topic Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used? in General Credit Topics

Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

Larzipan — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 02:33:43 GMT

Hello! I am wondering about everyone's experiences with new cards reporting and how long this typically takes.

My friend has shared with me that their cards typically take about 2 months to report if they refrain from using them, and while the initial hard inquiries will impact their scores quickly, the positive impact from the additional credit would take up to 2 months (unless they used the card sooner, causing it to report). My own recent experience conflicts with this.

On Decemember 4th, I was approved for a new PayPal card with a $6500 limit, which only allowed me to use $500 until I received and activated the card. I therefore thought I'd need to wait for activation to see my $6500 limit reporting. I have now activated my card, but to this day, I have yet to even use it.

However, prior to activating my card, I was able to see the $6500 limit on my reports despite only $500 being available to me. My TransUnion and Equifax VantageScores increased on Dec 6 as a direct result of this additional CL, a mere two days after my approval! That's just a specific example - I saw the new card showing everywhere I looked very quickly.

This made me very happy as I wanted my total CL to increase and was initially disappointed about only having a $500 CL on my new card for a brief time, so I have no complaints. I am just curious how this card could report so quickly without me taking any action when my friend sees longer delays with other cards. This is my first time paying such close attention to my reports to see the impact of new accounts, so I don't have much reference.

Thank you for taking the time to read my question!

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

GZG — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 02:36:21 GMT

Synchrony bank (the bank that lends for PPMC) historically reports cards very quickly, a few days at the most. other banks can take up to two full statements to report new cards.

they reported your credit limit as $6500 because that's your credit limit.

the $500 thing was just a fraud prevention thing and not indicative of your actual limit.

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

Larzipan — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 04:55:32 GMT

@GZG wrote:
Synchrony bank (the bank that lends for PPMC) historically reports cards very quickly, a few days at the most. other banks can take up to two full statements to report new cards.

they reported your credit limit as $6500 because that's your credit limit.

the $500 thing was just a fraud prevention thing and not indicative of your actual limit.

Thank you! It is helpful to understand that the $500 was for fraud prevention while I always had the full CL. In my particular case, I feel lucky that my card is with Synchrony bank because of their quick reporting.

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

Horseshoez — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 05:06:01 GMT

@Larzipan, I'm not sure where your friend gets his or her information, but it is basically incorrect. New cards report when they report, and that varies by lender; I've had them report within a week, and I had one report for the first time after six or seven weeks.

Regarding your scores, ignore Vantage scores, they are basically irrelevant for 95% or more of the financial institutions out there.

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

JoeRockhead — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 13:58:22 GMT

As @Horseshoez pointed out each lender is different as to when they report and has nothing to do with the use of the card. Some, like Synchrony report right away, while others like Amex sometimes take up to 2 billing cycles to report the account, despite usage on the account or not.

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

Jnbmom — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 14:00:20 GMT

Synchrony is notorious for reporting almost immediately after your approval within a few days I have found out through reporting at times what my credit limit actually was before I got the card 😂

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

Larzipan — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:47:47 GMT

Thank you for the additional input! It makes sense that Amex does report more slowly as an Amex is one of the cards my friend has seen take a long time to report.

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

SouthJamaica — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:39:42 GMT

@Larzipan wrote:
Hello! I am wondering about everyone's experiences with new cards reporting and how long this typically takes.

My friend has shared with me that their cards typically take about 2 months to report if they refrain from using them, and while the initial hard inquiries will impact their scores quickly, the positive impact from the additional credit would take up to 2 months (unless they used the card sooner, causing it to report). My own recent experience conflicts with this.

On Decemember 4th, I was approved for a new PayPal card with a $6500 limit, which only allowed me to use $500 until I received and activated the card. I therefore thought I'd need to wait for activation to see my $6500 limit reporting. I have now activated my card, but to this day, I have yet to even use it.

However, prior to activating my card, I was able to see the $6500 limit on my reports despite only $500 being available to me. My TransUnion and Equifax VantageScores increased on Dec 6 as a direct result of this additional CL, a mere two days after my approval! That's just a specific example - I saw the new card showing everywhere I looked very quickly.

This made me very happy as I wanted my total CL to increase and was initially disappointed about only having a $500 CL on my new card for a brief time, so I have no complaints. I am just curious how this card could report so quickly without me taking any action when my friend sees longer delays with other cards. This is my first time paying such close attention to my reports to see the impact of new accounts, so I don't have much reference.

Thank you for taking the time to read my question!

1. It varies a lot. Sometimes within a day or two of approval, sometimes within a month or two.

2. In my experience it has nothing to do with activation; card is reported even without activation.

Re: Why did my new card report so quickly without being used?

Larzipan — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 05:30:54 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
1. It varies a lot. Sometimes within a day or two of approval, sometimes within a month or two.
2. In my experience it has nothing to do with activation; card is reported even without activation.

Thank you! That is all good to understand. I'm glad it sounds like if available credit can be temorarily lower until activation occurs, your true credit limit should generally still report once the card does.