You need to make sure you not assuming causality.
Keep in mind that myFICO is a trigger based service. The reason cited is the reason for the alert/update. It is not necessarily the reason or the only reason for the score change. Not all activity with a scoring impact is a trigger.
http://myfico.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/463/~/understanding-what-triggers-fico%C2%AE-3-bu...
To determine the cause(s) of any scoring change you have to carefully review reports from before and after the change. You cannot rely solely on myFICO alerts/updates.
@Anonymous wrote:
I only have two, one with a zero balance and one with less than 20% of credit line used
What are the balances for the accounts on their report dates? That's what matters as those are the balances reported to the CRA's and therefore the balances used by the scoring models. Scoring models can only use the data in a report. They do not have access to your current balances.
@Anonymous wrote:
If you're paying off your cc's to a zero balance, it will make your fico scores go down. Not a good idea. You should leave somehting on one of them to report <1%-1% balance and you will see your scores go up.
OP says one is at 0 and the other is under 20%.
Generally one only needs to keep revolving utilization under 30%. The advice on optimizing is for those applying for new credit. requesting CLI's, etc who are looking to eke out additional points by allowing only one balance to report. Revolving utilization is determined based on the balances and limits in a report.
@Anonymous wrote:
Another thing that has me confused is that sometimes a new credit inquiry causes a positive result, and sometimes a negative one.....
Again, you're assuming causality. An inquiry will not raise your score. Do not rely solely on myFICO alerts/updates to determine the cause(s) of a scoring change. You need to carefully review reports to determine all changes with a scoring impact. In this particular case the inquiry is the trigger but it is not the only change. There are other changes that have a greater positive impact than the negative impact of the query and that's why your score went up after an inquiry.
@Anonymous wrote:
Credit score is 693, so was trying to get it a little higher before applying for a new card and cancelling BOA
Is this a wise idea or not?
What score are you referring to? Which CRA? Which scoring model? If it's a FICO 8 then keep in mind that mortage lenders do not use FICO 8 but one of the older FICO models.
If you want to raise your score you need to look your credit profile, idenitify the issues and address them. Without any information we can't tell you if a new card will help or not. The general advice is that for scoring purposes you want at least 2-3 cards but you also need to consider the timeframe for the mortgage. General advice is also no new credit 6 months to 1 year prior to a mortgage depending on your credit profile.
Don't overlook the Mortgage subforum. Also don't overlook the Understanding FICO Scoring subforum and its stickies for more info on the FICO models.
If you're paying off your cc's to a zero balance, it will make your fico scores go down. Not a good idea. You should leave somehting on one of them to report <1%-1% balance and you will see your scores go up.
