Credit Cards

[crosbyk1]

I paid my Chase Card off and I am looking forward to a possible score increase. I made the mistake of letting the balance report last billing. This time I paid before the billing date. When do you think EQ will update if the card billed on March 3. Will my score go up? Thanks  

[llecs]

If your statement date is March 3, then it should update real soon. Look for the update to first occur on EX.

Your score could go up. It depends on what the balance was before and after in relation to the CL. Your other CCs factor in too.

[crosbyk1]

The card reported at 2100 on a 2500 limit. 

My other card look like this.

HSBC 0/1200

WaMu       0/1500 

Nord         0/ 1500

Cap1 1900/2050

Macy's   0/1300

[haulingthescoreup]

So including the Chase, and counting the remaining Cap One balance, your util is now $1900 / $10,050, or 19%. Before it was $4000/ $10,050, or 40%, so this should help. You might still have a ding for having one maxed-out card.

As soon as the Cap One is knocked off, you'll be in great shape. Congratulations on nearly taming the util beast!

[crosbyk1]

Thanks for the fast responses. One more question. What kind of balance should I let report for best scores? The only other account I have is a car loan. 

[haulingthescoreup]

If you're able to, pay all but one card off 3-4 days before it's due to report. On the other card, let it report $10-20, and then pay it off before the due date.

Accounts usually update on their statement dates (not their due dates.) American Express, HSBC/ Orchard bank cards, and US Bank have different patterns. AmEx is truly a pain as it waits for four weeks after the statement to update, issuing a new statement several days later. The lag time can be annoying if you're shining up your scores preparatory to app.