Amex high balance increase resulting in huge drop?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks a lot for your answers but after reading the other posts, I am still very confused about what happened...

My Amex Platinum being a charge card and me repaying all balances in full, why would my score drop by so much simply because my balance went from $5,000 to $19,000? (and I repaid that in full on time). 

You're right, it's a charge card and reported balances on it won't affect your utilization percentage anyway.

That didn't cause the score drop, so there has to be something else.

[AllZero]

Perhaps, pull your credit report and look for any discrepancies.

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[CH-7-Mission-Accomplished]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone,

I would like to understand why a high balance on my Amex (about $20K but paid in full on time and representing a $14K increase from the previous month) made my credit score drop by almost 40 points?

I'm really confused because I was under the impression that as long as I repay my Amex balance on time, there won't be any negative effects on my credit score.

Thanks a lot in adcance for your help.

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Is your other card currently reporting any balance at all on your credit report?   I ask because I manage my partner's accounts and I've had all three of his FICO 8's at perfect 850s for months.   From yesterday to today (via CCT) one revolver updated to a zero balance so the only thing reporting is AMEX at $500 (It's usually $2500 - $3000).   Exp FICO 8 score dropped 16 points, from 850 to 834.   I'm going to let two revolvers that report next week report like $5 balances and see if those points come back.   I think FICO registered his revolving usage at 0% and does not recognize AMEX as satisfying the one revolver reoprting requirement.

Regardless, pay that AMEX account (mostly) off before the next statement cut date and I'll bet you get the points back.   If you pay it down/off right now you can request that AMEX do a mid cycle update.   (I'm not sure if they do these or not but some lenders like Discover will upon request.)