Equifax hates me!?

[MoreRewards]

I pulled my report today
Score 748

In May it was 761

What!

I'm very disappointed.

There is a difference between May & current utilization 3% vs 12% which I plan to pay back down. Will that help regain my score?
My EX & TU lost about 10 points to after new counts reported in June but now they are back up to about where they were even with current utilization 774 & 775. So I don't understand what's up with EQ. It was my lowest score previously too. It's like what am doing wrong?

ETA: I also thought that HP will show on your report for 2yrs. But current & May report only has two one from Oct 2013 and one from Dec 2013. The other two March 2013 and April 2013 are gone? 

[MarineVietVet]

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@MoreRewards wrote:

I pulled my report today
Score 748

In May it was 761

What!

I'm very disappointed.

There is a difference between May & current utilization 3% vs 12% which I plan to pay back down. Will that help regain my score?
My EX & TU lost about 10 points to after new counts reported in June but now they are back up to about where they were even with current utilization 774 & 775. So I don't understand what's up with EQ. It was my lowest score previously too. It's like what am doing wrong?

ETA: I also thought that HP will show on your report for 2yrs. But current & May report only has two one from Oct 2013 and one from Dec 2013. The other two March 2013 and April 2013 are gone? 

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Rarely do all three CRA's have the same information about us across the board. I know mine are all slightly different. That could be part of the reason. Until recently TU was always my lowest score by quite a bit.

And sometimes we just don't have the right answer for why something happened.

As for the inquiries I would count it as a blessing and quietly celebrate if some dropped off early!! 

[MoreRewards]

Believe I'm happy the HP are gone. Just curious about them.

All 3 of my reports show basically the same info other than HP and EQ actually has the least with only 2.

I understand that perhaps a solid answer can't be given to the why but I'm looking for a general idea and most importantly how top raise my score.

I do realize utilization is different at 3% vs 12% I'm also wondering if 1 card being at 50% utilization also is harming my score?

While I understand each is usually going to give you a different score I'm simply troubled.
May TU 777, EX 768, EQ 761
Nov TU 775, EX 774, EQ 748

I thought my EQ would be back up to at least around where it was before. It takes me from being "great" to just "very good".

[MarineVietVet]

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@MoreRewards wrote:
Believe I'm happy the HP are gone. Just curious about them.

All 3 of my reports show basically the same info other than HP and EQ actually has the least with only 2.

I understand that perhaps a solid answer can't be given to the why but I'm looking for a general idea and most importantly how top raise my score.

I do realize utilization is different at 3% vs 12% I'm also wondering if 1 card being at 50% utilization also is harming my score?

While I understand each is usually going to give you a different score I'm simply troubled.
May TU 777, EX 768, EQ 761
Nov TU 775, EX 774, EQ 748

I thought my EQ would be back up to at least around where it was before. It takes me from being "great" to just "very good".

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You have excellent scores and my advice is just what Aaron Rogers told the fans of Green Bay: R-E-L-A-X.

You're doing fine. Scores go up and down all the time. It's part of the process.

There are ways though to use utilization to improve your position.

Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this and therefore no "ideal" number but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance at any one time. Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.

Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.

What approach do I use? I let 1% report on one card every month. I was one of those who decided as a hobby to play the "Tweak my FICO" game but it was never something I thought about all the time.

After achieving FICO High Achiever status (760+) you will receive the best rates from lenders as far as scores go.

[RobertEG]

Each CRA can obviously have different data.

In addition to that, each CRA is a separate customer of Fair Isaac, and orders their own favorite flavor.

They can choose to emphasize their own items.

Fair Isaac has stated that, with identitical information in their databases, scoring between CRAs can vary by up to approx 30 points based on the difference in their licensed algorithms. 

As for length of continued showing of inquiries, again, that is an individual CRA determination based on clearing out their databases of what is considered to have become kinda useless info.  It is not regulated under the FCRA, and the two-months is arbitrary.

[MoreRewards]

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MarineVietVeMarineVietVetRewards wrote:

Believe I'm happy the HP are gone. Just curious about them.

All 3 of my reports show basically the same info other than HP and EQ actually has the least with only 2.

I understand that perhaps a solid answer can't be given to the why but I'm looking for a general idea and most importantly how top raise my score.

I do realize utilization is different at 3% vs 12% I'm also wondering if 1 card being at 50% utilization also is harming my score?

While I understand each is usually going to give you a different score I'm simply troubled.
May TU 777, EX 768, EQ 761
Nov TU 775, EX 774, EQ 748

I thought my EQ would be back up to at least around where it was before. It takes me from being "great" to just "very good".

---

You have excellent scores and my advice is just what Aaron Rogers told the fans of Green Bay: R-E-L-A-X.

You're doing fine. Scores go up and down all the time. It's part of the process.

There are ways though to use utilization to improve your position.

Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this and therefore no "ideal" number but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

Along with individual and overall utilization, FICO also scores the number of all types of accounts reporting a balance at any one time. Making sure less than half of all your accounts report a balance helps most people.

Now this approach really isn't necessary if you're not looking to apply for any credit in the near future or unless you are trying to tweak your score for maximum effect but some folks do this as a hobby just to see how high they can get their score.

What approach do I use? I let 1% report on one card every month. I was one of those who decided as a hobby to play the "Tweak my FICO" game but it was never something I thought about all the time.

After achieving FICO High Achiever status (760+) you will receive the best rates from lenders as far as scores go.

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It's hard to relax in a situation like this.  I know I have good scores but I want 800s. I also want everything solid when I apply for a home loan. I guess all I can do is pay down over the next few months and see what happens. 

I know I did say utilization is different now 12% vs May 3% (sadly 50% on a single card, the rest are 1-2% Barclays should have been 0% but took forever to post). However that applies to all reports TU is almost back to where it was and EX is higher. 

I know it's not the end of the world. Im wondering if EQ also tooka bigger drop but I don't know since I hadnt pulled it since May.

@ Robert wow everything equal but up to 30 point difference!

[MarineVietVet]

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@MoreRewards wrote:

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It's hard to relax in a situation like this.  I know I have good scores but I want 800s. I also want everything solid when I apply for a home loan. I guess all I can do is pay down over the next few months and see what happens. 

I know I did say utilization is different now 12% vs May 3% (sadly 50% on a single card, the rest are 1-2% Barclays should have been 0% but took forever to post). However that applies to all reports TU is almost back to where it was and EX is higher. 

I know it's not the end of the world. Im wondering if EQ also tooka bigger drop but I don't know since I hadnt pulled it since May.

@ Robert wow everything equal but up to 30 point difference!

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Lenders might say "wow" for a score in the 800's but that's as far as it goes. Your scores are more than fine for any mortgage lender.

Please don't let the pursuit of credit perfection become something you think about all the time. I made it a fun hobby and enjoyed it but never obsessed over it.

Life away from credit scores if far more useful.