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Utilization and payment history to increase credit score

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Crashem
Valued Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score


@thrasher865 wrote:

The point is, it doesn't factor into your scoring in any way, which is the question you were asking.


Just look at the raw report directly from cras for the info. As for your point, it is still incorrect. Statement balance is generally the balance that is reported to cras. As such it is the one to figure util calculations for fico scoring. That's why so many people try and get statement balance to be 0.
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Message 11 of 26
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score


@gx240 wrote:

@Wolf3 wrote:

IMO, However, from a customer point of view, if you use your card for much of  your expenses, the CC company makes money and you are more likely to get better offers and higher CL over the long run.   If you are spending $1 a month, you might get a good score, but you are not likely to get more than toy limits


 

Is there any way for this information to pass from one CC company to another, since it doesn't show up in credit reports?

For example if I only ever spent $1 per month on a Capital One card and than applied for a Citi card next year, would Citi have any way of seeing how often I used the Capital One card and how much I put on it? Or would they just see the good credit score?

 

 


@Wolf3 wrote:

 

Utilization is a calculation... You can control it by buying less or paying early before the statement closes or whenever they report.

 


I was actually wondering about this as well. How does paying early affect your paymet history? If I pay all my charges right after I make them so that I don't have a statement at the end of the month, does that hurt my credit score? Would my credit report show no payments, since I didn't wait for the statement to come before paying?


  Amounts of charges and payments is not shared among the CC companies.   So they don't know if you are a big spender or not.   If does not affect your score.  

 

  Utilization is caluclated on the reported balances and reported Cl at the time of the scoring.    Most report monthly the closing balance which is used for the calculation.  If you charge your card to the max and then pay if off or down before it closes, a small balance wiill report and your utilization will be low.   It actually helps your score ( many here are addicted to this process, not me).     If you owe nothing for that month, the credit report shows paid on time, so that is not an issue.

Message 12 of 26
delayedinsanity
Regular Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score


@Crashem wrote:
Just look at the raw report directly from cras for the info. As for your point, it is still incorrect. Statement balance is generally the balance that is reported to cras. As such it is the one to figure util calculations for fico scoring. That's why so many people try and get statement balance to be 0.

 I think the point he is trying to get across is that your balance history does not affect your credit score. The message you are trying to get across is that your current balance does affect your credit score.

Message 13 of 26
Crashem
Valued Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score

Wolf, creditors technically can see your payments etc. See some of the above posts. For sure, only the reported balance figures into fico scoring. However the historical payment data is accessible and could be used for other things such as credit line determination and approvals for all we know. Many credit card issuers have some custom models for approvals that use fico scoring as a starting point. I have definitely had lender comment on my spend levels during manual review as proof I could handle high cl.
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Message 14 of 26
thrasher865
Valued Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score


@Crashem wrote:

@thrasher865 wrote:

The point is, it doesn't factor into your scoring in any way, which is the question you were asking.


Just look at the raw report directly from cras for the info. As for your point, it is still incorrect. Statement balance is generally the balance that is reported to cras. As such it is the one to figure util calculations for fico scoring. That's why so many people try and get statement balance to be 0.

You apparently didn't read my reply.  The history of balance has nothing to do with scoring.  Obviously the current statement balance does....


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Message 15 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score

So to be sure, would it be better overall to PIF a 10% util a few days after the CC has been used or wait until a statement has been posted and then PIF the 10% util?
Message 16 of 26
thrasher865
Valued Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score


@Anonymous wrote:
So to be sure, would it be better overall to PIF a 10% util a few days after the CC has been used or wait until a statement has been posted and then PIF the 10% util?


I don't really understand what you're asking with the way the question is worded.  Report a 1-9% util on the statement, and then after the statement cuts, PIF the balance to avoid paying interest.


Starting Score: EQ: 665 - TU: 687
Current Score: EQ: 749 - TU: ---
Goal Score: EQ: 760 - TU: 760


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Message 17 of 26
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score


@Crashem wrote:
Wolf, creditors technically can see your payments etc. See some of the above posts. For sure, only the reported balance figures into fico scoring. However the historical payment data is accessible and could be used for other things such as credit line determination and approvals for all we know. Many credit card issuers have some custom models for approvals that use fico scoring as a starting point. I have definitely had lender comment on my spend levels during manual review as proof I could handle high cl.


If I pull a Credit Report it will show my latest payments for each account.  But it does not show a history of payments.   Are you saying the banks can see of history of payment amounts for all the accounts?

Message 18 of 26
improvingmycredit
Valued Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score

Greetings All!

The credit reports that lenders see do show the payment history of accounts if they desire it.

Amex is one such company that looks at this information to determine credit qualifications and spending habits.

It's not factored into FICO but it does play a part in approval with certain companies with their inhouse scoring models.

Hope this sheds some light.  Smiley Happy


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Current Score: EQ 773, EX 780, TU 777 (All FICO)
Goal Score: 800+

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Message 19 of 26
Crashem
Valued Contributor

Re: Utilization and payment history to increase credit score


@Wolf3 wrote:

@Crashem wrote:
Wolf, creditors technically can see your payments etc. See some of the above posts. For sure, only the reported balance figures into fico scoring. However the historical payment data is accessible and could be used for other things such as credit line determination and approvals for all we know. Many credit card issuers have some custom models for approvals that use fico scoring as a starting point. I have definitely had lender comment on my spend levels during manual review as proof I could handle high cl.


If I pull a Credit Report it will show my latest payments for each account.  But it does not show a history of payments.   Are you saying the banks can see of history of payment amounts for all the accounts?


Yes. It is on your report too. The reason you can't see it is because the places to buy reports typically hide that data in their formatting. If you get the raw data directly from the bureaus (mailed copy, raw report from dispute, etc.), it is there. The online places to buy reports can cause problems. For example, I know someone who gets reports through freecreditreport.com(which us owned by experian)and they show no negatives and report looks great. But when they were initiating online dispute and saw they had two closed accounts that had a couple of late pays that was harming their report.
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Message 20 of 26
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