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Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances

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Goal810
Established Member

Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances

Have been away from this board for a while but recently got my 3 credit scores and received 4 key factors on each of the 3 (with some duplication). I figured out plans for all of them except the following:

 

Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances

 

I have 4 regular credit cards, an auto company credit card, and a gas card, for 6 total. I'm not planning on closing any of these because it will affect my account age. Is there anything I can do about this? Is the "balances" the key part of the statement, in other words by paying on a different day of the month, can I reduce the number of cards with balances, while keeping the total number the same? What is the range of problems that persons have had and received this feedback, in order to try to understand what they are getting at?

 

Thanks!

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances


@Goal810 wrote:

Have been away from this board for a while but recently got my 3 credit scores and received 4 key factors on each of the 3 (with some duplication). I figured out plans for all of them except the following:

 

Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances

 

I have 4 regular credit cards, an auto company credit card, and a gas card, for 6 total. I'm not planning on closing any of these because it will affect my account age. Is there anything I can do about this? Is the "balances" the key part of the statement, in other words by paying on a different day of the month, can I reduce the number of cards with balances, while keeping the total number the same? What is the range of problems that persons have had and received this feedback, in order to try to understand what they are getting at?

 

Thanks!



First of all just closing any card will not affect your AAoA or credit length history. You can read more about that here: Closing Credit Cards.

 

As far as managing balances and utilization everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this 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 2 of 5
Goal810
Established Member

Re: Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances

After 10 years the credit card drops off the account, thereby causing a decrease to the average age of account and possibly the longest account (if it was the one that was closed). This is what I mean by closing a card will negatively affect a card. So it doesn't seem like there is any reason to close a CC that has no annual fee.

 

Thanks for the great explanation. So to confirm, if I play around with the balances, but not change the total number of cards, it will help with Equifax #23? I will look more into the CC and utilization info, thank you.

Message 3 of 5
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances


@Goal810 wrote:

After 10 years the credit card drops off the account, thereby causing a decrease to the average age of account and possibly the longest account (if it was the one that was closed). Oh yes eventually it will go away but I guess I should have said that there is no immediate impact on AAoA and credit length history.  Smiley Happy

 

This is what I mean by closing a card will negatively affect a card. So it doesn't seem like there is any reason to close a CC that has no annual fee.

 

Thanks for the great explanation. So to confirm, if I play around with the balances, but not change the total number of cards, it will help with Equifax #23? I will look more into the CC and utilization info, thank you. Only time will tell but it should help your situation. I know that's a pretty vague answer but as we say over and over around here - YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).


 

Message 4 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances


@Goal810 wrote:

Have been away from this board for a while but recently got my 3 credit scores and received 4 key factors on each of the 3 (with some duplication). I figured out plans for all of them except the following:

 

Equifax 23 - Number of Bank or National Revolving Accounts with Balances

 

I have 4 regular credit cards, an auto company credit card, and a gas card, for 6 total. I'm not planning on closing any of these because it will affect my account age. Is there anything I can do about this? Is the "balances" the key part of the statement, in other words by paying on a different day of the month, can I reduce the number of cards with balances, while keeping the total number the same? What is the range of problems that persons have had and received this feedback, in order to try to understand what they are getting at?

 

Thanks!


I second everything MVV said.

 

Yep - the issue here is number of revolving accounts reporting a balance.  Solved by following the mantra MVV shared above!

Message 5 of 5
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