I am charging 8k on my American Express , will this drop my score if?

[Anonymous]

I am making a 8k purchase on my American Express this week and I was going to let the amount post to the bureaus and pay it off next month. I am trying to get my UTI up because AMX just reports a balance. My thoughts are it will help my UTI and once it's paid off then that will help strengthen my score? Advice

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am making a 8k purchase on my American Express this week and I was going to let the amount post to the bureaus and pay it off next month. I am trying to get my UTI up because AMX just reports a balance. My thoughts are it will help my UTI and once it's paid off then that will help strengthen my score? Advice

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Any effect it has on your score, positive or negative, will only last as long as the balance is on there.  FICO scoring doesn't remember balances.  So if you get dinged for a higher balance, as soon as you pay it off it will go back to normal.  All else remaining constant I don't see any way this would increase your score.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am making a 8k purchase on my American Express this week and I was going to let the amount post to the bureaus and pay it off next month. I am trying to get my UTI up because AMX just reports a balance. My thoughts are it will help my UTI and once it's paid off then that will help strengthen my score? Advice

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AMEX charge cards do show a high balance on your CB reports. That high balance is used as a psuedo credit limit when calculating aggregate credit limit. So yes, long term the charge should effectively raise your aggregate CL.

Example:

1) you have revolving credit cards with an aggregate CL of $89k

2) you have an AMEX card with a $1k HB, total card CL is then $90k

3) you allow an $11k balance to report on your AMEX charge card

4) Your HB increases to $11k the next month and your total card CL is now $100k

Note: Not sure how the 100% card UT for the charge card is looked at from a max out perspective for scoring duing th month it happens.

Let us know.

[Anonymous]

TT as usual is right on the money.  (Note to TT.... you may want to make a tiny edit to your post.  Your very helpful example begins with the card user having a total credit limit of 89 million dollars.  I think that's supposed to be 89k.)

To our OP (AMXBlack):

Make sure TT's response makes sense to you.  Your initial post said that you needed to get your utililzation up -- that a higher utilization would help your score.  This is not true.  Higher utilization can only hurt your score, never help it -- unless one is going from 0% to 1%.

But if you have a charge card (as opposed to a credit card) it will help your total credit limit if for one month you have a very large balance report.  (As TT explains.)

Note, however, that even a higher total credit limit doesn't translate into a higher score.  A person with a tiny CL (e.g. a student with a total CL of $300) can spend a lot on his credit cards and still have a 1% utilization, just by keeping his debt down.

[NRB525]

OP you keep coming back with new tricks intended to increase your nearly-850 score

I thought we agreed that only time and quiet payments were necessary?

Charge the $8k, I'm all for that, but charge it because you are earning points, or cash back, or you need the float for a month, not as a trick to try and raise a FICO score that is already near a ceiling (or held down by a yet-to-expire baddie next year)

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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@NRB525 wrote:

OP you keep coming back with new tricks intended to increase your nearly-850 score

I thought we agreed that only time and quiet payments were necessary?

Charge the $8k, I'm all for that, but charge it because you are earning points, or cash back, or you need the float for a month, not as a trick to try and raise a FICO score that is already near a ceiling (or held down by a yet-to-expire baddie next year)

Good luck!

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I actually need the items and in lieu of paying cash , I was just going to charge on my AMX to gain a higher limit. Thank you for your responses. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am making a 8k purchase on my American Express this week and I was going to let the amount post to the bureaus and pay it off next month. I am trying to get my UTI up because AMX just reports a balance. My thoughts are it will help my UTI and once it's paid off then that will help strengthen my score? Advice

---

AMEX charge cards do show a high balance on your CB reports. That high balance is used as a psuedo credit limit when calculating aggregate credit limit. So yes, long term the charge should effectively raise your aggregate CL.

Example:

1) you have revolving credit cards with an aggregate CL of $89k

2) you have an AMEX card with a $1k HB, total card CL is then $90k

3) you allow an $11k balance to report on your AMEX charge card

4) Your HB increases to $11k the next month and your total card CL is now $100k

Note: Not sure how the 100% card UT for the charge card is looked at from a max out perspective for scoring duing th month it happens.

Let us know.

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I don't see my charge card on my report

[NRB525]

My PRG just reported to EQ for the first time today. The "New Account" information includes the statement balance, but no score change on EQ.

I will have to see whether TU updates with the All Bankcards balance, to try to determine if the balance is "reporting" any differently from my closed CC, which are not part of the "all bankcards" TU balance.

[Imperfectfuture]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am making a 8k purchase on my American Express this week and I was going to let the amount post to the bureaus and pay it off next month. I am trying to get my UTI up because AMX just reports a balance. My thoughts are it will help my UTI and once it's paid off then that will help strengthen my score? Advice

---

AMEX charge cards do show a high balance on your CB reports. That high balance is used as a psuedo credit limit when calculating aggregate credit limit. So yes, long term the charge should effectively raise your aggregate CL.

Example:

1) you have revolving credit cards with an aggregate CL of $89k

2) you have an AMEX card with a $1k HB, total card CL is then $90k

3) you allow an $11k balance to report on your AMEX charge card

4) Your HB increases to $11k the next month and your total card CL is now $100k

Note: Not sure how the 100% card UT for the charge card is looked at from a max out perspective for scoring duing th month it happens.

Let us know.

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I don't see my charge card on my report

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Your charge card is a business card.  Very few CCCs (just cap one and others I forgot) report to personal.  Last year, Amex reported to EQ business.  This year they are reporting to D&B.  Chase reports to ex business.  So my business card never showed up on personal.  I have business record with equifax, but not experian.  I now have a D&B profile, but need four accounts to generate a paydex score (something I probably will not do).  Some credit unions offer business cards, but I do not know if they report to personal.

PS, hidden trade lines are a GOOD thing.  You now have one.  Suggest getting more.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Imperfectfuture wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am making a 8k purchase on my American Express this week and I was going to let the amount post to the bureaus and pay it off next month. I am trying to get my UTI up because AMX just reports a balance. My thoughts are it will help my UTI and once it's paid off then that will help strengthen my score? Advice

---

AMEX charge cards do show a high balance on your CB reports. That high balance is used as a psuedo credit limit when calculating aggregate credit limit. So yes, long term the charge should effectively raise your aggregate CL.

Example:

1) you have revolving credit cards with an aggregate CL of $89k

2) you have an AMEX card with a $1k HB, total card CL is then $90k

3) you allow an $11k balance to report on your AMEX charge card

4) Your HB increases to $11k the next month and your total card CL is now $100k

Note: Not sure how the 100% card UT for the charge card is looked at from a max out perspective for scoring duing th month it happens.

Let us know.

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I don't see my charge card on my report

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Your charge card is a business card.  Very few CCCs (just cap one and others I forgot) report to personal.  Last year, Amex reported to EQ business.  This year they are reporting to D&B.  Chase reports to ex business.  So my business card never showed up on personal.  I have business record with equifax, but not experian.  I now have a D&B profile, but need four accounts to generate a paydex score (something I probably will not do).  Some credit unions offer business cards, but I do not know if they report to personal.

PS, hidden trade lines are a GOOD thing.  You now have one.  Suggest getting more.

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Thanks for the information  

So I guess by "hidden trade line" you mean a credit line that doesn't report to the personal credit reporting agencies.

Questions:

1. Is it really a trade line if you have to repay it right away? I.e., no extension of credit?

2. Would you have any suggestions for others I might want to get for my business?

 3. How does one access this information about one's business credit profile?