Need an increase in my score

[lrgic2broke]

I have a store credit card with a high credit limit of $3500.00 and a 0 balance. Will making a small purchase increase my score within the next few weeks?

Thanks

[llecs]

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lrgic2broke wrote:

I have a store credit card with a high credit limit of $3500.00 and a 0 balance. Will making a small purchase increase my score within the next few weeks?

Thanks

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No, the FICO score does not take into account spending habits on good CCs. Utilization does come into play but you already have a $0 balance.

[RobertEG]

When you say small purchase, if it is below $350, then util on that card will still be under 10%, and thus inflict minimal change in FICO.  And it is not the purchase itself that it will even be reflected in FICO, it is the balance that remains at the time it is next reported to the CRAs.  So it also depends upon what you pay before the next report to the CRAs that affects FICO.  You ask if it will affect FICO in the next few weeks, implying that you plan to pay it off soon.  In that event, there may be zero FICO affect.

[Anonymous]

Maybe if it went dormant over a year or more since last activity. You don't need a balance just activity as in payment. If you charged $1 and PIFd right away just to get it to update on the CR still showing a $0 bal, that could help since date of recent activity is more current. But I think it is a long shot on a retail card.

[Anonymous]

My EQ score increased slightly (only 2 points) after using a store card that hadn't shown activity for over 5 months.  According to Score Watch--

This alert was sent because there is new activity on an account that was inactive for more than 5 months.

How newly active accounts impact your score: You received this alert because one of your credit accounts is showing activity after having been inactive for some time. The effect this has on your FICO® score is hard to predict; it may cause your score to go up or go down. This kind of alert often happens at the same time as other alerts on the same account. The other alert, perhaps a balance increase alert or an account change alert, likely has a greater effect on your FICO® score. However, it is possible for new activity on an inactive account, by itself, to affect your FICO® score. Your FICO® score may go up if most of the accounts listed in your credit report have been inactive recently and then new activity is reported on one of the accounts. Consumers who have recently used credit responsibly often have higher FICO® scores than consumers who have not used credit at all recently. Therefore, showing new account activity on your credit report that previously had little recent activity can help your FICO® score. Your FICO® score may go down if the new activity is reported on an account that was already in bad status. Accounts in bad status include those that are currently past due, have a history of missed payments, or are charged-off or sold to a collection agency.

Message Edited by psychic on 05-15-2008 11:15 AM

[lrgic2broke]

Thanks. I haven't used that card in over a year. I guess I should not take a chance because I am not sure when the company reports. I bank with a credit union and it seems like they update every three months .