Data Point Credit Score Drop

[Antredd]

I have a $93,000 total credit line on my credit cards. I have kept my cards at a 0 balance with only 3 of my cards below 10% utilization. Last month, I used 58% of my credit line on my Discover card, and my score dropped 3 points once the statement date closed showing that balance. Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and NerdWallet showed a bigger drop.

My overall utilization is at a whooping low 3%. However, the Fico algorithm proves that I can't charge 58% of utilization ON ONE CARD, which I thought wouldn't affect my score. I was wrong and took a hit. I just paid off the balance and see will I recoop those points I lost.

[coldfusion]

Yes, both individual and aggregate utilization numbers matter.

Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and NerdWallet all report Vantage 3.0 scores.  That scoring model uses different weightings for scorable criteria than the FICO scoring models and as you've just experienced can be prone to much larger swings in scoring than FICO scores due to changes in one's credit profile.

Assuming there won't be any other significant changes in your credit history your scores should rebound in a month when Discover next updates your account status.

[CH-7-Mission-Accomplished]

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@Antredd wrote:

I have a $93,000 total credit line on my credit cards. I have kept my cards at a 0 balance with only 3 of my cards below 10% utilization. Last month, I used 58% of my credit line on my Discover card, and my score dropped 3 points once the statement date closed showing that balance. Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and NerdWallet showed a bigger drop.

My overall utilization is at a whooping low 3%. However, the Fico algorithm proves that I can't charge 58% of utilization ON ONE CARD, which I thought wouldn't affect my score. I was wrong and took a hit. I just paid off the balance and see will I recoop those points I lost.

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Just reach out to Discover via phone or online chat and ask them to do a mid-cycle update to reflect your paying to zero.   Discover will do this on request.   Within two or three days when the update hits the three bureaus you will get your points back.   No need to wait a month for the next statement.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Antredd wrote:

I have a $93,000 total credit line on my credit cards. I have kept my cards at a 0 balance with only 3 of my cards below 10% utilization. Last month, I used 58% of my credit line on my Discover card, and my score dropped 3 points once the statement date closed showing that balance. Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and NerdWallet showed a bigger drop.

My overall utilization is at a whooping low 3%. However, the Fico algorithm proves that I can't charge 58% of utilization ON ONE CARD, which I thought wouldn't affect my score. I was wrong and took a hit. I just paid off the balance and see will I recoop those points I lost.

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Individual account utilization of 30% or greater causes point loss, and individual account utilization of 50% or greater causes more point loss.

[Antredd]

Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymalous]

Your score dropped 3 points? My score dropped 16 points from going just over 50% on one of my cards. My overall utilization stayed under 10%. A bit over 30% on the same card caused an 8 point drop.

I presume the difference is the relative thickness of our files.

[NoHardLimits]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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Individual account utilization of 30% or greater causes point loss, and individual account utilization of 50% or greater causes more point loss.

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The 30% threshold seems to be accurate.  I recently obtained a data point by allowing 29% utilization to report on one card with total aggregate utilization remaining at 1%.  My FICO8 score did not change at all, while VantageScore3 dropped by 6 or 7 points.  I normally keep every card below 10% with more than half of my accounts reporting at 0%.

[Antredd]

You could be right. I didn't factor into the thickness of my account. But I also have two recent inquires as well 
(Amex and Chase Amazon Prime)