Score dings from # cards w/balances DPs:

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone.  Just pulled my scores from CCT and had some interesting data points to report.  As you all know, these are FICO 08 scores.  My aggregate utilization both before and after was always < 8.9%; typically my numbers here are in the 1%-5% range.

EX:  Interesting data here.   Went from 2 cards with reported balances and an 819 score to 4 cards with reported balances to a 823 score.  Total 8 cards.  The difference here is that with the 2 cards reporting balances, one was a small balance where the other was at 47% utilization.  The 4 cards I have with reported balances now and the 823 score are all with small balances.  Conclusion here is that 50% of cards with small (< 8.9%) reported balances results in less of a ding than 25% of cards with reported balances if one of the two has a small balance and the other a 29%-48.9% balance.  5 point difference.

TU:  Only 6 cards on TU, went from AZEO to 0 cards with reported balances.  Score drop was only 11 points from 836 to 825.  11 points is surprisingly less than the 16-22 points I've experienced in the past depending on bureau in going from AZEO to AZ.  I believe the last time I did that test was when I had a dirty file.  Perhaps on a clean file going from AZEO to AZ results in less of a ding?

EQ:  Sort of opposite of EX here.  Went from AZEO with the AZEO card at 47% utilization and an 831 score to 3 of 7 (43%) cards reporting balances but all 3 are small balances.  Score dropped from 831 to 828.  So, AZEO with 47% on that card is worth 3 more points than 2 more cards reporting balances with all small balances.

Strange side note here is that both my Chase and Amex cards didn't report to TU this month (but reported to EX/EQ) which is why I dropped from AZEO on TU to 0 cards with reported balances.  It doesn't matter and it's actually cool that I was able to get a data point out of the deal, but since it was 2 different creditors it makes me question whether or not there's an issue with TU going on.

[Remedios]

Something must be going on with TU. Two of my cards did not report as of today, and normally it occurs on the 19th and 21st. EX and EQ updated on those days

[Anonymous]

It definitely sounds like a TU issue then.  Thanks for letting me know that you have the same thing going on.

[Thomas_Thumb]

Reported small (under 5% UT per card) balances on all open credit & charge cards. Balances, as reported by CK pasted below. Fico scores as follows:

TU Fico 8 = 849 (Discover), EX Fico 8 = 850 (AMEX), EX Fico 9 = 850 (Wells Fargo)

[Anonymous]

I love your credit limits, makes me LOL that $882 is "less than 5%" haha!

I need to get me some Amex CLI love this year for sure.

[Anonymous]

TT, what sort of buffer to your reckon you're workin' with?

[Thomas_Thumb]

Buffer is dependent on account status showing on CRA reports when scores are pulled. Thus, it fluctuates.

Currently I'd guestimate the following:

1) EX = 15 points with 0 HP, all cards and total of 7 accounts reporting balances

2) EQ = 5 points with 1 HP, all cards and total of 7 accounts reporting balances

3) TU = 0 points with 1 HP, all cards and total of 7 accounts reporting balances.

Back on 3/2017 when I had 0 HP across all CRAs with 2 cards and 3 total accounts reporting balances I estimated Classic Fico 8 buffers, using comparison to Bankcard Fico 8 score as a reference, as follows:

1) EX = 25 points

2) TU = 20 to 25 points

3) EQ = 15 points

[Anonymous]

Aren't 0 and 1 inquiry binned together though?  If that's the case, wouldn't you having 1 inquiry per bureau within the last 12 months not adversely impact your score over having 0?  Maybe I'm understanding that incorrectly.

[atarvuzdar]

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wrote:

Aren't 0 and 1 inquiry binned together though?  If that's the case, wouldn't you having 1 inquiry per bureau within the last 12 months not adversely impact your score over having 0?  Maybe I'm understanding that incorrectly.

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For my profile that doesn't seem to be the case.

When I went from inqs of 0 EQ / 0 TU / 1 EX to 1 EQ / 1 TU / 2 EX my scores dropped by -6 EQ / - 3 TU / -3 EX.

When I added a second inq to TU I dropped another 5 points; a third inq to TU didn't drop my score.

Based on this, for me, 0 and 1 inqs don't seem to be bucketed together while 2-3 does seem to be (at least on TU).

[Thomas_Thumb]

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wrote:

Aren't 0 and 1 inquiry binned together though?  If that's the case, wouldn't you having 1 inquiry per bureau within the last 12 months not adversely impact your score over having 0?  Maybe I'm understanding that incorrectly.

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BBS - I used to think 0 and 1 were binned based on no impact going from 0 => 1 => 0 on Classic Fico 8. However, I noticed an immediate and distinct drop on EQ Bankcard Fico 8 going from 0 to 1 last November.

Going back to the previous time I had one INQ on EQ there was a distinct increase when the INQ reached one year. I receive a monthly EQ Bankcard Fico 8 score through Citi. My monthly BC Fico 8 score averages 8 to 10 points less for time periods where the INQ is on file compared to the time periods without an INQ (refer to table). Fluctuations month to month primarily relate to changes in # cards reporting balances ( 2 to 6 cards).

I have a new EQ INQ (11/2017) and my monthly score has again dropped. The reason statement "too many inquiries in the last 12 months" popped up when the inquiry reported.

Date	EQ # INQ	EQ BC Fico 8	Fico AVG
Mar-15	1	877
Apr-15	1	876
May-15	1	871
Jun-15	1	876	875.0
Jul-15	0	886
Aug-15	0	882
Sep-15	0	882
Oct-15	0	882
Nov-15	0	886	883.6
Dec-15	1	871
Jan-16	1	874
Feb-16	1	874	873.0
Mar-16	0	882
Apr-16	0	882
May-16	0	***
Jun-16	0	882
Jul-16	0	886
Aug-16	0	892
Sep-16	0	881
Oct-16	0	881
Nov-16	0	881
Dec-16	0	887
Jan-17	0	878
Feb-17	0	881
Mar-17	0	887
Apr-17	0	886
May-17	0	***
Jun-17	0	881
Jul-17	0	881
Aug-17	0	886
Sep-17	0	881
Oct-17	0	887	883.4
Nov-17	1	873
Dec-17	1	876	874.5