Credit Utilization Q's

[riffdex]

I received an "offer" for an American Express Blue Cash card with no annual fee and some pretty good rewards. I am 21 and currently have two credit cards, a Wells Fargo Visa CC $1200 limit, and a Discover $2250 limit. These are okay but the WF offers no rewards and therefore only use it occassionally (paying it off right away) to keep it active or if a business does not accept Discover. I usually use the Discover for all gas purchases and pay off right away because i have been trying to build up my credit.

Anyways, i was hoping to apply for this AMEX card and have the best chance getting it. I wanted to get an AMEX card asap because I am of the understanding that AMEX does "backdating", meaning any AMEX card I open in the future will be dated as opened in the year of the original account. Also the AMEX offer expires July 3. 

The last time I applied for a CC, i was denied ): This was about four months ago. They also informed me that my credit score was 750 at the time. Idk why I would have been denied that offer at the time, but I read that it is best to wait 3 months after a credit inquiry before applying again, which is what I did.

I feel that my credit score should be good enough for getting this AMEX card, but my dilemma is that I know how important credit utilization ratio is when applying for new credit. While I usually keep my utilization between 1-10%, the last statement balance on my Wells Fargo CC was $650 due to a necessary car repair to keep my car on the road. This is more than 50% utilization of my WF limit and made my overall credit utilization about 20% of my overall credit limit. I since paid this card off (before the end of the period, avoiding any interest). This statement balance was recorded on my account 5/23/13 and it still shows up on my account as "Last statement balance".

I am wondering if anyone has an info on when Wells Fargo reports balance information to the credit bureaus. Would they, for example, report the statement balance to the bureaus on the same day it shows up on my account. Or would they maybe send the info later? I know that currently my balance is $0, and, on 6/23/13, the statement balance should appear on my account as $0. Im just wondering if they would then send the same info to the bureaus athat day? If that is the case, would i feel safe applying for the AMEX after 6/23/13? Or do they delay in sending the info to the credit bureaus. Meaning when my new statement balance is recorded in a few days, they will be sending the prior statement balance to the bureaus? In this case, I suppose Im better off applying before 6/23. Either way, the offer expires 7/03 so I will need to apply soon. If anyone has any experience with this or advice, I'd be happy to hear.

[takeshi74]

People can answer with generalized responses but the best way to address this matter is to pull the reports that you expect Amex to pull and look at what your reported balances are.  Generally balances are updated by the card companies a few days after the statement cuts but the credit bureaus may not instantly update and they don't all update their records with the same timeframe.  I personally found a monitoring service that allowed my to perform daily pulls on all 3 bureaus very handy when applying for new cards as I could tell exactly when balances were updated and the timing was optimal to apply.

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@riffdex wrote:
The last time I applied for a CC, i was denied ): This was about four months ago. They also informed me that my credit score was 750 at the time. Idk why I would have been denied that offer at the time, but I read that it is best to wait 3 months after a credit inquiry before applying again, which is what I did.

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Generalizations like that really don't mean anything.  In 3 months one person's credit could have improved while another's could have declined and yet another's could have remained the same.  Any recommendation only mentioning time is only considering inquiries on your report and that's just one of many factors affecting your credit.  The creditor you applied with probably supplied specific reasons why you were declined (balances, inquiries, etc).  Use that as a guide on what you need to address.

[pizzadude]

+1 to the above advice. Assuming that you have no derogatory information on your reports and a reasonable income then I'd guess that you have a decent chance at approval.

AMEX almost always pulls EX so I'd check that report to make sure that it looks good before you apply.

[pizzadude]

Moving to Credit Cards....

[SnackTrader]

My favorite way to pull my Experian report is through annualcreditreport.com and then writing down the report number they provide. Or printing out the report.

For the next 90 days after that first pull, you can go back to Experian.com and click on "View Report Again" and then enter in the report number. You will receive an updated report every time! This will come in handy towards timing your WF balances - but I would say that in general, most creditors report the statement balance and it takes a business day or two to hit the credit bureaus. Hopefully, you can figure out your cards with this process, good luck!

[riffdex]

Hello yall. I appreciate the advice and help so far. I decided to take a look at my Experian credit report (I made sure to write down the report number). I was hoping you all could help me interpret the information and see if its a good time to apply. It says:

There are 0 potentially negative items in your report
You have 3 accounts in good standing

Discover CC opened 01/2012
Belk CC opened 08/2012 forgot i had this
Wells Fargo CC opened 03/2011

All these cards show, correctly, that I have never missed a payment.

I opened the Wells Fargo card to take a closer look. It has a lot of info such as credit limit: $1200, date of status: 05/2013, recent balance: $640

Im assuming that one is the line i should be focused on and, i should be watching to see if it goes to $0 before I apply for the AMEX? Is that right?? As i said before, I already paid the high balance so the next balance WF reports to EXP should be $0. The only question now is when it will be reported.

From this info, do you guys think I will have any trouble getting the AMEX Blue? Is there anything to increase my chances of getting it? Is there any benefit to me checking the other credit reports, or have I got enough info from the EXP website?

[parakleet]

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@SnackTrader wrote:
My favorite way to pull my Experian report is through annualcreditreport.com and then writing down the report number they provide. Or printing out the report.

For the next 90 days after that first pull, you can go back to Experian.com and click on "View Report Again" and then enter in the report number. You will receive an updated report every time! This will come in handy towards timing your WF balances - but I would say that in general, most creditors report the statement balance and it takes a business day or two to hit the credit bureaus. Hopefully, you can figure out your cards with this process, good luck!

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Wow, that's a great trick! 

[riffdex]

Hey guys just an update. I noticed on my WF account the last statement balance changed today to say: "6/21/13: $23". I checked the Experian report again and saw that it now updated to say:

date of status: 06/2013
recent balance: $23

I guess this shows that WF is pretty good about sending info to the bureaus and send it right away when they post your latest statement balance. This info might come in handy for someone else who has a WF credit card with a high utilization wanting to perfectly time their next application for credit.

Im wondering where to go from here. According to my EXP report, I think (hope) i am a shoe in for this new AMEX card. Would you guys suggest I go ahead and apply? Is there any point in checking my other reports at this point? I know AMEX usually uses EXP but I know they dont have to. Im worried there's a chance my new WF balance showed up on EXP but isnt updated elsewhere. Any advice/input? Thanks for all the help!

[gstq34]

Amex has always pulled Ex for me.  Also, make sure you income justifies this new credit as it's a factor.  I'd say it's time to App so long as income is there, also it seems you have a thin file so Amex is not 100% but still likely approved.

[asphaltcowboy]

I wouldn't beat myself up over this, all the info that you have provided seems good,

if they sent you an offer, and you don't take it, they will send another, when these offers start,

they don't seem to stop, and as your credit history improves, so do the offers, only way to know is

give it a go, if this is the card you want.  Best of luck to you