Score drop, makes no sense?

[ejbmvp]

so i paid one of my cc down to zero and i lost 12pts? i still have another cc with a 30% balance. see oversized screenshot. can anyone suggest why this would happen? this goes against everything i know about cc utilization. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@ejbmvp wrote:

so i paid one of my cc down to zero and i lost 12pts? i still have another cc with a 30% balance. see oversized screenshot. can anyone suggest why this would happen? this goes against everything i know about cc utilization. 

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I think the score drop and the drop in balance are unrelated;; they just happened on the same day.

[ejbmvp]

ok, so that would make sense. if that is the case, then its very deceiving since they in the same alert.

[azguy13]

It has been treported through numerous users throughout the years that when paying off 100% of revolvind debt, scores drop. That is why the general rule we like to say here is 1%-9%, based on situations exactly like this. 

Yes, there is a chance that the score drop and recent payment is unrelated. However, there is a very good possibily that paying down to 0% UTL really did cause this. The algorithm is a pain....

[ejbmvp]

thanks azguy13. i've havent delved that deep into the understandnig the util myself yet so thanks for that clarification. i was under the impression keeping the util less than 9% on 1 cc was the sweet spot. so now knowing that paying a card off to zero while still having another cc with a balance potentially can drop your score before it improves it makes planning score improvement more cumbersome.

[bdhu2001]

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@ejbmvp wrote:

thanks azguy13. i've havent delved that deep into the understandnig the util myself yet so thanks for that clarification. i was under the impression keeping the util less than 9% on 1 cc was the sweet spot. so now knowing that paying a card off to zero while still having another cc with a balance potentially can drop your score before it improves it makes planning score improvement more cumbersome.

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Actually, it's hard to know your personal sweet spot without testing.  You still need to be 9% or less on the individual card.  For some people the sweet spot is 2 cards less than 10% and I've seen rare occasions where it's 3 cards.  But for the majority of those who've tested, it's one card with a balances that is less than 10%.

[CreditMagic7]

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@bdhu2001 wrote:

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@ejbmvp wrote:

thanks azguy13. i've havent delved that deep into the understandnig the util myself yet so thanks for that clarification. i was under the impression keeping the util less than 9% on 1 cc was the sweet spot. so now knowing that paying a card off to zero while still having another cc with a balance potentially can drop your score before it improves it makes planning score improvement more cumbersome.

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Actually, it's hard to know your personal sweet spot without testing.  You still need to be 9% or less on the individual card.  For some people the sweet spot is 2 cards less than 10% and I've seen rare occasions where it's 3 cards.  But for the majority of those who've tested, it's one card with a balances that is less than 10%.

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+1

Each person's profile is calculated differently.

I'm beginning to believe (whether true or not) that FICO even builds into their scoring formulas some sort of provision for those of us who are responsible (bold) enough to micromanage our profiles for best efficiency just to keep us guessing.

To keep the uncertainty at bare minimum i just adjust my own profile which my Lenders seem to find to their liking and not so much try to squeeze out every little ditty to maybe eek out an additional point or two from FICO. AAoA seems to be one of the bigger factors that can help elevate scores and as we all know that's old Mr Time that we just have to wait on to help us out on that one.

[bdhu2001]

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@CreditMagic7 wrote:

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@bdhu2001 wrote:

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@ejbmvp wrote:

thanks azguy13. i've havent delved that deep into the understandnig the util myself yet so thanks for that clarification. i was under the impression keeping the util less than 9% on 1 cc was the sweet spot. so now knowing that paying a card off to zero while still having another cc with a balance potentially can drop your score before it improves it makes planning score improvement more cumbersome.

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Actually, it's hard to know your personal sweet spot without testing.  You still need to be 9% or less on the individual card.  For some people the sweet spot is 2 cards less than 10% and I've seen rare occasions where it's 3 cards.  But for the majority of those who've tested, it's one card with a balances that is less than 10%.

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+1

Each person's profile is calculated differently.

I'm beginning to believe (whether true or not) that FICO even builds into their scoring formulas some sort of provision for those of us who are responsible (bold) enough to micromanage our profiles for best efficiency just to keep us guessing.

To keep the uncertainty at bare minimum i just adjust my own profile which my Lenders seem to find to their liking and not so much try to squeeze out every little ditty to maybe eek out an additional point or two from FICO. AAoA seems to be one of the bigger factors that can help elevate scores and as we all know that's old Mr Time that we just have to wait on to help us out on that one.

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True that.  I recently paid down my lease to 3% util.  My TU shot up 22 pts & the alert stated it was due to the lease.  My EX & EQ didn't budge.  A week later, my EQ went up 27 pts & my EX went up 22 pts. The alert states that they shot up, because I charged $627 on an account that I normally keep at $0.

The account wasn't dormant.  It's an AmEX that I constantly use and PIF. It ended up giving me two cards reporting a balance.  I would think that meant two cards was my sweet spot, except I've had two cards report before.  I think it's the lease hitting the other CBAs at a later date, but only the FICO deities know for sure.

[ejbmvp]

thanks for all the feedback. lots to be learned.

[CreditMagic7]

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@ejbmvp wrote:

thanks for all the feedback. lots to be learned.

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Plenty.

This area of the forums seem to be often and easily passed over by many until the hammer drops (sudden unexpected score drops for various reasons) but is one of the most informative sections IMHO that can go a long way in helping not only build but better manage your credit profiles.

Not to mention prevents and prepares members for what might be expected or unexpected. It's always good to know ahead of time better then after the fact.