Overpay CC 4 FICO Boost???

[Anonymous]

First post so so I apologize if this question has been answered before.

I was told by a friend who has a rather high FICO to overpay 1 credit card by $1-$5 and it would result in a 20 - 30 point FICO boost.  Is this accurate advice?

I recently pulled my TU FICO (here, of course) and noticed a decline from 724 to 716 and the only difference was my revolving credit reported with a zero balance across the board.  Typically, I try to let 1 card report with $10 to $20 then PIF.  The negative factor listed was a comment about not using credit.  WTH is that suppose to mean?  I use my cards and PIF every month except the one I let report with the small balance.  I also have an active and current, never late mortgage, a couple of closed CC's and a PIF student loan.

Also, the simulator said if utilization increased to 3% my score would increase to 767 - 792.  Is that for real? 

Can someone tell me if I'm dinged for not carrying a balance?

TIA

[MarineVietVet]

Hello and welcome.

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@Anonymous wrote:

First post so so I apologize if this question has been answered before.

I was told by a friend who has a rather high FICO to overpay 1 credit card by $1-$5 and it would result in a 20 - 30 point FICO boost.  Is this accurate advice? Your friend needs to come here and learn about credit scoring.    Overpaying, at least in my experience will only result in a zero balance being reported on your statement.

I recently pulled my TU FICO (here, of course) and noticed a decline from 724 to 716 and the only difference was my revolving credit reported with a zero balance across the board.  Typically, I try to let 1 card report with $10 to $20 then PIF.  The negative factor listed was a comment about not using credit.  WTH is that suppose to mean?  I use my cards and PIF every month except the one I let report with the small balance.  I also have an active and current, never late mortgage, a couple of closed CC's and a PIF student loan. It seems backward but you can be penalized for having all your cards report a zero balance. FICO likes to see usage. You were doing the right thing by letting only one account report a small balance.

Also, the simulator said if utilization increased to 3% my score would increase to 767 - 792.  Is that for real?  For most people it seems like utiization of <9% results in the highest score but you'll need to play with different percentages for a few months to see what works best for you.

Can someone tell me if I'm dinged for not carrying a balance? You can be and it sounds like you were.

TIA

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[OnTheRebound]

I always paid our  PenFed Visa and Chase Visa the day before the statements post ( I consider the statement date the due date). Accounts always shows a credit after the statement cuts due to the rewards posting. Never had an effect on our scores, good or bad. It just reports a zero balance  to the CB's.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the explanation.  I thought that sounded a little too good to be true.    I'm applying for a mortgage soon so I don't have a lot of time for trial and error.

According to the simulator, the biggest increase is at 3% utilization.  I'm a little confused if that means 3% of the CL of 1 credit card or 3% of  the CL of all credit cards but only reporting on 1 of them.

Thanks to all for responding.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the explanation.  I thought that sounded a little too good to be true.    I'm applying for a mortgage soon so I don't have a lot of time for trial and error.

According to the simulator, the biggest increase is at 3% utilization.  I'm a little confused if that means 3% of the CL of 1 credit card or 3% of  the CL of all credit cards but only reporting on 1 of them.

Thanks to all for responding.

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Subject to correction I believe the simulator calculates the overall utilization for all accounts. This is how it is done when you buy your TU or EQ score and reports here.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[TLinFargo]

I will back up what Marinevietvet said... I tried overpaying my Discover by $5 - It just reported as $0 balance. Letting it report the next month with a small balance did however boost my score (all other cards reporting $0).

[rayandsuebrown]

Carrying around a 10% balance does raise your score, I saw that in another post and I am actively trying to get there myself.

[TLinFargo]

Most say under 10% is where you want to be, and some say under 9, as 9.XX may get rounded up to ten... No one is certain how the model calculates, but it's generally agreed upon that you should only carry a balance on one card, and keep it very low.

I will say that my score was bumped significantly by letting a $5 balance report.

[Anonymous]

I should have the answer in the next few days.  One of my cards should be reporting soon and I'll pull my TU again.

I also have a paid and close mortgage having an anniversary in March and hope that gives a little increase as well.  If someone has experience with closed mortgages and scoring, please chime in.

TIA

[Anonymous]

Just realized there are 2 paid and closed mortgages with anniversaries in March.  Got my fingers crossed for a little FICO luv the beginning of the month.  Does anyone know whether increases based on anniversaries are experienced at the beginning or end of the month?  Are the score increases immediate or does it take a few days to reflect?   I really don't want to pay for TU FICO twice in a month if I can help it.

I noticed that the paid & closed mortgages are not reporting on EX any longer but not sure why.  I know they were a few years ago but must have dropped off for some reason.  Is there any way to have them put back on?  Contacting the bank is out of the question at this point since it was purchased by another after FDIC closure and the new bank opened a new tradeline altogether. 

Still waiting for my C/C to report to EQ & TU.  It's hard to believe that one can be dinged for a zero balance but I guess there's no way for FICO to know that credit HAS been used and it's simply paid off.  I am aware that when I experienced the TU score drop the only difference was zero balance reporting on my credit cards.  I just need to get it up a bit to apply for a new mortgage since I've read that the TU score purchased here can be significantly higher than those used in a tri-merge mortgage pull.