Bogus changes to score

[Datdamwuf]

I've been signed up for myFICO since 2010 because of a divorce action.

Since siging up, what I've seen when my score changes makes no sense at all. I have never dropped below 800 but the score goes up and down by 10 to 15 points every few months. The "changes" to my credit cards are minor, like I have a $30 charge on a card or something else that make no sense whatsoever. Today it dropped a couple of points and the only change to my credit was a small charge on one of the cards I use regularly. In fact the charge is a gym membership that posts every month.

I'd like to know if anyone else is having this experience? WTH?

[pizzadude]

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@Datdamwuf wrote:

I've been signed up for myFICO since 2010 because of a divorce action.

Since siging up, what I've seen when my score changes makes no sense at all. I have never dropped below 800 but the score goes up and down by 10 to 15 points every few months. The "changes" to my credit cards are minor, like I have a $30 charge on a card or something else that make no sense whatsoever. Today it dropped a couple of points and the only change to my credit was a small charge on one of the cards I use regularly. In fact the charge is a gym membership that posts every month.

I'd like to know if anyone else is having this experience? WTH?

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Can you share some more information ?   How many open revolving accounts do you have and how many are showing a balance ?   What are the %utilizations on these cards ?   

Revolving utlization is big component of FICO scoring, so you might just be seeing fluctuations as your balances go up and down.

Also, if your score is over 800 then a change of 10 or 15 points is less than a 2% change.....so really not that significant IMO.

[DaveSignal]

My score changes all the time too, and I am nowhere near 800.  Small things that take me awhile to even notice the difference cause what seems to me like big fluctuations in score.  Personally, I can't see how these kind of changes in score can reflect credit-worthiness, but this is the way it is and a decent amount of creditors use this FICO score and so I just do my best by following responsible credit practices to keep the score moving in a generally upward direction over time.

[Datdamwuf]

I use my AmEx for most purchases, I use a credit union card for gym fees, I use a citi card for groupons and a capitol one card for those who don't take AmEx and for international travel because it's the only one that doesn't charge you a % fee out of country. I have another card from a different credit union but I don't use it much lately and when I do it doesn't ever seem to trigger a change in my score. In other words, I ensure that all my cards are used regularly for small amounts and I pay off all charges without interest applied. Meanwhile, the AmEx card usually goes $3K a month for the rewards and is paid off every month. I never make late payments, my spending habits do not change...

So I really don't get it when I have my score drops 3 points and the alert only shows the same gym membership fee I've been paying for years was charged to the same card it always is.

And to mystify me further, when my divorce was final and I refied my home my score didn't change at all.

[pizzadude]

The refi makes sense....FICO weighs revolving utilization much more significantly than installment utilization ~ so closing out a mortgage and opening a new one would probably not make much of an impact on your scores.

With your revolving utlization, it's important to remember that your statement balances that show on your reports are what FICO uses to determine your revolving utilization.   So it really comes down to what your credit limits are compared to the balances each month.

[Datdamwuf]

all of my credit limits are around $25K except for Capital One which is 7K, obviously there is no limit on gold AmEx so nothing you are saying is helping me figure out why my score drops by 3 points when a charge for $40 is made to a credit card, the SAME charge that is made every month and paid on time every month.

[llecs]

OP, are you purchasing a new FICO report each time, or are you alerted via a service like ScoreWatch? Which CR is this?

If you pulled new reports both times, look at the before and after balances. Even adding $30 or so to a balance, when it reported $0 before, can cause a decrease in score in some situations. Post your before and after balances between the reports for so we can better understand what happened.

[Datdamwuf]

I'm using Scorewatch, have not pulled a new report in a while

[llecs]

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@Datdamwuf wrote:

I'm using Scorewatch, have not pulled a new report in a while

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Gotcha. SW alerts don't give the full picture with regards to the exact changes. If your SW score alerts are fluctuating up and down, but are consistent over the course of time, then the answer would be due to changes in CC util. Your CCs will report the balance you had on the statement date. In other words, whatever your CC statements say, then that's what is reported to your CRs. If a number of them are showing a balance on the statement, and as that number increases, then that can cause a score drop and could explain the changes in score. Lenders like $0 balances (just not every single CC at $0) and FICO scores simularly.

Ignore the Amex as your EQ FICO ignores the balance too.

[Anonymous]

AMEX is really the best and this is my favorite card too to get travel rewards.