How Long Does It Take For your Score To Change???

[Anonymous]

I recently paid off 80% of my credit card balances over three weeks ago and I see no updates. I have requested balance letters from all credit card companies because I may need to do a rapid rescore because I need to refinance my mortgage and wanted to get the best credit score I could get. Why when I use my credit cards or increase the balances, this information is instantly updated and when I pay them down I don't see the updates. What should I do??

[Anonymous]

I understand as  I had the same question.  Not knowig how the FICO scoring model works in detail, it would be hard to answer.  One thing is that you've done this in the past three weeks.  It will depend largely on when your creditors report you new balances. If you paid them after the statement date, you may need to wait a full cycle for them to update again. You can always pull a credit score to get some idea of exactly when your creditors repoort to the bureaus.  That way you will know how long you have to wait for each.  I used this method recently with a larg BT that ate up 90% on one card.  I made the largest part of the payment beforetheir reporting date and a minimum agfter just to make sure I didn't get dinged on a max out for one card

[Anonymous]

My loan consultant told me to call my creditors next week to make sure that they report to the credit reporting agencies.  I paid off my balances at the beginning of the month.  I don't know if calling them will work, but we'll find out!

[Anonymous]

From my personal experience, what I do is I called and asked the company when they report.  One told me on the last Sat of every month.  But what I found to be accurate, is I hit the details button on the account reference on truecredit, and it will tell you the exact date they reported it.  That will usually give you a 2 day range of when you can expect them to update your report.  One of my cards report on the last Sat of the month, anf another updateds on the 15 of the month.

[antredd67]

   You ask a very good question.   I noticed that when I charged anything, I would get an alert too. But it could be in an age of identify theft, myFico wants to alert us when balances go up faster in case someone has stolen our credit card or number and trying to run up our credit. 

   One would think that as soon as you pay down you balance it should be reported just as fast.  AMEX is notorious for reporting late. You would have to know your closing statement dates and when your creditor reports to the CBs in order to know when it would be the best time to pay down balances to see your score increase.

[Anonymous]

How fast does your score change? Well, if you do anything wrong, it will drop like a stone. If your score is low and you try to do right things to recover it...well, you might as well just wait for the Sun to move off the main sequence, swell into a red giant, and fry the credit reporting system along with the rest of the planet. That will happen faster than your FICO improving (and it's much more fun to watch too!).

[antredd67]

     I have noticed that when I am not charging anything on my credit cards, and I am paying them on time my score goes up each month.  I love credit line increases too because that usually bumps me up 10-15 points.  Ask for credit line increases to see what will happen, and dont charge anything on that card when you get your line increase. 

[Anonymous]

I've paid down balances on my BofA card each month, yet my FICO hasn't changed (at least from the balance declines) since December.

Really, I'm starting to seriously question whether anything good you do for FICO EVER gets reported.

[Anonymous]

I am in the process of refying my home to payoff debts and compelting some remodeling projects once these loans are paid should I put some type of alert on my credit to controll access and will these controls limit my purchsing on credit in the future...  

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am in the process of refying my home to payoff debts and compelting some remodeling projects once these loans are paid should I put some type of alert on my credit to controll access and will these controls limit my purchsing on credit in the future...

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Just remember that in borrowing against your home, you are replacing unsecured debt with debt that is secured by your home. This means that, if an event occurs that leaves you unable to repay, you could lose your home. I'm not saying don't do it, but be sure your eyes are open...

Assuming you do repay the loans, I don't see where any "controls" are necessary other than self-control. Keep your balances on any lines of credit and credit cards low, preferably just high enough that you have a bill to pay each month. Use credit cards to fortify and improve your credit rating, never for credit.