Credit score wont move --stays between 642-647

[msanyell]

MY credit seems to be stuck between 642 and 647 since May 2008. I used my credit cards and paid them off and I have not requested any credit since June 2008.

Is it something I can do to help this score move up or will only time help?

[Anonymous]

What is your UT? What else is on your CR that could be affecting it?

[cadavis0609]

You need to offer up your full credit picture including what accounts you have, whats your credit mix? what are your cards limits?  What is the uti on those cards, any installment loans, late payments, etc.

The folks around here will be able to give you a much better idea if you pain a better picture.

[Tons_of_Debt]

It's not good just to let credit sit... you should be using once every month or once every other month, make sure the statement hits with less than 10% utilization

[JShidell]

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Tons_of_Debt wrote:

It's not good just to let credit sit... you should be using once every month or once every other month, make sure the statement hits with less than 10% utilization

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Question:  Why is it not good to let credit sit?

Besides the fact that some companies might close or lower cl's.

Is it that FICO likes to see 1-9% UTL not 0% UTL?

I don't plan on using my credit unless I seriously need to.  I'm to afraid to use credit now (you never know, especially how the economy is nowadays) and I only plan to use credit during emergencies if need be.

I only basically need credit for rebuilding not for use.

v/r

JShidell

[Anonymous]

I think, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, that part of your score is based upon the responsible use of credit. If you have no usage with which to weigh your responsible use, you'll take a hit. I can more than understand your concern, though. In these uncertain times, you definitely don't want to be digging yourself in to debt. But, you can make your available credit work in your favor, and protect your purchases.

I think of it this way; I have monthly living expenses that I have to pay, no matter what (house, car, insurance premiums, utilities, etc...) I run those those through my BoA card and PIF. I also have Worldpoint rewards, so I get perks! The card gets usage, it's paid on time, in full, and I get points as an added bonus. And, there's always a paper trail that can't be denied. Most importantly, I can demonstrate that I can and do use credit responsibly, pay on time, and am at low risk to max out my cards without the ability to pay.

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JShidell wrote:

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Tons_of_Debt wrote:

It's not good just to let credit sit... you should be using once every month or once every other month, make sure the statement hits with less than 10% utilization

---

Question:  Why is it not good to let credit sit?

Besides the fact that some companies might close or lower cl's.

Is it that FICO likes to see 1-9% UTL not 0% UTL?

I don't plan on using my credit unless I seriously need to.  I'm to afraid to use credit now (you never know, especially how the economy is nowadays) and I only plan to use credit during emergencies if need be.

I only basically need credit for rebuilding not for use.

v/r

JShidell

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[JShidell]

See that is what i'm not understanding.  People often say PIF, in which I totally agree. 
 
What I don't understand is what is the difference (besides what you mentioned as paper trail) between Paying In Full to not using your credit at all? It will still show a 0 balance in the end correct?
 
Correct me if i'm wrong but FICO does not care if you use your credit or not, they don't track how often you use it.  They just calculate how much credit you have against how much you have used, your utl.  So if you use your credit, PIF before the companies report its going to reflect a 0 balance.
 
Maybe i'm looking at it all the wrong way.  But to me paying in full on an account to reflect a 0 balance is pretty much the same as not using your credit and showing a 0 balance.  As far as scoring goes, am I looking at this wrong?

I guess the underlying question is, would FICO rather see a small utilization rather then a 0 utilization?

I guess I can test this out by using the score simulator.
 
v/r
JShidell

[Anonymous]

If you look at your CRs directly from the CRAs (vs. myfico version) you should see more detail about your usage. I'm not exactly sure how (or even if) that information is used in the FairIsaac calculations, but I think it must play some part, because people have reported score impacts from using "previously dormant cards".

The other thing is the actual utilization. If you allow a small balance to report on one card (say, 1-3%), then PIF, you should see a score boost. What I do is pay all but a small amount on my BoA card ahead of the statement cutting. After it reports that small balance, I PIF the very next day. I'll be rotating this around to different cards every other month or so.

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JShidell wrote:

See that is what i'm not understanding.  People often say PIF, in which I totally agree. 
 
What I don't understand is what is the difference (besides what you mentioned as paper trail) between Paying In Full to not using your credit at all? It will still show a 0 balance in the end correct?
 
Correct me if i'm wrong but FICO does not care if you use your credit or not, they don't track how often you use it.  They just calculate how much credit you have against how much you have used, your utl.  So if you use your credit, PIF before the companies report its going to reflect a 0 balance.
 
Maybe i'm looking at it all the wrong way.  But to me paying in full on an account to reflect a 0 balance is pretty much the same as not using your credit and showing a 0 balance.  As far as scoring goes, am I looking at this wrong?

I guess the underlying question is, would FICO rather see a small utilization rather then a 0 utilization?

I guess I can test this out by using the score simulator.
 
v/r
JShidell

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