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Hi everyone!
I have a few questions. Does HSBC report 0 balances on their credit cards? I have a credit card with them and will pay it off in a few days. How much of a jump will I see in my score? The CL is $500 and I owe about $250 before it's PIF. Do I need to keep it at least 9% utilization to see a jump or PIF? I always keep about 9% utilization with Target and pay it off before the due date. I've seen about a 12 point increase in my score for the past two months in doing this I'm just really having trouble with timing and reporting with HSBC. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Lowfico23
They should report it, if they feel like it. But HSBC and Orchard are notorious for occasionally not bothering to update balances for a month or even two.
There's also a built-in delay. Remember that HSBC and Orchard bank cards report your balance as of the last business day of the month (this Friday, I assume, since Monday is a holiday,) so make sure that nothing sneaks back on. But then they don't actually send in the info for another week or two. And then you have to wait for all three CRA's to actually refresh. ![]()
It might well be mid-June or later before the $0 balance shows up on all three of your reports.
You don't need to have 9% report on anything. In most cases, the lower, the better. Since HSBC is such a PITA, you might want to routinely keep it showing $0 at the end of each month (stop using it a week or so before), and let Target show maybe $10 on the statement. Then don't forget to pay the $10 off before the due date. It's amazingly easy to forget to do this!
Just let one card (Target in your case) report a token amount and then pay it off. Most of us get hit if all accounts report $0, until we're up in the 750's or 760's, at which point TU likes it. You'll definitely get hit if all your cards report balances.
Welcome to the tightrope!
And btw, it's not necessary to do this. This is useful for those trying to get their scores as high as possible for a specific credit app, such as a mortgage app, that is heavily score-driven. It also provides entertainment for those of us who are otherwise left twiddling our thumbs in credit scoring land. I like it personally because I'm ADHD with a history of forgetting to pay bills, so this adds an extra layer of protection against lates. For everyone else, just know that this is something that you can do to control your scores if you need to get them up, but realize that it takes 6-8 weeks for all your cards to cycle through, update, and be posted for the full effect.
Haulingthescoresup,
Thanks for the great information!!! I appreciate your help.
lowfico23