Score drops 12 points due to $34 charged to recently inactive card?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

My Equifax FICO just dropped 12 points according to the alerts from this site it is because I used an account that had been recently inactive for more than 3 months.  This was a Target store card that I charged $34 to to make sure that it wasn't closed due to inactivity.  Does this type of thing happen often?

Sorry if posted in wrong area.

[Anonymous]

Not sure but pay in full before statement to avoid balance reporting.

[Ghoshida]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello,

My Equifax FICO just dropped 12 points according to the alerts from this site it is because I used an account that had been recently inactive for more than 3 months.  This was a Target store card that I charged $34 to to make sure that it wasn't closed due to inactivity.  Does this type of thing happen often?

Sorry if posted in wrong area.

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(1) Make sure there are no other baddies lurking around / strange things otherwise

(2) It's possible that by using this card, you went over your "good number" of cards to report; not by simply "using" an inactive card. If you let another card in lieu of this one to report zero balance (that was reporting positive earlier), you could have got the same score. Also, maybe this store card has a lower limit and your utilization just went up?

Anyway, I'd not get anxious about 10 points or so movement every month unless you're really going to apply for new credit next month. This kind of movement is normal and can only be avoided by some micro-managing; not always desirable.

[Anonymous]

This is pretty normal. Don't overthink it too much. It's probably for multiple reasons and scores change by a few points all the time. It's nearly impossible to keep the same score every month without some serious micro-managing and for a few points that's way too much stress and work lol. Just keep doing your thing and your score will rise and fall accordingly. Only when you need to apply for new credit should you need to worry about micro-managing.

[Anonymous]

I think you're worrying a little too much about your score.  Unless you're planning to app for something in the next month a 10 point drop is not a big deal.  You're gonna give yourself an ulcer worrying about every little score fluctuation.  Next time when you use your SD card make sure you pay it as soon as the charge posts.  Better yet, get a small recurring charge on the card and set it to autopay.

[NRB525]

+1 to don't worry about it.

I think that when a dormant card goes from a zero to something on the card, that seems to be looked at by FICO as "taking on new debt" and can result in a bit of a drop in the score. As the model gets used to all that extra debt, if you PIF and then charge $34 again next month, letting each report on the monthly Target statement, then it stabilizes and rises over the next few months. FICO gets more comfortable that you seem to be able to handle $34 in additional debt

[Anonymous]

I would PIF, wait a month & see what your scores say.  Probably will go back up & maybe gain a couple of points for activity.

[too-much-time]

But how can the agencies tell whether a card is dormant? Maybe you zero the card before the statement date?