Utilization from 79% to 8% - nice jump

[cleanitup]

Been reading these Forum for years.   Many thanks for your help.   This is my 1st post and I hope I do it right.   There is always many questions about utilization and scores.   Here are mine.

JAN 2012 TU - 712  EQ - 717

MARCH 2012 TU - 761  EQ - 770 

I paid all my cc debt off but 1 card (Citi) balance transfer 0% for 12 months, and util. is 32%.   No lates, no collections, no BK and last inquiry was 16 months ago.   I have 6 credit cards,.   AAoA is 6 years

History - financial disaster in 2003 with a BK13 (now removed) and FICO scores in low 500's.

[crunching_numbers]

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@cleanitup wrote:

Been reading these Forum for years.   Many thanks for your help.   This is my 1st post and I hope I do it right.   There is always many questions about utilization and scores.   Here are mine.

JAN 2012 TU - 712  EQ - 717

MARCH 2012 TU - 761  EQ - 770 

I paid all my cc debt off but 1 card (Citi) balance transfer 0% for 12 months, and util. is 32%.   No lates, no collections, no BK and last inquiry was 16 months ago.   I have 6 credit cards,.   AAoA is 6 years

History - financial disaster in 2003 with a BK13 (now removed) and FICO scores in low 500's.

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Welcome!

Looks like a pretty nice FICO bump. Good for you!

Glad to see that your financial disaster is behind you now, and that your scores are climbing.  If you have any questions about optimizing and what moves to make, the board members are pretty knowledgeable here, so you are in the right place.

[pizzadude]

Welcome to the forums !!   Thanks for sharing your rebuilding success and congats on the nice FICO score boost !     Lowering your revolving utilization is pretty much the fastest way to boost your FICO score, nice job !

[Anonymous]

Question.  Why did it take two months for the score to go up (assuming you made the payments in January)?

[LS2982]

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@cleanitup wrote:

Been reading these Forum for years.   Many thanks for your help.   This is my 1st post and I hope I do it right.   There is always many questions about utilization and scores.   Here are mine.

JAN 2012 TU - 712  EQ - 717

MARCH 2012 TU - 761  EQ - 770 

I paid all my cc debt off but 1 card (Citi) balance transfer 0% for 12 months, and util. is 32%.   No lates, no collections, no BK and last inquiry was 16 months ago.   I have 6 credit cards,.   AAoA is 6 years

History - financial disaster in 2003 with a BK13 (now removed) and FICO scores in low 500's.

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Nice bump!!! Congrats!!!

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Question.  Why did it take two months for the score to go up (assuming you made the payments in January)?

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I don't know the history on this member's particular situation, but payment does't equal immediate results.

Here's the typical sequence:

1. You get your statement on (say) Jan 20, showing a balance due of $500.
2. The lender sends in that balance to the bureaus, probably on the night of Jan 20.
3. The three bureaus update on their own schedules: generally Experian immediately, and Equifax and TransUnion within 3-7 days.
4. You pay $500 on January 22. The credit shows, and your balance is $0.
5. Your statement continues to show a $500 balance, because your statements are one-time events, not fluid.
6. Therefore, your balance continues to show as $500 on all three reports.
7. Assuming that you don't allow new balances to report, your February 20 statement now (finally) reports $0.
8. Your lender sends this info in to the three bureaus, probably on the night of Feb 20.
9. Experian updates that night, with the others dawdling around as mentioned above.
10. Once the new balance posts, your score will change (if this is enough to make your score change) when someone pulls the score, but until then, the scores are just sort of floating around in potential form. They're created the very moment that your reports are pulled. If you have Scorewatch for instance, the new score will get calculated the next time that it is routinely scheduled to check your reports. Then you'll get a notice.

So it's not unusual to make a payment in one month and not know about a new score until over a month later.

[cleanitup]

Sorry i didnt reply sooner.   Thanks Hauling, you basically answered the question.  

I didnt run my reports in Feb, cause I was too cheap to pay $19.95, and i didnt think my changes would post quickly, I wanted to wait another month.   My debt early Jan was 79% give or take, and over 7 week period I got my total debt down to 8% utilization (bonus check & IRS refund).   Right now only 1 card is carrying a balance which is 32%, i am looking to find  0% BT card right now since my Citi 0% ran out.    I have not applied for any credit in well over a year, and I also have the Green Amex card dated back to 1992.  

I have no negatives, no collections, no lates, no public records.   Totally clean report, i spend better part of a year cleaning up my report from the BK, long haul, many thanks to this forum.  All my negatives fell off in July/Aug 2010.   I been real careful not to go "credit card app" happy.    I am absolutely petrified of applying for new credit.  I closed HSBC & Orchard cards back in 2010 (AF), I have a few GE cards from 2009.   I purchased a brand new home in June 2010.   So that may have helped my score as well.  I really dont know.  

I don't have scorewatch cause not quite sure how it works.  I dont know if i should get it or not.    I am learning all this stuff.