Non-sensical score history reporting dates - mortgage qualification in 30 days

[Ambrosius]

I am ready to apply for a mortgage. (The feedback on this forum has been outstanding).

I used my credit cards to buy some emergency hurricane supplies back in November and have been paying them down since. I will be at zero on all credit cards by end of this month. Needless to say my credit rating took a 50-90 point dip across the 3 bureaus.

I would like to increase my credit limits on three cards prior to applying to boost my score even more. Below is the FICO table of my credit score history ( I am assuming Vantage 8).  Although the 2,4, and 5 scores are what are used, the reporting dates seem to align with the vantage 8 reporting dates on my fico score. So the graph I have of my score history is determined by aligned 3 dots of specific reporting dates on the same date across all 3 bureaus.

What rhyme or reason is there to when all 3 bureaus get together and my fico score history updates?  It does not appear to be determined by individual credit cards. I suspect it may have something to do with when I manually hit an "update my report" button inside my paid FICO portal. This manual update is only available after a period of time. 

Is it true that forcing through an updated score will update across the 3 agencies? Otherwise, why these crazy dates below? 2 in the month of November, None in January, date of the month ranging from the second to the twelfth to the twentieth, etc?

3/5/2025
2/2/2025
12/12/2024
11/14/2024
11/7/2024
8/20/2024
7/12/2024

[Patient957]

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@Ambrosius wrote:

I am ready to apply for a mortgage. (The feedback on this forum has been outstanding).

Congratulations!

 I will be at zero on all credit cards by end of this month. 

Fatastic that you will have zero credit card debt, but you want to have one bank-issued  card reporting a small balance at all times to avoid the dreaded all zeros penalty.  Search AZEO in these forums for more info.

Below is the FICO table of my credit score history ( I am assuming Vantage 8).  

1) I think you mean FICO 8.  There is no Vantage 8.

2) I do not see any scores listed in the table, just dates with blank cells.

What rhyme or reason is there to when all 3 bureaus get together and my fico score history updates?  

The bureaus do not update your scores.  They update your reports periodically as the data furnishers (lenders) suppply updated data. 

MyFico will periodically query the bureaus for updated reports and then calculate and update your scores when there is a change in your score, as part of its credit monitoring service.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Ambrosius wrote:

I am ready to apply for a mortgage. (The feedback on this forum has been outstanding).

I used my credit cards to buy some emergency hurricane supplies back in November and have been paying them down since. I will be at zero on all credit cards by end of this month. Needless to say my credit rating took a 50-90 point dip across the 3 bureaus.

Good to be at zero but as @Patient957 pointed out, make sure one account reports a small balance before you pay it off.

I would like to increase my credit limits on three cards prior to applying to boost my score even more.

I wouldn't do that if I were you. Don't make changes in runup to mortgage application.

Below is the FICO table of my credit score history ( I am assuming Vantage 8).  Although the 2,4, and 5 scores are what are used, the reporting dates seem to align with the vantage 8 reporting dates on my fico score. So the graph I have of my score history is determined by aligned 3 dots of specific reporting dates on the same date across all 3 bureaus.

Forget about Vantage please.

What rhyme or reason is there to when all 3 bureaus get together and my fico score history updates?  It does not appear to be determined by individual credit cards. I suspect it may have something to do with when I manually hit an "update my report" button inside my paid FICO portal. This manual update is only available after a period of time. 

As @Patient957 pointed out, your scores don't get updated by the bureau. Your data is constantly being updated and your scores theoretically are constantly in flux as well, but the only way to get score calculated is to pull the reports.

Is it true that forcing through an updated score will update across the 3 agencies?

I don't know what you mean. If you mean will pulling your paid 3-bureau report give you current updated scores, the answer is yes.

Otherwise, why these crazy dates below? 2 in the month of November, None in January, date of the month ranging from the second to the twelfth to the twentieth, etc?

I have no idea where you got these dates from. Maybe they're just the dates you pulled your reports.

3/5/2025
2/2/2025
12/12/2024
11/14/2024
11/7/2024
8/20/2024
7/12/2024

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Contrary to what @Patient957 said, MyFICO isn't doing any updating for you on its own, other than with respect to the FICO 8 score.

[Ambrosius]

Thanks for the quick and diligent response. Good to know i should not seek credit increases. That is extremely helpful. The report schedule i showed was from my subscription showing 2 4 5 graph and there is a table link that shows u the dates and scores. Thanks again. I am so very close to contacting the bank but am at the cusp of the highest threshold for premiim rates. So calibrating the timing.

[FlaDude]

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@Ambrosius wrote:

Thanks for the quick and diligent response. Good to know i should not seek credit increases. That is extremely helpful. The report schedule i showed was from my subscription showing 2 4 5 graph and there is a table link that shows u the dates and scores. Thanks again. I am so very close to contacting the bank but am at the cusp of the highest threshold for premiim rates. So calibrating the timing.

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In absolute terms, higher credit limits do not mean higher scores. They can help with utilization percentage, but if you are going to be at zero %, then it will be 0% no matter what your CL is. Requesting CLIs with some lenders will result in a hard pull, and you absolutely don't want recent inquiries on your reports for no good purpose.

As the other posters alluded to, any credit score you recieve will be based on your credit report on the day it was calculated and will not neccessarily be the same as a lender receives because that will be calculated when they pull it.

[AndySoCal]

This will be a longish post so get comfortable.

With mortgage loans the lender will use the middle score I.E.  throw the highest and the lowest scores the remaining score is the one that is used.  So if you are trying to boost your score look at lowest score or the middle score and see what can be done to increase it. Study the score reasons in order to do that.  If this has not happened already it will IMO all three credit scores  used will have trended data. Why ? Trended data was asked for by Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the two largest mortgage loan buyers in America. Both Fannie and Freddie Mac have or will incorporate  the Vantage Score 4.0 this has already been done with FICO.  Both scores are predictive scores they look at the credit data for predictive characteristics. FICO has at least 12 different scorecards combined for good and bad credit. 
https://www.vantagescore.com/press_releases/vantagescore-fhfa-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-release-his... 

One of the reasons for adding another score model is the cost of the score itself has gone way up. It was under a dollar a few years ago to now over $3.00 today per credit bureau.

All of that said  what can a consumer do?  Make sure your credit report is accurate. There are characteristics  that cause lenders to pause like high credit utilization,  high number of inquires,  keep in mind there is a difference in how the the score model will treat mortgage  and car loan inquiries there is more than those two. Do your research. If you dispute item or items on your credit report provide the proof that supports the reason for your dispute. Hoping or wishing the bureau will remove the disputed item is not a good reason. Also when an account is disputed the date reported will move forward in time. If the trade line is derogatory the will look more recent it might lower score as a result. Some things are better left alone.

Lastly the credit score is calculated at the time the score was requested and not before. Each time your credit report data is changed it has the potential to change your score. the credit bureaus do not know what score is until it goes through the scoring algorithm. Each time credit data goes through the algorithm the creator of the score model gets paid.