topic Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help! in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

2IMPROVE1 — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 15:53:50 GMT

So I have the following scenario all are new cards:

All reported the same month-

Discover limit 2000(AU) bal $166- When balance reported received a 45 point jump

AMEX 1000 bal $40- When reported received 16 points

NFCU cash rewards 10,000 bal 0(never used)

NOW Just received alert- AMEX- PIF reported 0= Experian alert dropped 32 points!!!!

Question:

Should I expect another hit because the AU card is going to report 0 as well?
Should I have AMEX or NFCU report a small balance next month and will doing so cause me to regain the points I lost?

I plan on applying for a car loan and mortgage in the next few months so I need boosted scores.

Experian- 696 now dropped to 664

Equifax- 682

TU- 663

Thank you!

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

Zolomon — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 16:02:10 GMT

Float $40 right back on the Amex and let it report. I believe your score dropped 32 points cause both of your primary cards show 0 utilization. At least one card should show 1 - 8% utilization. For optimal score performance, have 3 cards and show a small balance on one.

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

2IMPROVE1 — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 16:08:43 GMT

Thank you! Will the points come back? Also, since I never used the NFCU at some point do I need to show activity?

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

Zolomon — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 17:28:53 GMT

You should be able to recover your points, emphasis on "more or less". It all depends on the bureau's algorithm. With time, you'll recover your points and then some.

I would definitely use your NFCU here and there to keep it open. You can always pay it back down to 0 the next day. I do that with all my cards to keep them from shutting down. My main "utilization card" is my CSP and I always keep it around 2 to 5% (personal preference). This is not to be confused with actually paying any interest on the card. I always pay my previous statement balance in full, and I make sure to pay down my current balance to at least 5% before the next statement cuts. I hope that made sense.

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

2IMPROVE1 — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 16:25:32 GMT

Okay. I think I got it when I use the NFCU pay it right away so that the lender shows activity and it will still report as 0. Use the AMEX as primary card and let it report a balance. I have seen on the forum that I should pay all but $5.

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

HeavenOhio — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 16:25:38 GMT

Discover will do mid-cycle reports. If you want your points back quickly, bring your Discover balance to a tiny amount either by paying or charging something, then call in and ask them to report.

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 16:28:45 GMT

@HeavenOhio wrote:
Discover will do mid-cycle reports. If you want your points back quickly, bring your Discover balance to a tiny amount either by paying or charging something, then call in and ask them to report.

+1 did exactly this just recently. My case was similar to yours and did gain some of my points back

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

2IMPROVE1 — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 16:33:44 GMT

Thank you!

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 22:15:12 GMT

Question on your AU account, is that a new account with AAoA = 0? I am in the same boat where I have 2 credit cards, a bank card and store card at 0% utilization and lost 32 points. I have recently added another bank card which I added a small balance before it reports and an AU card of my wifes that is new that has a small balance as well. I have a relatively dirty profile but wating for August 4th to see if there will be addition gains beyond the 32 points that is the 0% utilizaition.

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

2IMPROVE1 — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 22:33:29 GMT

Pretty new account has had for 3 months

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 01:25:44 GMT

If I'm reading OP correctly, this is not an ALL ZERO situation since Discover still has $166, you can report as many zero balances as you want as long as at least one of your cards shows a balance.

Ok just re-read and see that Discover is an AU, I guess this confirms AUs can't be used as "except one".

Re: Lost 32 pts CC reported zero balance HOW DO I RECOVER?? Please help!

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 02:40:58 GMT

@Anonymous

Ok just re-read and see that Discover is an AU, I guess this confirms AUs can't be used as "except one".

Agreed. The OP will want to report a small balance on his Amex or NFCU cards.

OP, definitely get a swipe in every 4-6 months (at least) on the NFCU card to ensure that it doesn't get closed down.

As far as your score drop, any score change that happens as a result of a utilization change will be exactly reversed if the utilization change is exactly reversed.

Basically, if Card X has a balance change of +$1000 and it results in a score loss of Y, taking Card X -$1000 back to it's original point and having that report would result in a score gain of Y. Any variance in Y here simply means that another factor or factors outside of that $1000 balance were at play.