Credit Journey as a European in the U.S.

[Thomas_Thumb]

Sorry, I no longer click on these types of links.

[hd197824]

I understand that.

I am writing it down as detailed as I can.

[hd197824]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As always I appreciate any input in regards to my matters, thank you very much.

Here is what changed with EQ/TU since i got approved for my second creditcard ( timeframe July/August 2024)

Equifax 770 (July) What is hurting ( their words ) " Few aacounts paid on time" , I paid my one and only account alaways on time.

Equifax 710 (August) What is hurting ( their words ) "Short Account History" , I understand that.

NEW :" Lack of recent non-mortgage loan information" , I do not have any outsatnding loans.
" Accounts with balances" : You have to many cerdit accounts with balances ,number of your accounts with balance : 1 account.

Transunion 771 (July) What is hurting ( their words ) " Few aacounts paid on time" , I paid my one and only account alaways on time.

Tansunion 730 (August) What is hurting ( their words ) "Short Account History" , I understand that.
New : " Lack of recent non-mortgage loan information" , I do not have any outsatnding loans.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Sincerely,

Hendrik

[Thomas_Thumb]

You have few accounts so the "too few accounts paid on time" is triggered even though paid on time. Using the new Discover card might move this lower on the list.

Remember, it is best to report a small balance on one card (under 8% utilization). It is better to report small balances on 2 cards than no balance on either card.

The "too many accounts with balances" makes no sense, ignore it.

You have no open installment loan or active lease. That hurts score. Some people get a small share secured loan (SSL) and pay down balance to 9% B/L to boost score up to 30 points.

None of the listed reasons explain the 60 point drop. You do not have a lease or laon that was just paid off/closed.

From what you show, neither your card or aggregate utilization has increased above 9%. Has Discover card reported yet?

[hd197824]

Fist of all, Thank You very much !

For August 2024 ( I used the Discover the first time after I activated it,which happend to be after the closing date (08.16.24),

what showed was out of $ 2600 available $ 24 were reported on my Capital One Card.

The limit on the Cap1 is $ 600, the limit for the DSC is $2000.

Question : the next closing statement date for both is on 09.16.24. ,

                     the balance on the DSC is $ 169, the balance on the Cap1 is $ 105.

                     Is it wise to let the DSC report that amount and no more and the cap one around $ 5  ?

                     Is it the total utilization for both cards or each card individuell that counts?

                     In the meantime, would it be a smart move to call Equifax and demand a rapid rescoring and just mention the

                     CFPB as next move??

Thank you in advance for all your help.

Sincerly,

Hendrik

[Thomas_Thumb]

Not sure where you are getting your score. However, CRAs don't provide scores direct to consumers unless you have a subscription with them. Even then scores are either updated monthly or, with some premium paid services, generated based on a trigger event. Calling and demanding a rescore could be an issue.

Fico scores utilization in aggregate (all cards combined) AND based on card with the highest utilization level (%). Keep aggregate reported utilization below 9%. The easiest way to do that is to report under 9% utilization on each card as well.

I find that a single card utilization up to but not including 29% does not hurt score on its own. However, if the card balance causes aggregate to increase to 9% or higher, score drops.

The number of accounts and % of cards reporting a balance is a scoring factor as well. Optimum situation is to allow one card only to report a statement balance - preferrably a "high" limit card. You now have 2 cards. Avoid having both cards report $0 statement balances. Ideal is 1 of 2 reporting a balance. If 2 of 2 cards report you may see a minor 4-7 point drop vs 1 of 2. However, 0 of 2 can drop score 15-20 points due to a "no recent revolving activity" penalty. For those with a single revolving credit card, reporting a small balance under 9% is always better than reporting $0 balance.

Let's look at a few examples for the OP with a single card reporting.

Card with $600 CL report $150 and $2000 CL card reports $0. Aggregate UT = 5.8%. Highest card is 25% UT.

Card with $2000 CL reports $150 and $600 CL card reports $0. Aggregate UT is still 5.8% but highest card has dropped to 7.5% UT.

Now if highest card UT is kept at 25% but switched to the $2000 CL card, then balance reported is $500. The $600 CL card reports $0. Aggregate Utilization is now 500/2600 = 19.2%. Expect a significant score drop due to the elevated AG UT even though highest card was under 29%.

Now if total balance is kept at $500 but switched to the $600 CL card, highest card utilization jumps to 83.3% from 25% with aggregate remaining at 19.2%. Expect a substantially higher penalty due to high card UT penalty and aggregate UT penalty.

[hd197824]

Thank You very much for your detailed explanation of the U.S. system as well as the prompt response.

Seems to work very diffrent from the European one I was accustomed to.

The latest CRA reports were all from Experian where I signed up for a 1 week free trial.

Is there any potential harm in calling Equifax ( 60 point dropp) vs. the other ones ( only 39 points drop)

and demand an explanation? ( oldest account age 15 month, due to the new account average account age is now 8 month).

Or do I just follow your input and let time do its thing.

Again, Thank You.

Sincerely,

Hendrik

[Thomas_Thumb]

No point in calling. Bye now. Signing off from this thread.