How frequently should I let a card report?

[uncredited]

Here's an interesting one. TU hit me 14 points. Don't know about eq yet. Ex updated.... No change in score with all reporting.

Not sure if I should zero Citi or not over this since it didn't even affect ex, the one that matters most atm.

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[uncredited]

And eq updated, -19. Ouch. Definitely will pay citi to negative next week and this hit will hopefully be only a week to week and a half long.

[uncredited]

 I just realized there may be no point zeroing Citi. When I switch back in a month to disco reporting zero, then I'll end up getting hit with all zero penalty instead!

Which do you recommend. Leaving both cards reporting for a full month with the all reporting penalty until the next disco statement, or zero Citi, clearing the all-reporting next week, but then getting the all-zero penalty in a month when I zero disco again for 2 weeks until the next Citi report?

This is frustrating. I managed this meticulously.  One stray charge posting uncharacteristically in a day messed it all up for 2 months.

Apping in October probably.

[Zoostation1]

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@uncredited wrote:

Here's an interesting one. TU hit me 14 points. Don't know about eq yet. Ex updated.... No change in score with all reporting.

Not sure if I should zero Citi or not over this since it didn't even affect ex, the one that matters most atm.

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How high did you report?  I have 2 cards as well (Disc. Chrome an Cap 1 QS1) on a dirty scorecard and TU8 treated both reporting with fairly low balances (10%, 6%, 9% agr) the same as AZEO with only 2% on the reporting card.

[FireMedic1]

@uncreditedYour going to drive yourself crazy with pay this not that. This amount here and not here. Take what you have. Pick a card. (MC/Visa/Disco) PIF all but 1 before statement date. Let one report a balance of 6% or less. Your good. All the back and forth the CRA's cant keep up. I like the KISS method.

[uncredited]

@Zoostation1Total reporting is between 7-8% total util between both cards.

You might be onto something about a "dirty" file though.  Not "dirty" necessarily, but sort of the inverse, "artificially spotless becoming spotted by normal non-perfect activity" may be to blame. I.E. the drop may just be a drop from a fairly artificial high score. 

What I mean is EX had 2 inquiries on it, TU/EQ had 0.  EX was not affected at all by the second card reporting, same as you mentioned for your file.  TU and EQ got hit super hard (-14, -19) but that ultimately brought their scores to be close to EX, where before EX was much lower due to the inquiries. 

So what I'm wondering is if it's less about "all reporting penalty" per-se, and more about "some blemish other than artificially spotless perfection", be it an inquiry, all reporting, all zero, or basically anything other than a synthetically groomed non-activity file lands the scores in the same general place. 

@FireMedic1That's what I do normally.  This all started because of a charge the day before statement date that posted within a single day (which never happens!) that snuck onto the card that was already paid negative for statement, in excess of the negative credit I had on there.  It was a price correction for something that was under-charged, so it stealthily made my second (non-reporting) card report, which I normally would not do. Incredibly frustrating, because I DID already pay it down for the month and stop using it for the week to be sure there was no balance as I always do.  The sneaky little price correction broke my AZEO.  (The price correction was authorized, but what charge posts in a day?!)

[FireMedic1]

Paying to have a neg balance doesnt always work. Just pay what you owe. Some cant handle neg balance then a postive charge. Messes with things. Recently Mod@gdale6 had a neg balance for Disco. They took what they he owed and sent a check back for the difference. Keep it simple.

[uncredited]

@FireMedic1Wow, that's crazy, I've been going negative with Disco every month for the past 4-5 months and it "just works."  That said, if I did it the way you say there would have been absolutely no way at all to avoid the 2-cards reporting, because the charge was simply pending up until the statement was cut - they posted the charge and ran the statement simultaneously, so there would have been no way to prevent it without going negative at all, even if I'd caught it.

[FireMedic1]

Lets try this way. It appears your trying to use a revolving charge card like a banks debit card. Pay ahead then charge. No no no. Just use the card. My fav saying is. If you cant pay it. Dont charge it. Use it for the rewards. Just PIF before the statement date. I understand and its happened to everyone. I've forgotten. And charged somethig. Darnit. Tomorrows cut date. Reading thru the thread is why I responded. Your making so many moves. I'm confused. Wonder how the puter at Disco is saying. Huh? Just charge me and then pay me. Simple.

Its true. Overpayment and got a check.

[uncredited]

@FireMedic1Haha, no, I'm anal, but not that anal. I just round up to the nearest sane number when PIF before statement (I.E. if the card has $817.39 I might just pay off $820 before statement, or more if I know there's a $50 pending that might post before statement to cover it.)  I probably explained it badly.

EG: I think I had

-0.78 balance at that time, ready for the statement to cut without posting balance.

+100.00 charged to pending day before statement through day of statement.

Charge posted WHEN the statement cut so the statement showed +99.22.

(Not the exact values but close from memory.)

As of statement day I had only 2 options:

1: Pre-pay $100 so IF the charge posts (which it wasn't likely to but did) it wouldn't report a balance

2: Don't prepay and take the blow of the all-reporting penalty for the next month. (which is what I ended up doing.)

Normally I just don't use my cards the week the statement will cut to make sure no pending charges can post without paying it off (disco) or paying down to intended reporting util (citi).  In this case, the charge was an add-on charge to a purchase I made weeks before, and it ended up posting at midnight along with the statement. No chance to pay it, it went from pending to posted at the same time the statement was generated.