Did One Card Mess Up My Score?

[Anonymous]

Hello folks,

In Dec 2016 I started a new car lease.  At the time they showed me I had a 812 FICO.  I knew I had 800+ for some time.

Starting in early 2018 I saw my FICO score dropped to about 770, per my bank.  The only thing I did since Dec 2016 is open an Amex card account around the end of 2017.  That account frequently has $50k-$100k charged to it (its used for work), but is paid in full, always on time (as is any account I have).

1) Could that Amex card be the reason I went from 812 down to 770?  Everything on my credit report looks legit.

2) is there a service that can identify why I went from 812 to 770?

Thank you.

[Remedios]

Hi and welcome to the forums 

It could be something as simple as different scoring models 

When you say you got the score from your bank, which bank is it and for which product was the score provided? 

What do you use to monitor your scores? 

[VanderSnoot]

@Remedios will help you get to the bottom of it. If I were to hazard a guess based only on the info in your first post, I'd say it may have to do with utilization.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the reply.  The bank I can regularly see my FICO score in is Boeing Credit Union (which I use for all my banking).  The score states: "Your FICO® Score 8 based on TransUnion data".

Viewing this score is something I can do when logged into my bank to review and manage my accounts.  Its not the result of purchasing a service.

That is the only way I watch my FICO score.  For monitoring my credit reports, I use annualcreditreport.com in staggered intervals.

Thank you.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for the reply.  The bank I can regularly see my FICO score in is Boeing Credit Union (which I use for all my banking).  The score states: "Your FICO® Score 8 based on TransUnion data".

Viewing this score is something I can do when logged into my bank to review and manage my accounts.  Its not the result of purchasing a service.

That is the only way I watch my FICO score.  For monitoring my credit reports, I use annualcreditreport.com in staggered intervals.

Thank you.

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Okay. Next step is utilization 

Could you list your cards with their current reported balances and limits. Reported utilization could be high and lower your score (not that there is anything wrong with 770 lol) 

Also, any open or recently closed  installment loans? 

[kxkxkxx]

Could the drop have occured because the AAOA (average age of accounts) was reduced?

[Anonymous]

Thanks again for the reply.  Here are my accounts as you requested:

1. Credit Card (Citibank Advantage, has existed about 15 years):

Acct in my wife's name, but I also hold a card

$700 current balance, always paid monthly in full.  Limit $35k

2. Amex Business Card:

This is the newest acct, sometimes has $50k-$100k charged to it, but paid immediately

~$3000 current balance, always paid monthly in full by employer

3.  Car Lease Payment (has existed about 6 years):

I think about $1000/month, paid by company, but lease in my name

This lease is when the creditor showed I had an 812 FICO

4.  HELOC (has existed about 10 years):

balance is $100k (and has been for about 10 years)

5.  Car Loan Payment (has existed about 4 years):

balance is about $4,500,  ~$220/month

---------------------------------------

That totals what I have.  As previously noted, all the above existed for at least a half dozen years while I enjoyed the 800+ FICO rating.  The only thing that changed was that Amex card, and then my bank displays to me I have a 770 FICO, starting right after I got that Amex card.

[Anonymous]

One quick clarification...I noted:

3. Car Lease Payment (has existed about 6 years):

That's a long lease!  :-)   What I mean is, years 1 to 3 were car lease #1.  That car was turned in.  Car lease #2 started Dec 2016.

I was trying to describe that I have had that burden in my credit for 6 years.

[Anonymous]

So, what I'm gathering is you don't have a CC in your name at all?

The Corporate card is a Charge card and doesn't influence your scores with use since there's no utilization calculation since there is no limit and it's PIF every month.

It's possible your one and only closed CC or something dropped off during the period of time in which you noticed the score change.

770 still gets you the best offers but, why don't you have any CC's in your name?

[Anonymous]

Thanks Obscure-Expert.

That's good to know about the corporate Amex card.  So am I to understand that charge card in no way could contribute to a change in my credit?

Regarding the CC in my wife's name...its true she's the primary on the acct, but because I also posess a card from that account, it does show up on my credit report.  So would that not count as a card in my name?  It is a card that accumulates airline miles, so we consciously use that card for everything.  Ironically, we started that card in her name many moons ago to help her credit.

I used to have my own Citibank CC from 1989-2012.  However Citbank closed it due to inactivity, and I let it happen since we only use the card above.