Does previous high balance affect score?

[Anonymous]

I have a card with a $6,000 limit. The balance is at $0 but was previously as high as $5,800 in the past 6 months. Is that something that will negatively affect my credit score?

[Anonymous]

I don't believe it is a part of scoring.

[Anonymous]

I have also heard that a previous high balance is not factored into your FICO score though I'm not clear why the high balance amount are included in some credit reports?

[Anonymous]

There was a long thread that discussed this a few months ago:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/quot-high-balance-quot-and-FICO-8/td-p/41...

The answer is that the highest balance one has ever had on a credit card (captured by the HIGH BALANCE field on a credit report) does not affect your score (all that matters is what one's current balance is).  But FICO had put out language that seemed to say that the High Balance field was indeed used by them for scoring.  Thus the long thread discussing it.

[ddemari]

Op- the best thing about utilization and fico scoring is that utilization has no memory.

[Revelate]

It's something of an artifact, especially with monthly balances and payments now being reported (which also aren't used FICO scoring yet to my knowledge).

Decade or more ago credit limits weren't commonly reported; and as such for purposes of revolving utilization calculation the high balance was used as your credit limit.  That still applies to some NPSL accounts like the FICO models where Amex charge cards (Term 1 month) are included in aggregate utilization calcs.

Fortunately that's gone the way of the dinosaur for pretty much all lenders with the aforementioned Amex and similar charge cards; old school you maxxed out a credit card and then paid it all off, just to set the limit.  Irritating to say the least.