RobertEG wrote:
"You have somehow apparently fixated on the number of cards reporting balances as a major FICO scoring factor."
smallfry wrote (in the "Our Forums' FICO High Achievers: Who has at least one FICO Score of 760 or above?" thread):
"I bought the EQ SW 2 months ago to test number of accounts with balances and the effect on my EQ score. I can now say with relative certainty that EQ likes 1 credit card reporting better than 2. With 1 score is 781 with 2 score is 773."
Who's right? 
RobertEG wrote:
"Letting any account usage with any creditor go dormant for six months may result in their closure of the account. Then you could lose its CL."
My plan doesn't include not using every card every month. I will do so. It's just that I'll pay each balance before the statement cycle date.
I always let one report, and then pay it off before the due date. EQ likes this; in my score range, TU prefers that no cards report, but no one uses TU in my neck of the woods, even for softing, so oh well. EQ always drops when all my cards report $0. Back when we could pull our EX FICO's, EX seemed to be like EQ, but then, my scores were a lot lower then.
Every now and again an extra card balance sneaks in, and my scores drop. They come back up when I'm back to just one reporting.
I would add for anyone reading this that this micro-management is useful if you're getting ready to apply for credit for some FICO-score-driven product, like mortgages. And it takes a full month or more to get most lines to report $0, so keep this in mind if you might need to fine-tune your scores. Otherwise, it's a relatively harmless entertainment for those of us with nothing else to do in credit land other than wait for history to increase and lates to fall off. Sort of the credit management equivalent of feeding squirrels in the park.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:I always let one report, and then pay it off before the due date. EQ likes this; in my score range, TU prefers that no cards report, but no one uses TU in my neck of the woods, even for softing, so oh well. EQ always drops when all my cards report $0. Back when we could pull our EX FICO's, EX seemed to be like EQ, but then, my scores were a lot lower then.
Every now and again an extra card balance sneaks in, and my scores drop. They come back up when I'm back to just one reporting.
I would add for anyone reading this that this micro-management is useful if you're getting ready to apply for credit for some FICO-score-driven product, like mortgages. And it takes a full month or more to get most lines to report $0, so keep this in mind if you might need to fine-tune your scores. Otherwise, it's a relatively harmless entertainment for those of us with nothing else to do in credit land other than wait for history to increase and lates to fall off. Sort of the credit management equivalent of feeding squirrels in the park.
haulingthescoreup a.k.a. Moderator Emerita wrote:
"I always let one report"
That sounds simple. But unless it's the same card every month, a small part of any month is bound to have either none or two cards listed with a reported balance. Not that it necessarily matters much, I take it.
"Otherwise, it's a relatively harmless entertainment for those of us with nothing else to do in credit land other than wait for history to increase and lates to fall off. Sort of the credit management equivalent of feeding squirrels in the park. "
That brings up a topic such as which no annual fee cards are the most sought after. If one, like you it would appear, is safely above 760 and, well not you being in the business and all, doesn't want to squander it by letting it get stagnant, such a goal might be suitable. Sort of a sharpening your credit scoring understanding and/or reminder exercise, I suppose.
I hear the Sapphire and Freedom cards are popular.
