excessive AMEX soft pulls

[HeavenOhio]

I took a look at the reports I pulled earlier this year, and I see that purposes for the pulls aren't given on Experian, which is the bureau that AMEX tends to pull. The other reports generally show reasons for the pulls.

But this ought to make you feel better. AMEX pulled my report eight times in about a year and a half despite the fact that I didn't have a card with them at that time. I wouldn't worry.

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

I took a look at the reports I pulled earlier this year, and I see that purposes for the pulls aren't given on Experian, which is the bureau that AMEX tends to pull. The other reports generally show reasons for the pulls.

But this ought to make you feel better. AMEX pulled my report eight times in about a year and a half despite the fact that I didn't have a card with them at that time. I wouldn't worry.

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What are the different reasons shown on your EQ and TU reports? Just curious what they might say.

I don't want to pull TU or EQ today as I would like to pull one every 4 months to keep an eye on things.

[A1Credit]

Why don't you change your due date on a couple of cards so that you can pay the some down to zero and stop putting charges on them while using the other cards until their due date?  I use my cards for all of my spending as well but it's hard when all of my cards have the same due date because then I have to stop using them for a period of time to ensure that there are no pending payments and all the statements cut at $0 except for the one I choose to show a balance on.

Ummm that was a really long sentence 

[Anonymous]

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@A1Credit wrote:

Why don't you change your due date on a couple of cards so that you can pay the some down to zero and stop putting charges on them while using the other cards until their due date?  I use my cards for all of my spending as well but it's hard when all of my cards have the same due date because then I have to stop using them for a period of time to ensure that there are no pending payments and all the statements cut at $0 except for the one I choose to show a balance on.

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I could give that a try. My due dates are spread throughout the month so that shouldn't be too hard. 

The only potential problem I see would be telling DW to stop using this card on this day and that card on that day. It was already difficult to get her to use different cards at certain places for max rewards. It was and still is kind of a touchy subject, but I'll bring it in passing. Maybe i'll just take the cards out of her wallet and then sneak them back in 

[A1Credit]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@A1Credit wrote:

Why don't you change your due date on a couple of cards so that you can pay the some down to zero and stop putting charges on them while using the other cards until their due date?  I use my cards for all of my spending as well but it's hard when all of my cards have the same due date because then I have to stop using them for a period of time to ensure that there are no pending payments and all the statements cut at $0 except for the one I choose to show a balance on.

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I could give that a try. My due dates are spread throughout the month so that shouldn't be too hard. 

The only potential problem I see would be telling DW to stop using this card on this day and that card on that day. It was already difficult to get her to use different cards at certain places for max rewards. It was and still is kind of a touchy subject, but I'll bring it in passing. Maybe i'll just take the cards out of her wallet and then sneak them back in 

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LOL I could see that being a difficult thing to corroborate.  Looks like you need to create a schedule to put on the fridge and reminders in the cell phones.   Good luck!  Lucky for me, I don't have any authorized users to keep in line or I might be pulling my hair out right about now.

[Anonymous]

All my due dates on all my cards are for the 28th, this helps me to pay them all to $0 when statement closes on the 3rd.

My wife does not use my cards unless she's helping me meet a spending.

[A1Credit]

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@Anonymous wrote:

All my due dates on all my cards are for the 28th, this helps me to pay them all to $0 when statement closes on the 3rd.

My wife does not use my cards unless she's helping me meet a spending.

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So what do you use in the mean time?  Debit, cash?

[Anonymous]

If I didn't have her as AU's on the cards she would use our debit card for everything. I am fairly new to the points/cash back game but when we both use them we get back a pretty nice amount of UR's and CB. I have a lot of family in Germany and a flight out of BTV to FRA is usually about $1,300 RT per person in the off season. With a bit of flexibility I can do the same with 60k United miles. I would never accumulate enough points without her cooperation so I must tread lightly to keep it.

[HeavenOhio]

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@Anonymous wrote:
What are the different reasons shown on your EQ and TU reports? Just curious what they might say.

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Equifax: Soft Inquiry, Account Review Inquiry, Promotional Inquiry

TransUnion: Promotional Inquiries, Account Review Inquiries

My Credit Karma TU inquiries are categorized as account review inquiries and also state "Permissible Purpose: CONSUMER REQUEST."

Re trying to get some cards to report zero, I physically sock drawer the cards so I don't have them with me. I keep my higher limit cards with me, though, just in case I need a fallback.

One thing I do is make a payment when I hit 25% of a card's limit. Or I'll decide to pay because I've hit a certain dollar amount. Sometimes, I pay to zero. Other times, I'll throw on an "even" amount, e.g. $1,500. That tack works especially well when I want to let a positive balance report on a card because all I need to do ensure that the balance is below a certain amount. At that point, I can continue to charge as long as a transaction isn't abnormally large.

In your case, your scores are at a spot where optimizing is "borderline optional." I'd definitely fully optimize when applying for a loan. For normal usage, I'd try to improve the current situation a bit without necessarily optimizing to the fullest extent. But I'd try it out just for practice just so you know the drill when you need to implement it.

[Anonymous]

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@A1Credit wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

All my due dates on all my cards are for the 28th, this helps me to pay them all to $0 when statement closes on the 3rd.

My wife does not use my cards unless she's helping me meet a spending.

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So what do you use in the mean time?  Debit, cash?

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I don't use either. 

My last bill comes out of my credit card on the 20th.  From the 20th until due date/closing stements, the payment clears witih plenty of time to report $0