@Anonymous wrote:
@KeithW wrote:Six months ago I had 4 of the below cards over 90% utilization and 4 more over 80%. My total CC debt was very close to $44,000 dollars. I have been working on paying down my debt and as you can see below, it is in much better shape. I hope to have zero debt after the first of the year. I have no late payments since 2017, when I had a 30 day late on my auto loan. The only derogatory was a 2018 medical collection of my spouse, which was immediately paid.
Six months ago my FICO scores were 648, 631 and 614. They are currently 670, 660 and 639. My Vantage Score is 740, but I don't know what it was to begin with. So I saw a 20-30 point jump. Considering the number of cards that dropped below multiple thresholds and the overal utilization dropping so much, shouldn't I have seen a bigger jump? Additionally, the FICO score simulator says that even paying down all my CC debt would only get me a score in the low 700s. Is the single 30 day late and the collection holding me down? The collection is only reported on my Equifax, which is the highest score (670).
You have at least 3-4 cards reporting $0 balances. FICO doesn't like $0 balances. So, while the low balances have a positive effect on aggregate util, my understanding is that FICO algorithms punishes for $0 balances. Not as counterintuitive as one might think. So, you may be getting penalized. Someone else can chime in more on this.
This is wrong
As long as there is at least 1 card with a balance you will not get the scoring penalty. There is nothing wrong with having some cards reporting $0 and absolutely no reason to report a balance on every card from a scoring perspective.
Indeed. All other things being equal, you want 2 cards out of 3 reporting a zero balance. Actually, 2 *accounts* out of 3, I think.
@KeithW - some years back, my scores were in the mid-600's. I had one 30-day late (BoA), and that limited my scores to the low/mid 700's. It wasn't until that late dropped off my record that I was able to get my scores into the high 700's. (They've stayed north of 800 for 2+ years now.)
So, as others have said, for scoring, focus on getting & keeping single-card utilization below 79 / 49 / 28 percent, and the aggregate will take care of itself.
@Anonymous wrote:
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You have at least 3-4 cards reporting $0 balances. FICO doesn't like $0 balances. So, while the low balances have a positive effect on aggregate util, my understanding is that FICO algorithms punishes for $0 balances.
That is absolutely untrue. The more zero balances the better. It rewards zero balances, and does not punish them.
The only thing it punishes in that regard is having ONLY zero balances.
If you have one account reporting a small balance, you're golden.
@FlaDude wrote:
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I was under the impression that when accounts are closed by issuer that you could continue to pay monthly, you just can't add new charges. .........
That's correct.
.....They can request payment in full at any time.....
I'm pretty sure that's false.
@RSX wrote:hopefully none of his accounts get closed down, but whether they force you to pay in full, or you decide you have to, is a factor
i had a sync with a balance closed down - i didnt want it to report as 100% utilization (due to there being a balance with no CL to calc % on )
so i paid it off that month - so i feel like i was 'forced' to
to the OP -
1. you have been doing a great job paying down - congrats!
2. create a 29% plan
by this i mean do minimum payments + $10 on all accounts below 29% - then put all your extra funds towards the ones over 69%
once everything is below 69%, put all extra funds towards the accounts over 49% - rinse and repeat until ALL accounts are below 29%
then pay them off based on the highest interest accounts
good luck to you
That rarely happens. Usually, while it is true that for the purposes of computing aggregate utilization the limit is not counted but the balance is counted, on an individual account basis it is usually reported with the actual credit limit.
