** Progress Thread-Experian score into the 700s. The credit card made a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

myfico texted me earlier that I had an alert on my account.  I just logged on and the two collections have been taken off my Experian and Transunion scores already.  I had an Experian score of 727 and it increased to 769, and I had a Transunion credit score increase of 692 to 741.  Woohoo!  Assuming Equifax score increases about the same as Transunion, then I should see a score around 741 or so there too.  That is a big jump in just a month time frame to go from around the mid-650s to the 740s and one score at almost 770.

I have two 60 day schhol loan lates (on two different school loans) set to fall off around the end of the year for all the CRAs.  I have some 30, 60, 90, 120 day lates from 2012-2014 on two BOA credit cards.  These were never charged off as I set up a payment plan.  I didn't get current on the accounts until mid-2014.  However, after looking closely at my three credit reports, it seems that only Equifax is still reporting the lates.  Experian is reporting the accounts but only has NR (non-reporting) during the time I was behind and apparently has always reported them this way now that I look back at old credit reports *shrug*  Not complaining but it is strange.  Transunion used to report these accounts but for some reason both BOA accounts have totally been removed from my credit report as of late 2018.   Again, not complaining but it is still odd. Like I said Equifax is still reporting both accounts with all the lates.  I am now afraid to 'goodwill' BOA to forgive the lates because I worry that they will start reporting on Transunion and Experian.  What I find REALLY odd is that my scores for all three CRAs have been essentially the same the whole time even though only Equifax is reporting the BOA lates.  As of a month ago, all three scores were within a few points iof each other...all in the 650s.  I got a bump up of almost 29 points when I did that Experian Boost thing and I think that is why that score still remains higher than the other two.  The Equifax score is not yet reporting the two deleted collections so right now it is still lower but I expect when the collections are deleted that that score will likely be around the Transunion score.  Anyone know why the BOA lates don't seem to make a big difference between the scores?  Should I just leave them alone at this point if the CRA not reporting them still seems to have a similar score to the CRA that does report them?

[Aspireto850]

Yay, Yay, Yay!! 🎉🎉🎉

Thanks for the update. Given this AND FWIW, I personally wouldn’t ‘poke the BOA bear’ for early deletion. Let sleeping dogs lie for awhile and your scores settle. Excellent progress!

[Anonymous]

Yeah, that was my thinking too.  Just leave the BOA lates alone since apparently only Equifax is actually reporting these lates now.   Once the two lates for my school loans fall off at the end of the year, the BOA lates will be the only negatives on any of the reports.  And the last late for BOA will be scheduled to fall off in mid-2021.  Then my report will be completely clean.

[Anonymous]

Just curious, does anyone have any idea how long it usually takes Equifax to report (or NOT report) PFDs?  I know the medical collections were 'deleted' by the collection company on 08/14.  Both Experian and Transunion were no longer showing the collections as of 08/16 and both my scores went up significantly as a result.  I also logged into the Equifax site and they are still showing the collection as of yesterday so it is not just a case of myfico not reporting it yet.  I know from reading other people's journey's that Equifax sometimes lags behind in removing items from the reports.  Will it be a month, more, or who knows kind of thing?

[Aspireto850]

@cloudburst2000,

Do you have any documentation from the creditor that they agreed to delete the tradeline? If so then upload to Experian and ask them to delete as that may speed up the process. From experience I know that it takes about 72 hours after upload for them to begin processing the request. Also, just call them and ask if there is something they can do to expedite the process.

Good Luck.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I do.  I will ask them if there is any way to speed up the process.  I am not really in a huge rush or anything.  I am more curious than anything.  I have no doubt that the collection company is good on their word.  When I first contacted them about the debt, they were the ones to first offer the PFD.  They said that they delete all medical collections when they are paid in full.  I verified it with some other threads on this website dealing with this particular collection company.  I did have them send me documentation as well so it wasn't just verbal.  They were more than willing to do that also.  They appear to be perhaps the easiest collection agency to work with.  I am glad that is who my collections went to

[Anonymous]

Should I pay credit card balances to $0 every month or leave a small balance on the cards?  I have read somewhere that having a small balance and not a $0 balance shows that you are utilizing your credit in a "responsible manner" while a $0 balance being reported shows that you are not utilizing credit at all (even if you did use it and paid it all in full).  And if it does affect the score, how much are we talking about?  Just a few points or a we talking a larger number of points?

[Aspireto850]

@Cloudburst2000

I believed the standard recommendation in this site is to practice the AZEO method... all zero except one. Search for it and you’ll get tons of info and best practices!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reponse!  I had seen where AZEO method was mentioned in other threads in this forum but had no clue what it was referring to.  I will do some research into the AZEO method and follow the suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Hmm...according to this AZEO method, it works best with three credit cards.  It seems that with two cards you can be penalized for having one card carry a balance while the other card is at $0.  You can also be penalized for having both cards at $0 as it appears you are not utilizing your credit.  I have been planning on getting a third card within the next couple of months, but this AZEO thing just solidifies that three cards are better than two.  I had heard that three cards would also help my credit mix.  My current FICO 8 scores are Equifax: 693, Transunion: 741, and Experian: 769.  My Equifax score is still lagging behind the others as my medical collection has not yet been deleted from there but has been deleted from the other two as of 08/16.  I don't plan on applying for a new card UNTIL the medical collection is deleted from Equifax also to give myself the highest possible scores across the three CRAs.  I expect that my Equifax score should be similar to my Transunion score once the collection is deleted as the scores have remained within a few points of each other for a good couple years.  The Experian score is a bit higher due to using Experian Boost.

Anyhoo, I was wondering what credit card people would recommend if my scores are all in the 740s and higher (assuming my Equifax score is about that after collection is deleted)?  My current cards are listed below.

CapitalOne Platinum Mastercard: Balance $10; CL $1000; APR 26.96%

Discover It 5% Cash Back: Balance $0; CL $7500; APR 20.24%