Understanding FICO® Scoring

[Amnesian]

I really enjoy lurking in this informative board.

I have both an Amex and a Citi Mastercard that I pay in full every month. I noticed that neither card reports a Credit Limit; they only report a High Balance and a Current Balance. So is my utilization ratio based on my High Balance (and not my credit limit)?

Are these cards the culprits behind my low revolving credit (and high utilization?)

[CreditBob]

Yes, they are the problem. I have been doing the research on this because I am also in the middle of writing a book on credit and fico scores. What you can do is contatc each card company and tell them that they are hurting your score by refusing to report the line of credit to the bureaus. On the AMEX CARD if it is with no preset spending limit then there is nothing that can be done except ask for one of their other cards that do reprot the line of credit. The down fall is that you would most likely be assigned a new account number. Therefore you would be starting over again because it is a brand new account. I know that htese are a pain in the rear but it is the reality.

[smallfry]

OK so the Capital One card that I have with a 5K limit that I ran to 95% utilization and have now paid off should help me now? Will my new balance of near zero net me a low utilization usage because it will be based on a high credit balance of 4950 or am I dreaming?

[Amnesian]

Thank you for the quick reply! And here I was thinking I was building credit. The Amex has no preset limit, so it's hopeless. I will call the Citi (American Airlines) Mastercard and see if they will set a limit.

I happened to spend $3,200 one month on that card, so my usual $200 usage doesn't hurt my Utilization ratio too badly.

To the Capital One user, I think I heard of people purposely maxing out the card to set up a low utilization. I'll have to dig through the forum to find that post. 

[fused]

Amnesian:

It is my understanding an AMEX charge card like yours should only help your score and creditworthiness.  According to the folks at TU, they held some sort of contest and revealed to the public what a credit report might look like with an accompanying credit score of 850.

Here's the list:

1. numerous "satisfactorily paid" accounts (i.e. card loans, mortgages, student loans, installment loans)

2. 3-4 open revolving credit cards with very low balances, with a least one hard having a cl of 15k and some of which have aged for many years

3. you guessed it a charge card; AMEX, Carte Blanche or Diner's Club

Not sure how CR's or FICO factor in charge cards, but folks who have one are considered to be very creditworthy with score in the high 700's or even 800's.    

[Amnesian]

Thank you for the pointers.

So hopefully it is not my Amex that is counting against my utilization ratio.

TU lists the Amex as an "Open Account" and does not list Credit Limit.

Experian lists it as "Revolving" and "Credit Limit/Original Amount": NA.

The Citi American Express MasterCard is a Revolving Account that does not report Credit Limit. Should I be careful with this card?

[Tuscani]

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Amnesian wrote:

Thank you for the pointers.

So hopefully it is not my Amex that is counting against my utilization ratio.

TU lists the Amex as an "Open Account" and does not list Credit Limit.

Experian lists it as "Revolving" and "Credit Limit/Original Amount": NA.

The Citi American Express MasterCard is a Revolving Account that does not report Credit Limit. Should I be careful with this card?

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Yes, or do one of two things?

1. Ask them to report the limit

2. Max it out and pay it off as FICO uses high balance as CL if CL is not specified

[MercyMe]

Yep.  With Capital One, that's the only way to do it, and I would suppose it would work for Am Ex, as well?  

[okrogius]

It depends. There's nothing absolute about how the high balance is reported. Some companies for instance report the highest balance within the last billing cycle or the like there, etc.

However, there's a bigger problem. A charge card likely reports as an "open" account rather than a revolving one. If a limit isn't reported, the high limit is used instead if it's a revolving account. Generally open accounts are not even looked at as far as utilization.

My initial guess this will not work, but this is only an educated guess. So feel free to give it a try.

Message Edited by okrogius on 05-06-2007 01:56 AM

[Tuscani]

You could roll the Citi balance onto another Citi card that reports the CL. I recommend the Dividend Platinum Select card. The nice thing is most Citi cards report the CLs. You would think they all would!