Lesson learned - keep balance on only 1 card!

[BluePoodle]

Ok, I tried to pay one of my cards down to 0 Balance, but I guess I messed it up!

I have only two cards to begin with and one I am keeping a balance on because of 0% financing

But the second card I attempted to PIF! I botched it and it reported $5 instead of 0

So when I finally got it to report this month at 0, I gained four points!

I just got my score report change today! So I will take it!

Not sure how I messed up....but I will try to keep a closer eye on it and make sure it doesn't happen again!

[suliabryon]

So if I am understanding correctly, a balance of $5 on one of your cards led to a 4 point difference? Wow.

[BluePoodle]

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@suliabryon wrote:

So if I am understanding correctly, a balance of $5 on one of your cards led to a 4 point difference? Wow.

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Correct! So I just thought I would share it here so others might be able to learn and make necessary corrections to help with their credit scores. Just think about those with more than two cards that have low balances on mulitple cards!!!! It could really make a difference!

[arrazola_a]

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@suliabryon wrote:

So if I am understanding correctly, a balance of $5 on one of your cards led to a 4 point difference? Wow.

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a 20 balance on my gas card dropped my score 18 points. once it reported as 0 it jumped back up to where it was.

edit for spelling

[BluePoodle]

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@arrazola_a wrote:

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@suliabryon wrote:

So if I am understanding correctly, a balance of $5 on one of your cards led to a 4 point difference? Wow.

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a 20 balance on my gas card dropped my score 18 points. once it reported as 0 it jumped back up to where it was.

edit for spelling

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Personally, I don't think it is fair to have such small balances negatively hurt your scores like this. But this is the game we play I guess!  

[Gunnar419]

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@BluePoodle wrote:

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@arrazola_a wrote:

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@suliabryon wrote:

So if I am understanding correctly, a balance of $5 on one of your cards led to a 4 point difference? Wow.

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a 20 balance on my gas card dropped my score 18 points. once it reported as 0 it jumped back up to where it was.

edit for spelling

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Personally, I don't think it is fair to have such small balances negatively hurt your scores like this. But this is the game we play I guess!  

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I agree, its ridiculous. It's obviously also a typical practice. I recently lost 11 points for having a card with a $10k CL report an $82 balance. Just arbitrary and silly.

At least it's something that can be fixed in short order.

[NoAnchoviesPlease]

I was frustrated by this recently as well... got declined for a restoration of credit line in part because of a couple of balances based on last month's interest. Probably less money than is in my cleaning-out-my-pockets change bowl on my dresser. 

But if I've had anything utterly clarified for me, it's that creditors aren't here to be fair. If they were, they'd report the balance before interest. And do all sorts of other less profitable, less capricious, more consumer-friendly/customer-driven things as well. 

I also think landlords who demand or check credit reports but don't report your performance to the CRAs should be fined, but that's probably never going to happen either.   

[stlsme]

I had the same thing. $40 balance was 17 points. Comes down to how many balances on cards car loans and regular loans. That same card should report tomorrow. I want those points back. 

[Anonymous]

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@Gunnar419 wrote:

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@BluePoodle wrote:

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@arrazola_a wrote:

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@suliabryon wrote:

So if I am understanding correctly, a balance of $5 on one of your cards led to a 4 point difference? Wow.

---

a 20 balance on my gas card dropped my score 18 points. once it reported as 0 it jumped back up to where it was.

edit for spelling

---

Personally, I don't think it is fair to have such small balances negatively hurt your scores like this. But this is the game we play I guess!  

---

I agree, its ridiculous. It's obviously also a typical practice. I recently lost 11 points for having a card with a $10k CL report an $82 balance. Just arbitrary and silly.

At least it's something that can be fixed in short order.

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To the best of my knowledge, these kinds of scoring rules are not pulled out of thin air, but are based on analysis of actual reports, with a typical lag of two years.  In other words, an attempt is made to isolate factors in the first report for a person, that explain what is seen in the second report (such as a serious delinquency).

Suppose that I have 20 cards, and l let a $5 balance report on each of them.  That's only $100, and my overall utilization will be very low.

However, it's possible that this sort of behavior indicates trouble ahead, and it might suggest at a minimum that my financial life is pretty scattered and not fully under my control.

[stlsme]

For me fico said too many accounts with balances. Not all credit cards. I invest in real estate so have several mortgages.