topic Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL in Credit Cards

Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:30:15 GMT

Hi All,

Just wondering if there is a list anywhere showing which cards do and do not report CL to EQ/TU/EX.

Since I am using cards specifically to improve my credit scores, I don't want to waste my time applying for a card that is going to end up hurting rather than helping my util.

I've seen a couple of threads about Signature cards not reporting, but which other cards don't?

Thanks!

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

fused — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:18:58 GMT

The CITI World Master Card might or might not report a CL or a high balance. When no CL is reporting, FICO then looks to see if a "highest balance" is reporting. If a CC doesn't have a CL and a highest balance reporting, the card will not factor in FICO revolving utilization calculations. Here is how my CITI World MC reports on my reports:

EQ: reports CL and balance, but no highest balance (factoring in FICO util scoring)

EX: no CL, but reports highest balance and balance (factoring in FICO util scoring)

TU: no CL or a high balance, but reports just the balance (not factoring in FICO util scoring)

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:10:18 GMT

Macy's and Bloomingdales do not report credit limits.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

Creditaddict — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:48:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Macy's and Bloomingdales do not report credit limits.

on store cards, the visa does report CL.

USbank Signature cards do report CL.

Chase Signature cards do not report CL

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

vanillabean — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:52:51 GMT

@fused wrote:
When no CL is reporting, FICO then looks to see if a "highest balance" is reporting.
...
EX: no CL, but reports highest balance and balance (factoring in FICO util scoring)

I thought only TU98 uses the high balance for util. It's not so?

@Megan2992 wrote:
Since I am using cards specifically to improve my credit scores, I don't want to waste my time applying for a card that is going to end up hurting rather than helping my util.

A card whose credit limit or high balance is not used for util will also not use the monthly balance for util, so it's not hurting your util. It may however hurt your score in other ways, I don't know.

Let's say you have two cards. Card A has a $10,000 credit limit that's not used for util. Card B has a $100 credit limit that is used for util. The monthly balance for card A is $2,500, and the monthly balance for card B is $1.

As such, your overall util is 1%, which is very good. But I suspect card A's monthly balance may somehow affect your score nevertheless.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:11:53 GMT

Of the cards I have Neiman Marcus and Macy's don't report credit limits just high balance.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:50:31 GMT

My Macys store card reports neither a credit limit or high balance.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

fused — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:22:39 GMT

@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

@fused wrote:

When no CL is reporting, FICO then looks to see if a "highest balance" is reporting.

...

EX: no CL, but reports highest balance and balance (factoring in FICO util scoring)

I thought only TU98 uses the high balance for util. It's not so?

All three FICO scores look to the "highest balance" when a CL isn't reporting.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

vanillabean — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:08:19 GMT

@fused wrote:

All three FICO scores look to the "highest balance" when a CL isn't reporting.

You wouldn't by any chance be thinking of a card, whose account type is revolving, its high balance is reported, but not its credit limit? I imagine the situation doesn't exist, so in a sense you can say the high balance is always used for util, except it would never get a chance to come to that.

DW and I share three card accounts. A Signature Visa of account type open with a credit limit that doesn't report and a reported high balance that EQ won't touch for util, but that TU 98 will and does. The second is a Citi World MC of account type revolving which reports neither the credit limit nor the high balance. The third and last is an Amex credit card of account type revolving which reports both the credit limit and the high balance.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

fused — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:12:44 GMT

Cards reported as "open" accounts do not factor in util calculations with EQ, EX and TU 04. That said, "open" accounts do factor in util calculations with TU 98. I'm my earlier post, I was referring to card accounts that are reporting as revolving and not card accounts reporting as "open" card accounts.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

oracles — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 06:50:31 GMT

i just want to get this straight, if i have a BofA world signature card and i have a 20,000 dollar balance on a 25,000 credit limit, because it is a signature card, and it is considered an open account, the balance of 20k is not considered in the utilization calculation?

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

haulingthescoreup — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:34:36 GMT

@oracles wrote:
i just want to get this straight, if i have a BofA world signature card and i have a 20,000 dollar balance on a 25,000 credit limit, because it is a signature card, and it is considered an open account, the balance of 20k is not considered in the utilization calculation?

Hard to say for sure.

My BofA MC just converted to World, but as best as I can see, it's being treated the same as any other CC: the CL is reported, and that's what's used for calculating util.

If your CL is reported, that will be used for calculating util. If your highest balance is reported, and not the CL, that will be used for util. If neither is reported, the card will be ignored in calculating util, which can help or hurt, depending on whether you need that card's CL in your total CL.

If your card is using highest balance instead of CL, having a $20K balance report will certainly be painful initially, as it will show you at 100% util, but once it updates again next month, the $20K will be used to calculate future util (instead of the $25K CL.) So unless you let gi-normous balances report, you should wind up in pretty good shape with this scenario, again, once you survive that first month. For util purposes it will be the equivalent of having a card with a $20K CL instead of a $25K CL.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

vanillabean — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:16:51 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:

@oracles wrote:
i just want to get this straight, if i have a BofA world signature card and i have a 20,000 dollar balance on a 25,000 credit limit, because it is a signature card, and it is considered an open account, the balance of 20k is not considered in the utilization calculation?

Hard to say for sure.

Yes.

My BofA MC just converted to World, but as best as I can see, it's being treated the same as any other CC: the CL is reported, and that's what's used for calculating util.

My new Alaska Signature Visa, whose lender is BofA too, doesn't report its credit limit. Its account type is revolving, and its type of loan is flexible spending credit card. What's the loan type of your World card? I guess the card agreements of the two cards resemble each other.

If your CL is reported, that will be used for calculating util. If your highest balance is reported, and not the CL, that will be used for util. If neither is reported, the card will be ignored in calculating util, which can help or hurt, depending on whether you need that card's CL in your total CL.

If the high balance is reported, but not the credit limit, I gather it's used for util if the account type is revolving; if the account type is open, my experience from an older Signature Visa card is that the reported high balance is not used for util.

DW has a Citi AAdvantage MC card, whose account type is revolving and whose loan type is credit card, and neither the credit limit nor the high balance is reported. I see that your closed Citi Sears Citi MC card mentioned elsewhere reported a credit limit. Maybe it would behoove her to call Citi and ask why hers isn't, or at least the high balance.

If your card is using highest balance instead of CL, having a $20K balance report will certainly be painful initially, as it will show you at 100% util, but once it updates again next month, the $20K will be used to calculate future util (instead of the $25K CL.) So unless you let gi-normous balances report, you should wind up in pretty good shape with this scenario, again, once you survive that first month. For util purposes it will be the equivalent of having a card with a $20K CL instead of a $25K CL.

I plan on doing just that soon with my new Signature Visa card. It's a pity though that it's necessary to play games like that.

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

vanillabean — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:38:59 GMT

@oracles wrote:
i just want to get this straight, if i have a BofA world signature card and i have a 20,000 dollar balance on a 25,000 credit limit, because it is a signature card, and it is considered an open account, the balance of 20k is not considered in the utilization calculation?

I have begun to think that it's a case of misguided logic (by the CRAs or the CCCs) to believe the open-ended nature of a no preset spending limit translates into an account type of open. In myFICO score reports' definition of account types is stated, "Open (or charge): an account that must be paid in full every period (usually monthly)." The card agreement of a Signature bank credit card doesn't say so in my experience (although it does for what's charged beyond the credit access line).

Re: Cards That Do/Do Not Report CL

haulingthescoreup — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:39:36 GMT

It's a new critter in the world of credit, and so I'd say that there isn't a logical data field in the reports to describe it. So sometimes it shows as open, others as revolving, and so on.

Here's how mine is showing on EQ, so far:

It's the same way that its predecessor reported, revolving + credit card.