to my account and then PIF before the next statement, just to show some usage. So I let it post and statement cut on 9/18. I get a score watch alert that says my fico score has decreased! So I immediateley pull my EQ report, but it just shows my balance of $213, minimum payment of $7, and everything else says "Not Reported". So I'm thinking that since my CL is not being reported, this may be the reason for my score decrease. I have already PIF the balance today thru Bill Pay, but it won't post till tomorrow! Then I get to wait until October for it to update just to see if my speculation is right!!! GRrrrrrrrrrr!
Hi Red,
Congrats on the CLI! One thing to keep in mind is that for optimal scoring, keep reported balances under 9% of your limit, with fewer than half of your revolving tradelines reporting a balance. The utilization reporting on the Macy's card is currently 12%. For an $1800 CL try to keep the reported balance under $162.
I also believe that using a card after an extended period of non-use may also cause an initial ding (someone with more experience could chime in on that one, though).
Once the balance is paid down to below 9%, you should recoup points, although I'm not sure if there is an issue with Macy's not reporting CLs. Again, someone with more experience may have the answer to that one.
Good luck!
The percentage of use doesn't matter in the case of the Macy card, as the card doesn't report CL. If CL is left blank and doesn't show 0, this should be score neutral.
But yes, using a card that has been dormant for more than 6 months will give a score ding. This shouldn't be much, though. How many points did you lose?
@honeybunnygal....Thanks for the Info.
@ Ulan.....I lost 28 pts. and My Credit Limit is not showing a "0", and its not "blank", It Just Says "NOT REPORTED", You think I should call and ask them if they could report my credit limit as "blank" instead of "Not Reported"?!!!
No, "Not reported" is what I meant with "blank". 28 points is a lot. What is your total CL on all open credit card accounts (excluding signature cards or charge cards), if you don't mind that I ask?
@ulan
This is my Ratio...
For FICO High Achievers [?], this ratio is 7%, on average. |
Your FICO score evaluates your total revolving credit [?] balances in relation to your total credit limits on those accounts. In your case, this ratio of balances to credit limits is too high.
Does it show a highest balance, since it doesn't show a CL?
@haulingthescoreup wrote:Does it show a highest balance, since it doesn't show a CL?
This is the key point.
I don't believe Macys accounts are being coded as Visa Signature-type accounts; instead, they are probably being treated in the same way CapOne no-CL accounts were treated a few years ago. The High Balance will be used as a surrogate CL when Fico computes utilization.
According to OP's original post, before Macys converted its accounts to no-CL, the CL was $300. So, best-case scenario is that OP previously maxed the card, creating a high balance of $300, and the current statement balance of $213 creates an individual account utilization of 70%. Worst-case scenario is that OP did not previously have a balance of more than $213, or that Macys reset all High Balance amounts when it converted, and the current balance and the High Balance are both $213, creating an individual account utilization of 100%.
My guess is the worst-case scenario is in effect here.
A 28-point penalty seems a little bit excessive for just the individual account utilization; other factors (increase in number of accounts with balances, increase in overall utilization, etc.) may have also contributed to the score decrease ...
yep, that's my guess, too.
I'd love to see a screenshot of how Macy's store accounts look on a full report, from any of the bureaus, not just a myFICO or TrueCredit or CCM report.
hint, hint
I would suspect that your that speculation will be correct. I had another card through Citi that did not report the high balnce or the credit limit. I closed the account.