AU affecting my utilization on EQ

[daddiggingout]

I am well into rebuilding my credit and while my FICO scores are 727, 640 and 650, I noticed that EQ's monitoring service indicates that my utilization is at a scary 129%.  I have a CAPONE Quiksilver with a $300 cl, a new Barclays Arrival with a $1500 cl and an AU with a $5000 cl.  So EQ shows that I have $1800 in available credit but am at 129 % utilization - as they roll in the AU balance to our utilization.  I am hesitant to drop the AU account as it is over 20 years old, but the carry over balance is affecting an almost 80% utilization each month. As we are getting ready to apply for a mortgage, should I remove this AU account from my reports or will a mortgage lender see clearly that we usually maintain a 3% utilization at the close of statement?  The only reason we were higher is because I used our new Barclays and it reported before notifying me of a statement date.  I did not anticipated it reporting within a week of our receiving the card and had intended to pay it down to $20 before the statement date.  Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[CreditCuriosity]

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@daddiggingout wrote:

I am well into rebuilding my credit and while my FICO scores are 727, 640 and 650, I noticed that EQ's monitoring service indicates that my utilization is at a scary 129%.  I have a CAPONE Quiksilver with a $300 cl, a new Barclays Arrival with a $1500 cl and an AU with a $5000 cl.  So EQ shows that I have $1800 in available credit but am at 129 % utilization - as they roll in the AU balance to our utilization.  I am hesitant to drop the AU account as it is over 20 years old, but the carry over balance is affecting an almost 80% utilization each month. As we are getting ready to apply for a mortgage, should I remove this AU account from my reports or will a mortgage lender see clearly that we usually maintain a 3% utilization at the close of statement?  The only reason we were higher is because I used our new Barclays and it reported before notifying me of a statement date.  I did not anticipated it reporting within a week of our receiving the card and had intended to pay it down to $20 before the statement date.  Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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You have your own credit now, you should be fine removing the AU from your CR's.  Not sure how older Fico models that lenders use would react, the newer ones would be fine for you to do this in my opinion.  Please wait for other people to answer this though as I am not even sure an AU really helps your AAoA at all?

[gdale6]

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@daddiggingout wrote:

I am well into rebuilding my credit and while my FICO scores are 727, 640 and 650, I noticed that EQ's monitoring service indicates that my utilization is at a scary 129%.  I have a CAPONE Quiksilver with a $300 cl, a new Barclays Arrival with a $1500 cl and an AU with a $5000 cl.  So EQ shows that I have $1800 in available credit but am at 129 % utilization - as they roll in the AU balance to our utilization.  I am hesitant to drop the AU account as it is over 20 years old, but the carry over balance is affecting an almost 80% utilization each month. As we are getting ready to apply for a mortgage, should I remove this AU account from my reports or will a mortgage lender see clearly that we usually maintain a 3% utilization at the close of statement?  The only reason we were higher is because I used our new Barclays and it reported before notifying me of a statement date.  I did not anticipated it reporting within a week of our receiving the card and had intended to pay it down to $20 before the statement date.  Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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So you have 2 bankcards yourself that are at 0 balance (the 1800 available) and the AU account is overlimit by 29% thats what Im reading here, jettison the AU its not doing you any good. You want AUs that have low usage not ones at max CL and above.

Adding: Fico 04 is going to be used for the mortgage pull

[daddiggingout]

I am sorry for not being totally clear on explaining the situation.  I do have $1800 cl between two cards.  My brand new Barclays reported a $1000 balance out of the $1500 cl almost immediately after we activated the card.  Before this, I had a 0 to $5.00 balance on the Quiksilver.  So of the 129% utilization 66% was mine, although I promptly paid it down to zero upon getting the alert stating that my scores dropped.  However, when I checked EQ directly, they stated that I had a 129% utilization, meaning the AU carries a utilization of 63%.  I guess my concern would be my score tanking in reaction to dropping a paid as agreed over 20 years cc.  I did not think that an AU counted toward overall utilization, but clearly with EQ it does.

[takeshi74]

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@daddiggingout wrote:

I am hesitant to drop the AU account as it is over 20 years old, but the carry over balance is affecting an almost 80% utilization each month.

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Why?  Take a look at this:

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Utilization (Amounts Owed) is 30%.  AAoA (Length of Credit History) is 15%.

Also keep in mind that not all creditors and scoring models factor in accounts where you're an AU anyway.

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@daddiggingout wrote:

I did not think that an AU counted toward overall utilization, but clearly with EQ it does.

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When you're an AU the tradeline reports along with all of your other accounts.  For scoring models and creditors that take accounts where you're an AU into consideration the tradeline absolutely factors in just like any other account.

However, how was 129% calculated?  You might want to look at the balances and limits on the report and calculate utilization yourself to verify.  You'd have to have accounts overlimit or closed revolvers with balances to go over 100.

[disdreamin]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

However, how was 129% calculated?  You might want to look at the balances and limits on the report and calculate utilization yourself to verify.  You'd have to have accounts overlimit or closed revolvers with balances to go over 100.

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+1 on this.  You don't add the utilization percentages together to get overall utilization, it should be balances divides by available credit lines.  Thus, to average 129% when your account was at 66%, something somewhere has to be WAY over 100% utilization (closed account showing balance, way over limit, etc).

[daddiggingout]

Thanks for all the information and helpful information.  After discussing this matter with our mortgage lender, she advised as many here have and that is to have the two AMEX accounts removed.  Although I was anxious over having a newly thin file, she reckons the score will actually increase a fair amount.  I promise to update and let everyone know the results for anyone who might have a similar situation.  Thanks again everyone!

[Anonymous]

If I were you I'd keep it and just try to bring the utilization down before you start the mortgage process . 20 years of history doesn't come by everyday .