A factor I hadn't even considered! I think I have new game plan in the works. . .
cheddar wrote:
Cheech wrote:Absolutely yes, small balances, but also balances on fewer than half of the cards. Having lots of cards with even $5 balances will get you zinged.******************************************************Once again, amazingly valuable information. Thanks, guys!I didn't know that you should keep a balance on less than half your cards. I DO this, but I was actually starting to believe that I should put small balances on all of them, (putting them all back in play, as it were) because I thought "sock-drawering" them was bad. I guess I should rotate them?I know I'm having no luck with customer service for cards that I haven't been using for a while, but they jump through hoops to make me happy on the ones I use frequently. Seems counterintuitive to me, but what do I know?Yes, rotating them is a good idea. That way all the issuers stay happy because yo're using their cards, and FICO stays happy because you don't have too many cards with a balance at one time.The reason you get better CS with cards you use often is that CCCs LOVE it when you use their cards. Each one of them wants to be the main card you carry in your wallet and use for all your everyday expenses. They make money from merchant fees every time you swipe their cards, so they reward customers who use them often.
cheddar wrote:So, my THEORY is that the real FICO scoring formula does not treat SL accounts the same as other installment debt in a number of respects, but the score estimator isn't smart enough to know that.Please do not quote me on this, because all I'm doing is speculating!
Let me toss my rampant speculation in the ring. Based soley on the brief looks in to similar credit reports, it seems everything else being equal, those with more SLs in good standing (or paid) are a bit higher than those with out. Again, purely anecdotal from my point of view.
