Credit scoring - clarify "usage"?

[Anonymous]

Hey y'all, I hope everyone's having a great holiday season!

I had read the thread in scoring 101, and saw it mentioned something to the effect of 'how often do you use ____".  My question is, does that matter? 

To expand on that question - Do potential lenders have the ability to see things I can't by pulling a myfico or FAKO report?  For example, I have a Dell acct that was PIF about a year ago.  I see that all of my payments are current and my balance is 0.  But nowhere in these reports does it mention that it's been zero for a year, only that at this moment in time it's zero.  So, is there a method a potential lender has to see beyond that?  For all they know, yesterday it was $10K, but I paid it off last night and it's now PIF.  Or, it hasn't carried a balance in 10 years.  Can they tell the differerence?

Or, what if I have a CC that I've NEVER used?  It's simply sat collecting dust?  Does FICO scoring take that into consideration somehow?  Does it have the ability to look back and see usage habits?  I know UTI comes into play, but my understanding is that your score is based on a 'snapshot' that DOES indicate your payment history, but I've heard people say things like 'always pay more than the minimum - it'll help your score', and don't understand how FICO would be able to differentiate between whether you paid more or less - only that you made at LEAST the minimum on time.

Just looking for clarification.  Thanks in advance, and have a good day!

[Tuscani]

Welcome.. See below.

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OBXFrank wrote:

Hey y'all, I hope everyone's having a great holiday season!

I had read the thread in scoring 101, and saw it mentioned something to the effect of 'how often do you use ____".  My question is, does that matter? 

FICO likes to see that you are using your cards and in a responsible manner.

To expand on that question - Do potential lenders have the ability to see things I can't by pulling a myfico or FAKO report?  For example, I have a Dell acct that was PIF about a year ago.  I see that all of my payments are current and my balance is 0.  But nowhere in these reports does it mention that it's been zero for a year, only that at this moment in time it's zero.  So, is there a method a potential lender has to see beyond that?  For all they know, yesterday it was $10K, but I paid it off last night and it's now PIF.  Or, it hasn't carried a balance in 10 years.  Can they tell the differerence?

Lenders see the same account info as you do. Everything is based on a snapshot in time. They can't determine what your balance was yesterday. Nor what it might be tomorrow without pulling another report. And a new pull would be moot if your creditors have not updated their TL(s) which generally only occurs once a month.

Or, what if I have a CC that I've NEVER used?  It's simply sat collecting dust?  Does FICO scoring take that into consideration somehow? 

If it's on your report, FICO is taking it into consideration. With that said, there are different considerations depending on whether or not a TL is opened or closed.

 Does it have the ability to look back and see usage habits? 

Nope

I know UTI comes into play, but my understanding is that your score is based on a 'snapshot' that DOES indicate your payment history, but I've heard people say things like 'always pay more than the minimum - it'll help your score', and don't understand how FICO would be able to differentiate between whether you paid more or less - only that you made at LEAST the minimum on time.

Right. Paying more only helps your score in terms of util.

Just looking for clarification.  Thanks in advance, and have a good day!

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[haulingthescoreup]

FWIW, a lot of accounts do display highest past balance. I ran up my AmEx this month with a home improvement spree, and I PIF'd it before it reported. The balance is showing $0 on my credit report, but EX now shows highest past balance of $10K, rather than the previous $2K. That doesn't affect the score, but it is there for other lenders to see.

Dampened my drawers when I saw that, until I realized that I wasn't looking at the reported current balance!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, y'all, I appreciate the help!