Is AZEO BAD for me?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone i am a little puzzled. I have been PIF for a long time but for the first time tried Azeo (NOT voluntarily) since nordstrom reported before i expected, i was going to use a capital one card instead but on a $750limit nordstrom card with a $16 balance reported, my score dropped -20 points (transunion and equifax). Experian though seemed that it like that $16 balance there. Thats the only card that reported balance and i received an alert about that. Now im concerned in preparation for a mortgage what would be better AZEO or PIF. I’m WORRIED something in my profile is more reactive to balances reporting vs not. Specially with equifax and transunion. Is that possible or am i crazy? I am scared of doing Azeo now since the first time i let report this one single balance things went not that great. A 20 points loss for me is terrible. The plan is getting points not loosing them. Any ideas of what may be happenning?

[SleeplessinMA]

@Phoenix10 wrote:

Hi everyone i am a little puzzled. I have been PIF for a long time but for the first time tried Azeo (NOT voluntarily) since nordstrom reported before i expected, i was going to use a capital one card instead but on a $750limit nordstrom card with a $16 balance reported, my score dropped -20 points (transunion and equifax). But experian seemed that it like that $16 balance there. Thats the only card that reported balance and i received an alert about that. Now im concerned in preparation for a mortgage what would be better AZEO or PIF. I’m WORRIED something in my profile is more reactive to balances reporting vs not. Specially with equifax and transunion. Is that possible or am i crazy? I am scared of doing Azeo now since the first time i left report this only balance things went not that great. The plan is getting points not loosing them. Any ideas of what be happenning?

No, AZEO isn't bad for you.  You just have to make sure that the amount that reports to the credit bureau is a bank issued credit card and not a retail card like Nordstrom.  I had the same thing happen to me last month.  I put a charge on my Amazon Prime CC, 16.00 (which I had intended to pay off before the statement closed but it slipped my mind) and I had a balance on my Cap One CC of 5.00.  My Cap One CC

reported the end of the month and that left the 16.00 on Amazon(Retail Card) as my AZEO, and my EX went down by 13 points to 738 from 751.  My EQ and TU didn't go down at all. 

You will get those points back when you pull your 3B reports but ALWAYS make sure you pay that retail charge off before the statement date and make sure the card you use for AZEO is a bank issued credit card and you'll be fine.  My EX mortgage score went down by the same 13 points but I got 6 points back from accounts aging and my AoYA finally hitting six months.  I don't have a report to pull until the 5th of the month so we'll see what more surprises awaits me.  

I am sure that someone else will chime in and give advice as well, but don't panic.  How far are you out from applying for a mortgage?  

[Remedios]

@Anonymous  You're looking at vantage scores. This was explained in your other threads, in addition to what happens when an account is in dispute.

It's a lot easier to follow when multiple questions on same topic are contained to a single thread, so everyone gets a complete picture, and information is not scattered among multiple threads 

[Anonymous]

I see... thank you my friends. Yes since i am trying this for the first time i dont want to contribute to make myself lose points because im not aware. I believe i do have some time for application, mortgage will be after a year or so. So from your point of view even if this nordstrom reported $16 i should still go ahead and let another one report like amex? Im worried to let the amex report and again another 20 points down. 😳 Jee!

[Remedios]

@Anonymous  If you're not applying for anything, points up down really do not matter. Use your cards as you normally would, let the balance report, than pay once you have the statement. Any points lost due to utilization are regained as soon as utilization goes down. It's not a semi-permanent loss like you see with negatives. 

There is really very little need to micromanage unless there is an important application in the works 

In addition, you want to show other lenders that you use your cards and are capable of paying them back. 

Once your mortgage is 2-3 months away, start implementing AZEO with low utilization in preparation for such an important event. 

[Anonymous]

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@Remedios wrote:

@Anonymous  If you're not applying for anything, points up down really do not matter. Use your cards as you normally would, let the balance report, than pay once you have the statement. Any points lost due to utilization are regained as soon as utilization goes down. It's not a semi-permanent loss like you see with negatives. 

There is really very little need to micromanage unless there is an important application in the works 

In addition, you want to show other lenders that you use your cards and are capable of paying them back. 

Once your mortgage is 2-3 months away, start implementing AZEO with low utilization in preparation for such an important event. 

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Oh wow. I had no idea. So there is a cap? once you get those points for azeo one month you cant get again? But if you stop azeo one month you loose what you gained last month. Wonder why it takes so long to build credit! 😊

[HeavenOhio]

With utilization, one month doesn't affect the next.

You can do AZEO every month if you'd like. But it's usually not necessary unless you have an important application coming up. If your scores are low, you might decide that every app deserves the AZEO treatment until things improve.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Remedios wrote:

@Anonymous  If you're not applying for anything, points up down really do not matter. Use your cards as you normally would, let the balance report, than pay once you have the statement. Any points lost due to utilization are regained as soon as utilization goes down. It's not a semi-permanent loss like you see with negatives. 

There is really very little need to micromanage unless there is an important application in the works 

In addition, you want to show other lenders that you use your cards and are capable of paying them back. 

Once your mortgage is 2-3 months away, start implementing AZEO with low utilization in preparation for such an important event. 

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Oh wow. I had no idea. So there is a cap? once you get those points for azeo one month you cant get again? But if you stop azeo one month you loose what you gained last month. Wonder why it takes so long to build credit! 😊

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Yes. Points are lost when no longer doing AZEO but also regained when you do. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you Medicine. Remedios. Funny nickname. 

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

With utilization, one month doesn't affect the next.

You can do AZEO every month if you'd like. But it's usually not necessary unless you have an important application coming up. If your scores are low, you might decide that every app deserves the AZEO treatment until things improve.

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Thank you. 🙏