FICO 8 dropped

[Anonymous]

Hello,
Last week I was notified all three of my credit scores went up 18 points.
I am at 748-742-749
All 3 climbed.

I went in to find why, and all 3 said the same thing...
"There was no change on your credit report. We know this could be frustrating, but there is no further info. Available."

I wake up this morning (four days later )
Only to find my FICO 8 score, DROPPED!
What's even more odd, it dropped the exact same amount the increase showed on all three of my accounts!

I would think, taking that into consideration, the score would of went UP.

If FICO 8 uses all 3 bureaus to reach a decision, and all 3 bureaus increased by the exact same amount, how could the score drop?

Nothing changes except I paid my only credit card with a balance off.
It wasn't even a big amount (47 stinking dollars )

Crazy!

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hello,
Last week I was notified all three of my credit scores went up 18 points.
I am at 748-742-749
All 3 climbed.

I went in to find why, and all 3 said the same thing...
"There was no change on your credit report. We know this could be frustrating, but there is no further info. Available."

I wake up this morning (four days later )
Only to find my FICO 8 score, DROPPED!
What's even more odd, it dropped the exact same amount the increase showed on all three of my accounts!

I would think, taking that into consideration, the score would of went UP.

If FICO 8 uses all 3 bureaus to reach a decision, and all 3 bureaus increased by the exact same amount, how could the score drop?

Nothing changes except I paid my only credit card with a balance off.
It wasn't even a big amount (47 stinking dollars )

Crazy!

---

FICO 8 penalizes you for having all cards reporting zero balance.

If you let one card report a small balance, and then pay it off after the reporting date, your 18 points will come right back.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for responding.
So my score dropped 18 points?
I mean, I grasp the concept of what you're saying, however 18 points????

Here is where I am perplexed....
The score dropped the same amount that the other 3 increased.

Seems like an odd coincidence.

I sincerely am curious if it's in error?

[Anonymous]

Was there a balance reported to the credit bureaus in the month prior to the $47 balance?

[Anonymous]

Yes, 200 dollars. Same card. I paid 200 left that remaining amount, then paid that to zero. I never carry a balance on my cards. They are always zero, except for that fluke. That's why it can't be that they don't like a were balance. If that were the case, I'd not have a 720 credit score. Prior to this insanity. It's utter insanity.

[HeavenOhio]

@Anonymous, it's what SJ said. When your scores dropped, it put you in exactly the same position as you were before the increase. Because nothing else would have changed (such as AAoA — average age of accounts), your scores moved to exactly where they were previously.

18 points fits right in with commonly reported score drops for "all cards at zero." I got hit much harder for the all cards at zero penalty a couple of months ago. My FICO 8s dropped by 32 points (EQ), 37 points (TU), and 25 points (EX). My other scores were affected by varying amounts. On the low end, my Equifax 04 (FICO 5) Classic score dropped by only 4 points. On the high end, my Transunion FICO 8 Auto score dropped by 48 points.

In almost all cases, my scores bounced back to exactly where they were when a positive balance reported a couple of days later. A few of the TU scores were "muddied" because there was an AAoA increase during that timespan. They ended up a bit higher than my starting point.

[Anonymous]

I just spoke to fico and they said absolutely why the score dropped. I said 18 points??? She said yes. It makes perfect sense. So I have to start using around 7 percent of my available credit. She said that's a comfortable place to stay. She said your score will go right back up. Vantage increases you for small to no balance. Fico doesn't increase you for zero balance. You're punished for it. They think you're in financial turmoil for no usage or you can't handle debt. Wow I learned a valuable lesson here today.
Thank you so much for your help

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you so much for responding.
So my score dropped 18 points?
I mean, I grasp the concept of what you're saying, however 18 points????

Here is where I am perplexed....
The score dropped the same amount that the other 3 increased.

Seems like an odd coincidence.

I sincerely am curious if it's in error?

---

No it often works that way in FICOland.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I just spoke to fico and they said absolutely why the score dropped. I said 18 points??? She said yes. It makes perfect sense. So I have to start using around 7 percent of my available credit. She said that's a comfortable place to stay. She said your score will go right back up. Vantage increases you for small to no balance. Fico doesn't increase you for zero balance. You're punished for it. They think you're in financial turmoil for no usage or you can't handle debt. Wow I learned a valuable lesson here today.
Thank you so much for your help

---

It has nothing to do with how much of your credit you use. If you use 7% or 1% or 1000%.  What matters is the reported balances. And you just need to have 1 of the accounts report a small balance in order to avoid the FICO 8 penalty for all zero balances.

[Anonymous]

OK, that is good to know! So I can just use one for a small amount? That's good. Now that I've pulled myself away from it, I am good with using cash. I have zero balances here and am getting ready to pay my phone bill with one.
Let me ask you something real quick. You seen pretty knowledgable here...
I only have two cards total available credit around 2700. I was told by my financial advisor to apply for another.
I did and got pre approved for 3 from Amer Ex. I chose everyday blue.
This was in June.
They extended 4000.
I was told on this forum they don't report the card until the second statement.
A true fact because it's not appearing yet.
Is that card going to hurt me?
The hit for applying already applied
I think I got hit for like four points.

So now I am worried it will hurt somehow. My financial advisor assured me, it will help.
Anytime you have more credit available as long as you're not overextended, is a good thing.
Is that true?

Geez if fico hits me negatively for that, I wanna be prepared.