cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

tag
Red22
Contributor

Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

Okay I have a Macy's store card and haven't used it in about 9 months.  I noticed they game me a real generous CLI of +1500 bringing me to a total CL of $1800.  So I go on a shopping spree of $213. My plan was to let it post to my account and then PIF before the next statement, just to show some usage. So I let it post and statement cut on 9/18.  I get a score watch alert that says my fico score has decreased!   So I immediateley pull my EQ report, but it just shows my balance of $213, minimum payment of $7, and everything else says "Not Reported".  So I'm thinking that since my CL is not being reported, this may be the reason for my score decrease.  I have already PIF the balance today thru Bill Pay, but it won't post till tomorrow! Then I get to wait until October for it to update just to see if my speculation is right!!! GRrrrrrrrrrr!

Crawling At A Snails Pace . . .
.
*9/01/08 FICO; EQ:524 TU:532 FAKO;EX:536
*12/07/08 FICO; EQ:548 TU: 562 FAKO;EX:565
**03/10/09 FICO;EQ: 624 TU:563 FAKO;EX:585
**09/21/10 FICO;EQ:661 TU:679EX:663(FAKO)


Message 1 of 14
13 REPLIES 13
honeybunnygal
Regular Contributor

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

Hi Red,

 

Congrats on the CLI! One thing to keep in mind is that for optimal scoring, keep reported balances under 9% of your limit, with fewer than half of your revolving tradelines reporting a balance. The utilization reporting on the Macy's card is currently 12%. For an $1800 CL try to keep the reported balance under $162.

 

I also believe that using a card after an extended period of non-use may also cause an initial ding (someone with more experience could chime in on that one, though).

 

Once the balance is paid down to below 9%, you should recoup points, although I'm not sure if there is an issue with Macy's not reporting CLs. Again, someone with more experience may have the answer to that one.

 

Good luck!

Hard work & patience can go a long way!
8/2009 (myFICO): TU - 599, EQ - 656
7/23/2010 (LO pull): TU - 738, EQ - 801, EX - 785
4/12/2012 (myFICO): TU -778, EQ - 791
Message 2 of 14
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

The percentage of use doesn't matter in the case of the Macy card, as the card doesn't report CL. If CL is left blank and doesn't show 0, this should be score neutral.

 

But yes, using a card that has been dormant for more than 6 months will give a score ding. This shouldn't be much, though. How many points did you lose?

Message 3 of 14
Red22
Contributor

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

@honeybunnygal....Thanks for the Info.

@ Ulan.....I lost 28 pts. and My Credit Limit is not showing a "0", and its not "blank", It Just Says "NOT REPORTED",  You think I should call and ask them if they could report my credit limit as "blank" instead of "Not Reported"?!!!

Crawling At A Snails Pace . . .
.
*9/01/08 FICO; EQ:524 TU:532 FAKO;EX:536
*12/07/08 FICO; EQ:548 TU: 562 FAKO;EX:565
**03/10/09 FICO;EQ: 624 TU:563 FAKO;EX:585
**09/21/10 FICO;EQ:661 TU:679EX:663(FAKO)


Message 4 of 14
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

No, "Not reported" is what I meant with "blank". 28 points is a lot. What is your total CL on all open credit card accounts (excluding signature cards or charge cards), if you don't mind that I ask?

Message 5 of 14
Red22
Contributor

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

@ulan 

This is my Ratio...

 

Ratio of your revolving balances to your credit limits
22%
For FICO High Achievers [?], this ratio is 7%, on average.

Your FICO score evaluates your total revolving credit [?] balances in relation to your total credit limits on those accounts. In your case, this ratio of balances to credit limits is too high.

Crawling At A Snails Pace . . .
.
*9/01/08 FICO; EQ:524 TU:532 FAKO;EX:536
*12/07/08 FICO; EQ:548 TU: 562 FAKO;EX:565
**03/10/09 FICO;EQ: 624 TU:563 FAKO;EX:585
**09/21/10 FICO;EQ:661 TU:679EX:663(FAKO)


Message 6 of 14
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

Does it show a highest balance, since it doesn't show a CL?

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 7 of 14
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

 


@haulingthescoreup wrote:

Does it show a highest balance, since it doesn't show a CL?


 

This is the key point.

 

I don't believe Macys accounts are being coded as Visa Signature-type accounts; instead, they are probably being treated in the same way CapOne no-CL accounts were treated a few years ago. The High Balance will be used as a surrogate CL when Fico computes utilization.

 

According to OP's original post, before Macys converted its accounts to no-CL, the CL was $300. So, best-case scenario is that OP previously maxed the card, creating a high balance of $300, and the current statement balance of $213 creates an individual account utilization of 70%. Worst-case scenario is that OP did not previously have a balance of more than $213, or that Macys reset all High Balance amounts when it converted, and the current balance and the High Balance are both $213, creating an individual account utilization of 100%.

 

My guess is the worst-case scenario is in effect here.

 

A 28-point penalty seems a little bit excessive for just the individual account utilization; other factors (increase in number of accounts with balances, increase in overall utilization, etc.) may have also contributed to the score decrease ...

Message 8 of 14
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

yep, that's my guess, too.

 

I'd love to see a screenshot of how Macy's store accounts look on a full report, from any of the bureaus, not just a myFICO or TrueCredit or CCM report.

 

hint, hint Smiley Wink

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 9 of 14
AndySoCal
Valued Contributor

Re: Finally Used My MACY'S CARD and now FICO Plumetted 28 PTS....WTH!!!!

I would suspect that your that speculation will be correct. I had another card through Citi that did not report the high balnce or the credit limit. I closed the account.

FICO Scores XPN v8 802 V2 831 (SDFCU) TUC 803 v8 EFX 807 (10/2023)
Discover 09/90 19,000, JCPenney 10/2008 4,700 US Bank Cash+ 12,000 Citibank Custom Cash 5/2015 11,100 C State Dept. FCU 15,000 06/2023 , 02/2024 Redstone FCU Signature VISA 10,000 Banking: Ally Bank Credit Unions: Lafayette FCU Quorum FCU State Department FCU State Department FCU Pelican State CU Redstone FCU

Message 10 of 14
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.