topic Re: AZEO Question in Understanding FICO® Scoring

AZEO Question

GoHooterGo — Thu, 05 May 2022 19:40:49 GMT

TU FICO8 Score: 650

So here is my lineup:

Materion FCU: $0 of $1,000 (Was $3 of $1,000) before update

Capital One QS1: $0 of $3,000

CreditOne Amex: $0 of $2,000

Lowes/SynchronyBank: $39 of $6800 (Authorized User)

When my Materion FCU account updated from $3 to $0, I thought I'd see a AZEO boost, but no change when it reported $0. The only other thing is I have a Huntington Bank Personal Line of Credit reporting $367 of $500, even though this account has been paid off for nearly two months. Huntington Bank has not updated TransUnion since 3/7/2022 but has updated both Experian and Equifax on 4/7/2022...

Could Huntington Bank Personal Line of Credit be affecting my AZEO status? Or does AU Accounts not apply to AZEO?

Re: AZEO Question

PNWRambler — Thu, 05 May 2022 22:47:13 GMT

I believe that AU accounts do count, although that small of a balance may report as 0% because that's less than 1% utilization.

Not sure about Huntington Bank Personal Line of Credit, but it probably does report like a credit card. I know PayPal Credit does.

Re: AZEO Question

FinStar — Sat, 07 May 2022 00:32:45 GMT

@GoHooterGo wrote:
When my Materion FCU account updated from $3 to $0, I thought I'd see a AZEO boost, but no change when it reported $0. The only other thing is I have a Huntington Bank Personal Line of Credit reporting $367 of $500, even though this account has been paid off for nearly two months. Huntington Bank has not updated TransUnion since 3/7/2022 but has updated both Experian and Equifax on 4/7/2022...

Could Huntington Bank Personal Line of Credit be affecting my AZEO status? Or does AU Accounts not apply to AZEO?

The Huntintgton PLOC is defnitely impacting some of the metrics. Although some reporting layouts may place it in a different section (i.e. other types of loans), it is a revolving line and factored as much as a revolvig credit card, for example.

And, as mentioned upthread, AU accounts are also factored in the metrics.

Re: AZEO Question

GoHooterGo — Sun, 08 May 2022 01:15:37 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@GoHooterGo wrote:
When my Materion FCU account updated from $3 to $0, I thought I'd see a AZEO boost, but no change when it reported $0. The only other thing is I have a Huntington Bank Personal Line of Credit reporting $367 of $500, even though this account has been paid off for nearly two months. Huntington Bank has not updated TransUnion since 3/7/2022 but has updated both Experian and Equifax on 4/7/2022...

Could Huntington Bank Personal Line of Credit be affecting my AZEO status? Or does AU Accounts not apply to AZEO?

The Huntintgton PLOC is defnitely impacting some of the metrics. Although some reporting layouts may place it in a different section (i.e. other types of loans), it is a revolving line and factored as much as a revolvig credit card, for example.

And, as mentioned upthread, AU accounts are also factored in the metrics.

IF the Huntington PLOC reports this month🙄 I'll update whether or not I see a scoring change.

Drives me nuts that Experian and Equifax both updated last month but not TU since I've had it paid off for a while.

Re: AZEO Question

moto4man — Sun, 08 May 2022 14:36:18 GMT

Thanks for posting! I believe your question has been answered. Although I'm grateful for your thread... I'm assuming that your PLOC is your "Stand By Cash" linked to your checking account? Which I too have a PLOC attached to mine as well. I've been sticking around with Huntington simply for this small credit line, for exactly what it says. However, since that time my score has increased dramatically and there is really no reason to concern myself with their guidelines to retain the account. And if they aren't even reporting as any other major lending/banking institution, I'm really considering switching up and dropping them.

Re: AZEO Question

GoHooterGo — Sun, 08 May 2022 15:59:37 GMT

@moto4man wrote:
Thanks for posting! I believe your question has been answered. Although I'm grateful for your thread... I'm assuming that your PLOC is your "Stand By Cash" linked to your checking account? Which I too have a PLOC attached to mine as well. I've been sticking around with Huntington simply for this small credit line, for exactly what it says. However, since that time my score has increased dramatically and there is really no reason to concern myself with their guidelines to retain the account. And if they aren't even reporting as any other major lending/banking institution, I'm really considering switching up and dropping them.

Yes, I'm talking about their Stand by Cash services.

It normally updates with no issues, but I think this is the first time it didn't update on TransUnion.

I love the stand by Cash feature, BUT this updating issue might just be a missed update by TU, but I never really paid that much attention to it until the last 2 months. EX and EQ, no issues.

My other issue is, my limit. I started off with a $1,000 line of credit, and now it's down to $350 (and it'll shrink more) even though I have never missed a payment or let them autodraft ( I paid it off long before then).

Re: AZEO Question

GoHooterGo — Wed, 11 May 2022 22:18:49 GMT

My Huntington Standby Cash (PLOC) updated to a $0 balance, for a whooping 1 point increase.

Now, 651 TU Fico 8 Score... I was hoping for a bigger increase for AZEO boost. But at least it's an increase.

Re: AZEO Question

GoHooterGo — Fri, 13 May 2022 01:06:37 GMT

What's also interesting is my TU Fico 9 dropped to 650 based on my Pre-Approval Forum for GM Marcus application denial. Also checked my MyFico 3 bureau reports dated 5/9/2022, and my TU Fico 9 was still 669.

The only changes that have happned since my May 1st app and May 12th app is Huntington PLOC balance was finally reported as $0. The reasons for denial were completely different this time also...

May 1, 2022 (669)

Thanks for your interest in the My GM Rewards Card™. Goldman Sachs Bank USA has reviewed your request and we're sorry to let you know that is was not approved because:

You have recently been past due
You have recently experienced a charge off

May 12, 2022 (650)

Thanks for your interest in the My GM Rewards Card™. Goldman Sachs Bank USA has reviewed your request and we're sorry to let you know that is was not approved because:

Serious delinquency and public record or collection filed
Too many accounts with balances
Length of time revolving accounts have been established

No new public record or collection other then a medical collection from 2 years ago that I will have off soon.

Too many accounts with balances???

I have two "new" accounts, CapitalOne and CreditOne that were opened 6 months ago.

So if nothing else changed, why the score drop for TU Fico 9? Lowes is an AU account, and is my only balance for a revolving account.

4 Credit Card Revolving Accounts - $39 Balance - 1 Account

1 Personal Line of Credit Account - $0 Balance

2 Car Loans - (Ally Financial was paid off a few days ago, and was a charge off from a loan I co-signed on), and the other is open $8,440

2 Mortgages - Both Open

I'm hoping it's some kind of issue with the AU account having a balance and none of my personal accounts having a balance, as Capitalone will be reporting soon, and I can put a small balance on it so it'll report something if I choose to test this out.

Ideas?

Re: AZEO Question

HeavenOhio — Thu, 12 May 2022 20:59:51 GMT

@GoHooterGo, my bet is that the score decrease is due to the lack of a positive balance on a card for which you're the primary user.

Re: AZEO Question

GoHooterGo — Thu, 12 May 2022 21:23:35 GMT

@HeavenOhio wrote:
@GoHooterGo, my bet is that the score decrease is due to the lack of a positive balance on a card for which you're the primary user.

That's what I'm thinking. My Capital One QS1 will be reporting in the next r-6 days, so I'm going have it report a $30 balance (1%).

I'll update when it reports.

Re: AZEO Question

TheKid2 — Sun, 29 May 2022 16:34:24 GMT

My experience as having an old CO is that being in a dirty scorecard that AZEO doesn't give a score boost like folks in a clean scorecard. I capped out score wise at total utilization under <9% with several cards having a small balance. When I finally got to AZEO, my scores didn't move at all. My guess is you're experiencing something similar.

Re: AZEO Question

HowDoesThisAllWork — Mon, 30 May 2022 08:50:15 GMT

@TheKid2 wrote:
My experience as having an old CO is that being in a dirty scorecard that AZEO doesn't give a score boost like folks in a clean scorecard. I capped out score wise at total utilization under <9% with several cards having a small balance. When I finally got to AZEO, my scores didn't move at all. My guess is you're experiencing something similar.

That would, @TheKid2 , be my guess as well.

For a little bit of FICO experience (and this applies to this thread....I promise) I have been playing a bit with the amount that I allow to report on my credit cards.

I have been doing AZEO for a good bit now. So, for those reading this post - let's take a quick step back for a second.

AZEO - or, All Zero Except One - is the concept of having all of your credit cards report a $0 balance (on the Statement Closing Date for each of your credit cards, respectively......and please keep in mind that this works once you have three credit cards or more) with the exception of one credit card.

This is important: be mindful of which of your credit cards is THE ONE. It should be from a major bank (read: financial instituion). It should likely NOT be a credit card from a Credit Union or a "Store Card" (think Lowes or Target, for example). There are also a few "financial institutions" out there that do not like their card to be THE ONE (I beleive that Chase - of all companies - is one of them....but please investigate that for your own peace of mind......in other words, don't take my word for it).

Additionally, keeping the reported balance under 10% (I beleive that the actual "best percentage" is under 6% - but this could be different for different people - depending on each person's credit profile) is important (from a scoring perspective).

So, now that we have described the framework of what AZEO is (so that we are all using the same "definition") why do we want this | why do some people practice this?

Well, the obvious answer is that if your credit card(s) report(s) a $0 balance on the Statement Closing Date then you have $0.00 that is subject to interest charges. That is a WIN, at least in my book.

But there are other reasons, too.

There are some scores that are HIGHLY dependent on the number of accounts that report a balance. Your mortgage scores (for those new to this, there is more than "just" your FICO8 score.....that is - what I call - your generic FICO Score.....there are industry specific scores, too. Your Credit Card scores, your Auto scores, and your Mortgage scores as well as your FICO9 scores) are very sensitive to the number of accounts that show a balance.

So, if one were working on a mortgage loan, then that person would be very wise to have a high percentage of the accounts that he/she has reporting a $0 balance. This maxes out the potential Mortgage Score. Clearly, just to be complete and thorough, this is one big part of the Mortgage scores. However, having six accounts report a $0 balance but the seventh report a 94% utilization would be less than a good thing!

Do all "scores" benefit from this (AZEO)? I beleive so IN THAT your utilization is going to be very low. I would be interested in hearing from those with far more experience than I have if AZEO has a SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE IMPACT on the other scores (and, to be clear, talking more about from a "number of accounts reporting a balance" perspective)?

Clearly, with "utilization" being a HUGE part of your FICO Score AZEO is going to positively impact your score.

Now, I have been playing with "reported balances" so that all of my credit cards are now reporting a balance (been doing this for two months now....June will be month number three) and my FICO scores are increasing (but, for full disclosure, that is very likely due to other things....like HPs falling off, credit cards aging, CLIs, et al).

I hope that this makes some sense. I know what I am trying to say. Not sure if I am presenting it in a 'digestible manner'????

Re: AZEO Question

TheKid2 — Mon, 30 May 2022 14:04:12 GMT

@HowDoesThisAllWork wrote:
@TheKid2 wrote:
My experience as having an old CO is that being in a dirty scorecard that AZEO doesn't give a score boost like folks in a clean scorecard. I capped out score wise at total utilization under <9% with several cards having a small balance. When I finally got to AZEO, my scores didn't move at all. My guess is you're experiencing something similar.
That would, @TheKid2 , be my guess as well.

For a little bit of FICO experience (and this applies to this thread....I promise) I have been playing a bit with the amount that I allow to report on my credit cards.

I have been doing AZEO for a good bit now. So, for those reading this post - let's take a quick step back for a second.

...

I hope that this makes some sense. I know what I am trying to say. Not sure if I am presenting it in a 'digestible manner'????

The AZEO method is well documented around here and I would agree that it's beneficial to all scores just by lowering your Util and not reporting ALL 0s. Definitely want the 1 card by a bank card. Pretty sure like you say that mortgage scores love accounts with a 0, the more the better. But again for me, I didn't peak at AZEO. YMMV

And lastly, not paying interest deifnitely a big win!

Re: AZEO Question

GoHooterGo — Mon, 30 May 2022 14:19:16 GMT

I didn't notice a difference, but I'm going to do some more experiments.

Definitely a very dirty score card.