Getting a little tired of playing the CC reporting game

[Anonymous]

I'm growing really weary of controlling my utilization the way I do, so, I'm going to try a little experiment.

All of my cards have reported by the 14th or so of each month.  I have a gap where none of my cards report from the 14th to the 23rd or so, and all of my reports are usually identical during that period, as far as card balances are concerned.  As of July 14, I expect to have the following:

Amex: $114 / $2K = 6%

All other cards = $0

Total utilization = much less than 1%

This should give me just about the best scores possible with my current situation.

I'll pull my FICOs right around July 14, once all of those cards have reported like I described above.  This will give me base scores to use as a reference for the experiment I'll try in the month to follow.

After that, I'm going to ask for an CLI from Amex to $5K, since that will be 6.5 months from my last Amex CLI, and I should still have decent scores.

Once that's done, I plan to use my cards like I normally do, but I'm not going to pay them before the statement cuts.  I expect that most of them will report a balance during this period, since I use most of them in any given month based on rewards for certain purchase categories, and also just generally trying to show all of them a little bit of use.

Then, I'll pull my scores again on August 14th, just to see the damage.  If it's not that bad, I'll probably consider abandoning the whole "pay before the statement cuts" methodology.

I'm really tired of it. LOL

Wish me luck!

Message Edited by cheddar on 07-04-2008 08:12 PM

[Anonymous]

good plan. please keep us updated.

[Anonymous]

Yep- I gave up on the paying early game after I got the TL's I wanted.

Sure I am taking a little FICO hit- but big deal- I know how to adjust it up 30 points quickly-

A few still get paid early because of how I have the scheduled-

[fused]

interesting idea cheddar, but you might have wait longer than Aug to pull FICOs...Amex takes forever to update real balances.

[Anonymous]

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fused wrote:

interesting idea cheddar, but you might have wait longer than Aug to pull FICOs...Amex takes forever to update real balances.

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Good point, fused.  I did think about that.  My Amex statements cut on the 3rd and report on the 29th.  So on July 29th, they will report the balance from the statement that just cut yesterday, and that's the balance that will be on my reports on Aug 14th.

I pay my Amex multiple times per month anyway (because it's my #1 card but has a low CL), so it's not really going to affect this experiment.  In any case, I usually do make one final payment before the statement drops so that I can control the reported balance, but I didn't bother making that payment before the statement that posted yesterday, so as far as Amex is concerned, the experiment has already begun.

[haulingthescoreup]

We need you to do this, and report back, and someone else to have all report $0 for a change, and report the score change, if any, and see where we are.

I'm in the can't do a dang thing but wait stage now, and all I can do is torture my util. Can't experiment with the all-$0 thing, because I have a BT, so I'm bored.

I was so startled at the new requirements from the 19 years + bucket that I'm now in that I'm considering dropping the AU card, just to see what THAT would do (13 years oldest instead of 19.) The one thing that really gives me pause is that it would also do a number on my average age, which certainly doesn't need any more damage.

My brain doesn't handle boredom well...

[smallfry]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
We need you to do this, and report back, and someone else to have all report $0 for a change, and report the score change, if any, and see where we are.

I'm in the can't do a dang thing but wait stage now, and all I can do is torture my util. Can't experiment with the all-$0 thing, because I have a BT, so I'm bored.

I was so startled at the new requirements from the 19 years + bucket that I'm now in that I'm considering dropping the AU card, just to see what THAT would do (13 years oldest instead of 19.) The one thing that really gives me pause is that it would also do a number on my average age, which certainly doesn't need any more damage.

My brain doesn't handle boredom well...

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Sounds like its time to apply for another card.

[marty56]

I tried only letting $15 report and it had no effect on my score.  I was looking for a raise though.  It seems silly to me that $15 vs 0 would cost me points.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I don't think much of the "pay before the statement cuts" thing, as a constant manipulation of the scores is too much work and maintenance each month.

Rather, I keep the # of cards showing a balance at no more than 4 at a time, preferably 2 or 3.  But since I have 6 cards I want to be sure they all have activity at least once every 3 months so there is no chance at all of having any of them closed.

Only when a major purchase is being made requiring a loan and an app, i.e. a car loan, would I really play the game and pay before the statement cuts so only one (max 2) card reports a balance.

 Otherwise, paying that quickly reduces the cash flow benefit of the 25 day interest free loan you get with cc's when you PIF each month before the due date.

# of cards reporting a balance, inquiries and UTL is about the only things we can influence each month, unless someone knows of a way to get a cc to change the "Date Opened" to 1987 or some old date to max out age of file.....

[haulingthescoreup]

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@smallfry wrote:

Sounds like its time to apply for another card.

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Get thee behind me, Satan!

Nope, created enough of a mess that way. My average age is barely out of diapers as it is.