Hi, can anyone tell me why my score dropped 7 points. On 1 of my credit cards, my balance increased from $0 dollars to $677.00. The overall credit balance on the card is $7000.00. I have 6 credit cards and only have balances of approximately $1300.00, which includes only 2 credit cards. I have no balances on the other four. It seems that I'm being punished for using the cards. I thought as long as you didn't go above 25 or 30% that would keep your scores high or at or about the same. I have no late pmts, no charge offs, no collections, no tax liens or bankrupties. I currently have a score of 759. If anyone is interested in telling me how this can happen, please tell me so I will know how to deal with this. I would appreciate your wisdom kindly. Thank you
Great Question, I really don't know because I have ony viewed my score lately and not my report. I will definetely check on that.
@Anonymous wrote:
Can you tell us what your total credit limit is for all 6 cards? Also, you mentioned that your current total CC balance is about $1300. What was your total CC balance a month ago?
Even without knowing your other CC credit limits, it looks like your current utilization is certainly less than 15%. An increase in total CC balance from last month to this month could account for the 7 point dip, especially if it meant that you crossed the magic 10% line. But if your utilization was less than 10% for both months, it does not seem right that your score should get dinged.
As Tuscani said, it's best to keep your utilization under 10% - this applies to individual cards and overall. You might want to consider asking one or more of your CC companies to bump your credit limit(s), to make it easier to keep your utilization in the safe zone.