cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Assistance with spending habits

tag
AvaMommy
Frequent Contributor

Assistance with spending habits

Recently was approved for a BoA CC with a $3000 CL. Any advice on how I should use the BoA credit card in order to help boost my CLI in the future and how it is reported? Thanks!!!

 

Before BoA CC

EX  565

EQ 550

TU 602

 

After BoA CC

EX  596

EQ  586

TU  602 (BoA CC is not showing up...does anyone know why not or if I should inform them I have this card?)

 

Starting Score: FAKO: TU 602 EQ 550 EX 565 - 08|2012
Current Score: MyFICO: TU 633 EQ 637 EX 669 (AMEX PULL)09|2012
Goal Score: 700 across the board In my wallet: NFCU cashRewards 12000CL, NFCU LOC 10K CL, BofA cashRewards 5000CL, BofA PP 3000CL, JAREDS (AU) 1500CL, SEARS (AU) 7000CL
Under my mattress: Orchard Bank 320CL and Saks Fifth Avenue 100CL. Finally in the Garden. App Free Since 9/18/12 - No apps until March 2013
Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
AndySoCal
Valued Contributor

Re: Assistance with spending habits

Use it and pay the balance off in full each month. If you want to maximize you FICO score you need to keep you credit utilization under 10%.. Where did you receive the scores list in your post?

FICO Scores XPN v8 802 V2 831 (SDFCU) TUC 803 v8 EFX 807 (10/2023)
Discover 09/90 19,000, JCPenney 10/2008 4,700 US Bank Cash+ 12,000 Citibank Custom Cash 5/2015 11,100 C State Dept. FCU 15,000 06/2023 , 02/2024 Redstone FCU Signature VISA 10,000 Banking: Ally Bank Credit Unions: Lafayette FCU Quorum FCU State Department FCU State Department FCU Pelican State CU Redstone FCU

Message 2 of 5
AvaMommy
Frequent Contributor

Re: Assistance with spending habits

They are FAKO scores from USAA creditmonitoring. Is that a good resource? So you suggest spending $300 a month and pay off in full every month? 

Starting Score: FAKO: TU 602 EQ 550 EX 565 - 08|2012
Current Score: MyFICO: TU 633 EQ 637 EX 669 (AMEX PULL)09|2012
Goal Score: 700 across the board In my wallet: NFCU cashRewards 12000CL, NFCU LOC 10K CL, BofA cashRewards 5000CL, BofA PP 3000CL, JAREDS (AU) 1500CL, SEARS (AU) 7000CL
Under my mattress: Orchard Bank 320CL and Saks Fifth Avenue 100CL. Finally in the Garden. App Free Since 9/18/12 - No apps until March 2013
Message 3 of 5
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Assistance with spending habits


@AvaMommy wrote:

Recently was approved for a BoA CC with a $3000 CL. Any advice on how I should use the BoA credit card in order to help boost my CLI in the future and how it is reported? Thanks!!!

 

Before BoA CC

EX  565

EQ 550

TU 602

 

After BoA CC

EX  596

EQ  586

TU  602 (BoA CC is not showing up...does anyone know why not or if I should inform them I have this card?)

 


Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this and therefore no "ideal" number but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance.at any one time Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.

Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.



Message 4 of 5
AvaMommy
Frequent Contributor

Re: Assistance with spending habits

Thank you very much for the info

Starting Score: FAKO: TU 602 EQ 550 EX 565 - 08|2012
Current Score: MyFICO: TU 633 EQ 637 EX 669 (AMEX PULL)09|2012
Goal Score: 700 across the board In my wallet: NFCU cashRewards 12000CL, NFCU LOC 10K CL, BofA cashRewards 5000CL, BofA PP 3000CL, JAREDS (AU) 1500CL, SEARS (AU) 7000CL
Under my mattress: Orchard Bank 320CL and Saks Fifth Avenue 100CL. Finally in the Garden. App Free Since 9/18/12 - No apps until March 2013
Message 5 of 5
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.