topic Re: How long does it take for utilization to update? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

How long does it take for utilization to update?

Subexistence — Tue, 23 May 2017 02:16:14 GMT

I have $20 balance on my discover which is 1% utilization. I sent an off cycle report this morning to I can take advantage of AZEO. However I'm not sure if the my utilization will be updated to 1% in time for a BBR application before BBR cards get discontinued on 5/25.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

HeavenOhio — Tue, 23 May 2017 14:25:28 GMT

It really depends.

When we see updates, this happens:

The card reports.
The bureaus have to record it.
It makes its way to your credit monitoring services.

I had a card report last week on the 18th, and it showed up on myFICO on the 22nd. I've seen it take longer, though, and pinpointing where the hold-ups happen isn't necessarily easy.

The good news is that you really only have to worry about steps one and two above. Discover has likely done its job. If you need to confirm whether or not the card is showing up on your reports, pull them just before you apply. You might want to do a $1 trial at Credit Check Total late on May 24th.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Anonymous — Tue, 23 May 2017 14:14:42 GMT

When do you normally see your Discover card update? I find that every month my date where my cards are updated is generally the same, usually +/- a day or maybe two at most. As suggested above, there are a few variables to come into play but even considering that there are several I find the update date to be quite consistent.

I agree with doing a $1 CCT trial late in the day tomorrow to see where you stand.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Subexistence — Tue, 23 May 2017 16:57:51 GMT

@HeavenOhio wrote:
It really depends.

When we see updates, this happens:
The card reports.
The bureaus have to record it.
It makes its way to your credit monitoring services.

I had a card report last week on the 18th, and it showed up on myFICO on the 22nd. I've seen it take longer, though, and pinpointing where the hold-ups happen isn't necessarily easy.

The good news is that you really only have to worry about steps one and two above. Discover has likely done its job. If you need to confirm whether or not the card is showing up on your reports, pull them just before you apply. You might want to do a $1 trial at Credit Check Total late on May 24th.

Good idea, I really hope step 2 doesn't take long.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Subexistence — Tue, 23 May 2017 16:59:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
When do you normally see your Discover card update? I find that every month my date where my cards are updated is generally the same, usually +/- a day or maybe two at most. As suggested above, there are a few variables to come into play but even considering that there are several I find the update date to be quite consistent.

I agree with doing a $1 CCT trial late in the day tomorrow to see where you stand.

I see my Discover updates on varying schedule because I see it first on CK. Do you happen to know how many days on average it takes to report?

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Anonymous — Tue, 23 May 2017 22:52:04 GMT

I wouldn't assume that Discover reports on a varying schedule. They probably report at just about the same time every month, it's just that you see the update through the different monitoring services at different times. CK only updates once a week, so if they get the info from Discover the day after they update it will be 6 more days before it is reflected on CK. It should however have the correct "last reported" date, so even if the update isn't seen until the 26th for example, it may say it was reported back on the 20th... with CK though you wouldn't see it nearly as soon as if you pulled your 3B reports with CCT for $1 5-6 days earlier.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Subexistence — Wed, 24 May 2017 02:27:31 GMT

CK says my last statement on Discover reported on the 24th which is the same day as my statement. If off cycle reports work just as fast then I should be in good shape.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 May 2017 03:35:34 GMT

The value of the Date Reported field is not the same thing as the "date that my CC balance was updated inside the CRA database."

Date Reported is the date that the CC issuer last sent an update to the CRA. That update might have taken two business days, three, four, five or even more from the date it was sent before it materialized inside the database.

Thus it is unsurprising that Discover (or any other CC issuer) would have reported your CC balance on the same date as the statement. (It might happen the next day too.)

But what you are attempting to guess is how long it will take for the CRA to update your card's new balance once it has been reported. As far as I know, there is no field inisde your report that will tell you when the CRA updated it. You can only figure that out if you are a frantic micromanager of your scores, and you pull your reports daily and record on a spreadsheet how long it took a given CRA to do it in Dec, Jan, Feb, March, April... then you stand a decent chance at guessing how long it will take them in May, though even still it would be a guess.

If BOA is going to stop accepting applications for the BBR on the 25th (I haven't been following that) then my advice is to check your three reports at 3pm Eastern time on the 24th. That's well before close of business. If the relevant CRA has updated it, you are good to go. Otherwise it's improbable the update will happen.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Subexistence — Wed, 24 May 2017 15:46:58 GMT

Update:My Ex according to creditscore.com went from 703 to 719 today so it came in on time and I got BBR with limit $1,100.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

HeavenOhio — Wed, 24 May 2017 16:18:25 GMT

Good work.

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 May 2017 21:26:22 GMT

Good for you!

Suggestion: still go back through this thread, especially the posts that Heaven made and myself. There's some important conceptual information there, e.g. about what it means for a CC isuer to "report" (including what "Date Reported" means), the fact that after that it will take some (variable) amount of time for that updated record to make its way into the database, and the fact that after that it will take some amount of time for an alert-driven CMS to notify you of the newly updated database.

These are crucial ideas that come up dozens of times a week here in the Forum, with people not fully understanding how all that works. Understanding it will help you a lot in the months and years to come. Thus this thread can be about a lot more than just "will I be able to get my BBR today?"

PS. I have myself probably fielded the following comment a good 100+ times about the Alliant SSL alone: "Alliant hasn't reported my SS loan yet... when will they do that?" (Typically posted between the 3rd and 5th of the month. In fact, Alliant has reported the loan (always last day of the month), and it is even possible that Alliant has updated the database (though often not), but what the person means is that his CMS has not yet told him that his loan has been updated (an alert he hasn't yet received).

Re: How long does it take for utilization to update?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 May 2017 21:33:12 GMT

My Discover statement closed yesterday. Posted to Experian today.