@atarvuzdar wrote:@Anonymous I usually just carry a balance on one of my BofA cards every month and pay everything else prior to statement cutting so I achieve AZEO. My 19 yr old daughter is an AA on the BofA card and uses it every few days while at college. I forgot, however, that she's home on summer break and, so, isn't using the card. So when I paid the balance on the card it reported @ $0 taking me to zero balances across the board. Oops.
This, of course, dropped my score. Not too concerned because I'm not seeking credit and I know I can just have my Citi balance report next week (or go the Chase route if I really needed the points back). Not even going to update my sig scores since they should rebound.
At the least, I figured this presented an opportunity to provide some data points (I know there are many out there already).
EQ: dropped from 784 to 772 (-12 pts)
TU: dropped from 786 to 765 (-21 pts)
EX: dropped from 791 to 766 (-25 pts)
All CRs are exactly the same except TU has 3 inqs while EQ & EX each have 1.
No derogs.
AoOA - 14 yrs 1 mo
AAoA - 5 yrs 1 mo
AoYA - 8 mos (mortgage) and 1 yr 11 mos (credit card)
@Anonymous @ 97%
@Anonymous Loan @ >100%
20 total accounts (10 open, 10 closed)
@Obviously my util is @ 0% but it's typically always under 1% (or, rounded up, @ 1%) when @ AZEO.
Don't think I've forgotten anything but let me know if you are curious about any other DPs.
Cheers!
Wow that is heavy.
So much for those who think it doesn't really matter if you micromanage or not.
@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica
So much for those who think it doesn't really matter if you micromanage or not.
I mean, it does and it doesn't. Looking at the OPs before/after scores, regardless of AZEO vs AZ he'd still be able to obtain top-tier rates for the product(s) he applies for. If his before scores were (say) 50 points less, taking the hits he took could possibly drop him into a lower tier. Of course, the only "necessary" micromanaging regardless would be in the 45 days or so leading up to a potential app.
This from someone who is working on 850's.
@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica
So much for those who think it doesn't really matter if you micromanage or not.
I mean, it does and it doesn't. Looking at the OPs before/after scores, regardless of AZEO vs AZ he'd still be able to obtain top-tier rates for the product(s) he applies for. If his before scores were (say) 50 points less, taking the hits he took could possibly drop him into a lower tier. Of course, the only "necessary" micromanaging regardless would be in the 45 days or so leading up to a potential app.
The other thing to note here is the drop in score did actually relate to the practice of micromanaging payments to ensure zero balances post. 
The OP just went too far and all reported zero. This would not happen if not for micromanaging to pay off balances before statement dates.
The drop in score due to all cards at zero is more severe than allowing nominal balances to report on multiple cards and then PIF of the reported balance.
A 20 point drop is typical for all zeros (no recent activity on revolving accounts). In comparison a thin file with only 3 cards total would likely see only a 5 point drop or less going from 1 to 2 cards and 10 points or less going from 1 to 3 reporting balances. Possibly no impact on Fico 8 going to 3 cards reporting if the file has 6 cards or more - depending on CRA. Experian (EX) is most lenient. A significant score drop with all zeros happens regardless of # of open revolvers in the file. (significant = greater than 10 points)
1) If a profile has 2 cards, better to report nominal balances on both cards as opposed to zero on both. I believe this will hold true for all Fico models.
2) If a profile has 3 cards less impact on Fico 8 having 3 cards report small balances then all reporting zero. Unfortunately, the older Fico 04 and Fico 98 mortgage models may treat 3 of 3 more harshly than all zero - (specifically EQ).