What's the point of High Balance?

[mxp114]

Does anyone know? I used to think it was there to show potential lenders how much debt you can run up and your ability to pay it. For example a $0 balance today with a HB of $20,000 is excellent because it demonstrates your ability to repay $20k. Is that correct or does it not serve any specific purpose? I've always wondered. Thanks.

[AndySoCal]

It is simply the highest balance that the account has ever reached. I am not how a lender uses it.  I would try to keep the high balance under your credit limit.

[CS800]

---

@AndySoCal wrote:

It is simply the highest balance that the account has ever reached. I am not how a lender uses it.  I would try to keep the high balance under your credit limit.

---

That's assuming you know your CL. If you have the Zync, there is no limit on it. So how can one know what's the CL on a charge card?

[Anonymous]

---

@CS800 wrote:

---

@AndySoCal wrote:

It is simply the highest balance that the account has ever reached. I am not how a lender uses it.  I would try to keep the high balance under your credit limit.

---

That's assuming you know your CL. If you have the Zync, there is no limit on it. So how can one know what's the CL on a charge card?

---

Spend until your card gets denied

I'm willing to bet that the "benefit(s)" of your high balance are not worth going out of your way to charge up 99.9% of your CL once just so your CR shows a high high balance.

[Anonymous]

+1

[CS800]

If a charge card does have a limit, it would be good to know since for points purposes, I would charge all the utilities on it and pay it off in full before the period ends.

I just dont want to run the risk of putting my utilities on it and then it gets denied becasue it has reached a limit.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure you could call and ask them if there is a limit.  Although, unless you have extremely expensive utility bills, I doubt you would hit your limit.  I would assume a "limit" on a charge card would be at least $10k.

[thebanjoman]

---

@AndySoCal wrote:

It is simply the highest balance that the account has ever reached. I am not how a lender uses it.  I would try to keep the high balance under your credit limit.

---

I'd agree to keep it under your CL, but in the case of CLDs, i'm not sure you can always keep it under a present CL.  High balance seems to be an "all time" not "recent".

While I believe TU98 uses it as a proxy for a credit limit where NPSL's are in effect, but newer FICO calcs don't.  There's no real telling what model a lendor will use, or how a lendor will internally adjust/modify/recalculate/so on...  I'd lump "High Balance" in with the >1 year old inquiries that don't really affect your FICO score, but still seem to have some value in tracking and publishing on a credit report.  I personally just try to keep any cards from only reporting a high balance of $0.00, for fear some application score/other modified or altered model will ding/ignore that trade line.  (Which is clearly not a FICO based fear however. Nor derived from FAKOs, just a general sense fear based around the thought that if i were a lendor, I'd question how well managed a "never used" line really is).

[tntexans72]

What's the big deal with NPSL CCs?

[CS800]

I called AMEX on my Zync to see if I had a CL and the agent said that I didnt have a liimt. Now i'm confused. I thought even though it;s a charge card, it had a limit.

So the agfent said as i was on the phonew with him to try the 'spending' option on my Zync and I put $5000 and it said it was approved. (not that i will even spend 1/3 of that amount )