Better score with 2 cc reporting small balances?

[sunshine7157]

Is it remotely possible that my credit file sees a better score with 2 cc accounts showing small balances rather than 1? I know popular opinion is that the best

score is derived from only 1 but is that always the case? I'm confused because I got a SW alert saying my score went from 737 to 747 yesterday & that a previously 0 bal cc reported an increase. Because of the timing of my statements, this means that for the next 5 days (until the other one reports) I have a small balance reporting on 2 cc (but still under 10% total util). To confuse matters more, yesterday was the 1 yr anniversary of an inq which brought my inq's from 2 to 1. So either I gained 10 points solely for dropping that inq, or I gained the 10 points for both dropping that inq & carried a bal on 2 accts. Any ideas? 10 pts for a dropped inq seems steep to me...

[jamie123]

I vote for the inquiry falling off. You can get dinged pretty good for the first few inquiries on your report.

Did any of your CC age to 6 months or a year?

[jamie123]

Just a bit more information...

Inquiries are worth 10% of your score, that's 85 points. I could definitely see 1 inquiry worth 10 points.

[Anonymous]

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@jamie123 wrote:

Just a bit more information...

Inquiries are worth 10% of your score, that's 85 points. I could definitely see 1 inquiry worth 10 points.

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While they are worth 10% of your score, there's actually only 550 points available, which would bring that 85 down to 55.  Further more, recent inquires only make up one part of that 10%, not the entire 55 points.

[pizzadude]

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@sunshine7157 wrote:

Is it remotely possible that my credit file sees a better score with 2 cc accounts showing small balances rather than 1?

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Yes ~ it is certainly possible that this could be better, some people report better scores when they have 2 cards with balances.   The 1 card/less than 9% utilization scenario is just the recommended starting point, you'll have to experiment to see what works best for your FICO score.

[sunshine7157]

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@jamie123 wrote:

I vote for the inquiry falling off. You can get dinged pretty good for the first few inquiries on your report.

Did any of your CC age to 6 months or a year?

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Oh. Yes, as a matter of fact I opened 2 cc in January. I didn't realize that the 6 month mark was significant? Is that to say then that although the acct's are still considered "new", they are no longer considered 'recent'?

[sunshine7157]

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@pizzadude wrote:

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@sunshine7157 wrote:

Is it remotely possible that my credit file sees a better score with 2 cc accounts showing small balances rather than 1?

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Yes ~ it is certainly possible that this could be better, some people report better scores when they have 2 cards with balances.   The 1 card/less than 9% utilization scenario is just the recommended starting point, you'll have to experiment to see what works best for your FICO score.

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Ok. Well, my 2nd cc will report a zero bal around the 18th. If my score goes up, I guess I'll have my answer (as I will be back to only 1 reporting a balance). I'll keep you posted. Good information to have....