12 point decrease

[Anonymous]

My credit score dropped 12 points. I received a new capital one rewards card. I have a balance of $69 on platinum card and $30 on the cash back card. My utilization was under 10%. The only thing I can think of is capital one exec called and said they would do a soft pull and maybe give me a cli. I was hoping it would go up not down. Oh well gotta wait till next month now.

[Anonymous]

Trust me, I'm no expert but could a factor be that because you added a new account, the average age of your credit accounts went down thus affecting your score??

[dddewdrop]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Trust me, I'm no expert but could a factor be that because you added a new account, the average age of your credit accounts went down thus affecting your score??

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Yes this is true. Also an  easy way to raise your score would be to zero out all but one of those cards that have very low balances. Best practice is to have most accounts reporting at zero and just one having a balance at less than 9%util....

[Anonymous]

Here I thought having both cards equal at least 9% utilization would give same result. Thanks for the info will remember next time. As far as getting a new card, it changes credit as ge?

[dddewdrop]

Ya there is a component which is percent of credit accounts reporting a zero balance...  as quoted from FICO:

How many accounts have balances

A larger number of accounts with amounts owed can indicate higher risk of over-extension.

http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/Amounts-Owed.aspx

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Here I thought having both cards equal at least 9% utilization would give same result. Thanks for the info will remember next time. As far as getting a new card, it changes credit as ge?

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It is a YMMV thing.  For some, having more cards report a small balance garners them more points, where some get more points by only letting one report a balance.  The % is also a YMMV.  Some see the best points at 9%, others at 4%.  You can experiment and see what works best for you.

FICO has no memory and is a snapshot of your CR on any given day.  So if you were at 9% last month and 2% this month, you are scored on the 2%.

Yes, a new CC will adjust your AAoA. 

[dddewdrop]

Thanks for the clarification Guiness.