What You Buy With CC Impacts Score?

Anonymous · ‎09-30-2009

I was recently talking to some people and they indicated that what you buy with your credit card impacts your score. Apparently they both saw it on TV a few weeks ago? I wouldn't have thought anything of it, b/c I know there isn't that type of reporting into the CRAs, but I wanted to know if anyone else had heard this considering that it was more than one person saying so. TIA!

DI · ‎09-30-2009

The only thing that impacts your score is paying the card balance more than 30 days late. What is purchased with the card is irrelevant to your FICO scores.

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎09-30-2009

@Anonymous wrote:
I was recently talking to some people and they indicated that what you buy with your credit card impacts your score. Apparently they both saw it on TV a few weeks ago? I wouldn't have thought anything of it, b/c I know there isn't that type of reporting into the CRAs, but I wanted to know if anyone else had heard this considering that it was more than one person saying so. TIA!

Welcome to the forums!

Type of credit plays a role in determining your FICO score, i.e. revolving, installment, mortgage.

What you purchase using your revolving credit plays no part in calculating your FICO scores. FICO only uses the dollar amounts reported by the issuers to the CRB's. No transactional data is reported.

Issuers may have internal systems that look at what you buy with your credit card for security and credit decision purposes. There is definitely value in considering historical purchase data for security purposes (issuing purchase authorizations). The practice of using purchase patterns in making credit decisions is highly controversial; governmental study of this practice has been mandated by the Credit CARD Act of 2009.

RadioRob · ‎09-30-2009

It does not effect your *FICO* score. However lenders that you have an existing relationship can and do make decisions about how they do business with you based on your buying habits.

For example, if you have a credit card with BoA and you've typically bought garden supplies, movie tickets etc... and suddenly using it for purchasing groceries and seeing you take out cash... they might assume you're falling on hard times/living beyond your means.

Now when they decide what promotions to send you, or if they're going to CLD you, etc... they could take those factors into account. It's not going to effect the score itself though.

haulingthescoreup · ‎09-30-2009

I agree with the others. Your friends might have misunderstood, or more likely, the pretty boy or girl doing the news story muffed it.

Banks have been known to track where you shop and take adverse action, if they don't like you using their card at liquor stores or massage parlors, lol. Conceivably, their actions could then impact your scores, if you carried balances or something.

But it's not as if buying tomatoes helps your scores and buying carrots hurts them.

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎09-30-2009

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
I agree with the others. Your friends might have misunderstood, or more likely, the pretty boy or girl doing the news story muffed it.

Banks have been known to track where you shop and take adverse action, if they don't like you using their card at liquor stores or massage parlors, lol. Conceivably, their actions could then impact your scores, if you carried balances or something.

But it's not as if buying tomatoes helps your scores and buying carrots hurts them.

I'll be sure to use my PenFed card the next time I "tank up"! CU's tend to worry about real world issues like whether you pay your bill or not.

RadioRob · ‎10-01-2009

@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
I agree with the others. Your friends might have misunderstood, or more likely, the pretty boy or girl doing the news story muffed it.

Banks have been known to track where you shop and take adverse action, if they don't like you using their card at liquor stores or massage parlors, lol. Conceivably, their actions could then impact your scores, if you carried balances or something.

But it's not as if buying tomatoes helps your scores and buying carrots hurts them.
I'll be sure to use my PenFed card the next time I "tank up"! CU's tend to worry about real world issues like whether you pay your bill or not.

The better thing to do would be to get HTSU to buy your liquor for you.

haulingthescoreup · ‎10-01-2009

RadioRob wrote:

@creditwherecreditisdue wrote:

@haulingthescoreup wrote:

I agree with the others. Your friends might have misunderstood, or more likely, the pretty boy or girl doing the news story muffed it.

Banks have been known to track where you shop and take adverse action, if they don't like you using their card at liquor stores or massage parlors, lol. Conceivably, their actions could then impact your scores, if you carried balances or something.

But it's not as if buying tomatoes helps your scores and buying carrots hurts them.
I'll be sure to use my PenFed card the next time I "tank up"! CU's tend to worry about real world issues like whether you pay your bill or not.
The better thing to do would be to get HTSU to buy your liquor for you.

Hey, I'm in East Tennessee. Who needs liquor stores?

...Once two strangers climbed on Rocky Top,
Lookin' for a moonshine still.
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top,
Guess they never will.

Corn won't grow at all on Rocky Top,
Dirt's too rocky by far.
That's why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar.

Yes, it's true. Our football fight song is partially about moonshining.

(sorry as always for the TJ, OP)

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007

creditwherecreditisdue · ‎10-01-2009

Certain of my antecedants proudly manufactured moonshine!