jimkjr wrote:
Just paid off $60,000 in credit card debt ! Equifax fico was 723 today 8/25. I know that the cc co's report to the agency once a month. Will my score increase immediately after each cc reports ? I want to refinance my existing 1st and 2nd mortgages (NO cash out) but do not want to apply till score improves significantly. Thanks
Excellent work!
Each CC will update on its own schedule.
Most CC's update on their statement dates, reporting the balance that displays on that statement. If you PIF'd a card before its statement date, the balance on the statement will be $0, and that will be reported to the CRA's. If you paid after the statement dropped, the old balance is being reported, and you'll have to wait another month for it to show the new $0 balance.
Once the CRA's get the updated info, they have to post it. EX usually posts that night or the next day. EQ and TU take up to a week to do so, sometimes more like ten days.
If you were to pull your scores each time an individual card updates, you might see an increase, as long as the reduced util was enough to trigger a score change. You won't see the max score improvement until the last card updates, of course.
Exceptions to the statement date bit: HSBC/ Orchard bank (not store) cards and US Bank cards report the balance showing on the last business day of the month. I think US Bank then sends in the info promptly, but HSBC/ Orchard have been known to take their time. American Express reports the balance on the statement, but they don't send in the info until four weeks later, essentially making their reported balances a month behind.
So you could easily have a good 6 weeks' worth of waiting, more if you have an AmEx, for all of them to zero out.
Now, don't close any cards, and do keep using them periodically to keep them alive! You'll hurt yourself by closing a bunch of them. Just learn to think of CC's as lazy debit cards, and don't use them unless you have money in the bank to pay them off immediately or out of the next paycheck.
If you haven't already, please read
Understanding Your FICO ® Score and
Credit Scoring 101 (at least the first post.)
These will give you the background knowledge you need to understand what you read here on the forums.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
