Tips to bump up score little bit

[Anonymous]

Any particular CCC (credit card company) typically reports to each CRA at the end of a customer's billing cycle (which is the same thing as when the statement cuts).  Does it do it exactly at the same time every month?  No.  Some people have observed that it could be a day early or a day late.  Furthermore, not every CCC reports at the end of the billing cycle.  Some do it at the end of the month or some other pattern. 

Each CCC should know when they do it, however, so you could just call them and ask.  Furthermore, if you use a credit monitoring service like Credit Karma, you can pull credit reports weekly.  If you print out reports a couple times a month for three months you should be able to see the date your CCC reported to the CRAs.

In your case, though, you have a really short term need.  So what I would do (if I were you) is pick one credit card to be the one you want to be using right now.  Find out when it reports.  Make sure you pay it down to maybe $50 five days before it reports.  All other cards you should be going into ASAP and paying them down to $0 and then stop using them until you resolve this big credit pull (which sounds like it will get resolved in the next two months).

That's advice based on making things really simple for you.  Alternatively you could find out when each card reports and make sure that all but one are at $0 before each report date.

BTW, bear in mind that this complicated "all cards at $0 except one" stuff is only worth doing just before some earthshakingly important credit pull or need.  Once you get it resolved, I would just relax and starting letting your cards report naturally but also pay the balances in full (after they report and before they are due).

Finally, congrats on the way you are so diligently trying to learn all this stuff.  Good for you.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much! This is super helpful. I appreciate it!

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Okay, thanks

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@NRB525 wrote:

If all your CC are reporting zero, that will be a negative. The issue about going from $0 to $15 reporting, that relates sometimes to a new card becoming active. All cards reporting zero, is a different class of negative so you want at least one reporting.

To get the best feedback, it helps to provide as much information as possible:

What are the scores you are trying to improve now? Where are they from, do you know the algorithm being used, FICO version?

Are all credit cards reporting zero balances? Can you list out the cards, their limits and last statement balance?

Derogatories? When did they start? How many? Accounts they are on? Things you've done to mitigate them? When do you expect deletion? Are all derogatories being deleted or only some of them, some will remain?

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Trying to improve EQ mainly, that's what they're using for our FHA mortgage.

I am not sure what FICO version. It might be the old version. They were at 635-638.

XPN Fair Issac - 669.

Suddenly, we had a drop on Equifax only (of course, since Murphy's Law) and a few days ago when I pulled at EQ it said 601. That could hurt us. However, MyFico still lists it at 635.

We have 2 CC: First Premier and Credit1. $700 & $450 - both 0 balances.

I looked through MyFico Alerts -- anytime we carried even the tiniest balance, like $18.00 it was a red alert -- decreasing our score.

I've had good luck with derogs -- thank you MyFico users! I just learned about EE and got a baddie CO taken off. I am working through the others. Cap1 just agreed to remove lates -- they said it takes about 3 days to show up on CR. I'm hoping that improves our score.

3 collection accounts were paid or old and they agreed to delete -- yet they are on there. I've called them at least 4x and they keep saying "oh it's going to be deleted" and then it isn't. So I'm following up on those.

It seems like in looking through MyFico -- the only thing that bumped us was paying down our balances to 0. I haven't seen a bump yet for getting a CO removed. FP offered their $100 CLI increase for a $25.00 fee but I'm nervous about doing that right around underwriting. I can't risk an HP.

I'm going to pull my EQ later this week, hopefully some of my hard work will bump it up a little.

Cap1 accidentally put a $59.00 fee on an account that is "revoked" and so it looked like max UTI -- I think that's what dropped it. They credited back the fee but I'm like thanks, our score dropped 15 pts because of it. One rep told me the 0 balance/credit reports right away to the bureaus, the other said it doesn't report until the end of the month. Hopefully that will bump EQ back up again.

Anything else I can do? I know ppl advocate carrying a small less than 10% balance on the cards but in my history I haven't seen that bump the score.

I had nothing and then a mortgage inquiry and got an alert it bumped 11 pts. I know ppl say it's not supposed to -- maybe it was a trigger, I don't know.

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These are going to make it somewhat expensive to let balances report. The interest will be an issue.

Glad to hear you are working on getting the negatives removed.

One thing to consider is that State Department Federal Credit Union offers a Secured VISA card with no HP. You join SDFCU, there's no HP (there is a HP with many other CU) and then you fund your savings account with at least $250. That $250+ becomes your security deposit. They issue you the CC and it quietly starts reporting.

The "red alerts" you are getting when one balance reports is probably going from zero reporting on the card to something. You want to try to be consistent with which cards are reporting. Another card (not CreditOne or First Premier) will make it easier to do that reporting.

Then, if you go from something to nothing on any cards, you may get another swing.

The plus points you got may be some combination of a bunch of the changes that you have going on in the balances, not necessarily just that alert item.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I daresay my art background was horrible training for being "on top" of financial stuff. No excuse. After some dark patches, I see light at the end of the tunnel. This site has made me feel less panicky and overwhelmed and that I can take a deep breath and calmly try to analyze it.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Hello NRB525!  It sounds like you are recomending that our OP add a new credit card very soon (specifically you mention a State Department Federal Credit Union Secured VISA card).

While that may be a good thing to do for various reasons, could we pull back for a second and confirm that it is the right thing for the OP now, given his very tight timeline and goals?

OP, if I understand you right, you are in the final stages for an FHA loan.  The slightest points could tip you, you say.  I have sensed that your timeline is very short -- you are looking at getting the extra points you need in the next two months.  But perhaps I am wrong -- maybe you have many months before you need these extra points.  Can you clarify?

My concern about the OP adding a new credit card right now, evem one that will not involve a hard inquiry, is that adding a new account is almost always associated with score loss, especially a new revolving account.  His average age of accounts (AAoA) will take a hit, and there are also additional flags inside the model that look at when you opened your newest revolving account.  Thus, adding a new credit card may well cause him short term harm rather than short term help.

[Anonymous]

creditguyindixie,

100% right. we are super short timeline of end of Sept close.

a team of wild horses couldn't drag me to get a new CC right now!

I just got a 2 more derogs deleted today!

I am praying every day that at some point, all of this stuff will bump up our score! So far, zip.

I have been studying this forum which is different than Rebuilding Credit. I am trying to do the precise UTI thing and the math is so precise and timing so important I'm nervous!!!

[Anonymous]

I just found out FP reports tomorrow. I have a $26.00 charge on $700 limit but the rep said it's in 'pending!' so it might report as 0 again!

They have the avail balance at $629.

Should I try to do 6-8% today? So go out and charge something that would go through right away for around $20?

I need a merchant who doesn't do pending but puts it through right away

[Anonymous]

We'll all try to help you out since you have such a tight timeframe.  Can you summarize for us all the following information?

Exactly how many (open) credit cards do you have?  What are their names?  For each card, what is the credit limit?  For each card, when does the billing cycle end?  As far as you can tell, what is the balance as of this minute on each card?

I think I can find out some or all of this information by going through the thread, but it's easier if you put it all here in one place.

[Anonymous]

Thank you!

2 cards:

First Premier - $700 credit limit

Reporting tomorrow Aug 6

$26.00 charge in pending status & $45 in pending status

$629.00 available credit

Credit1 - $450 limit

0 balance.

Reporting end of the month

[Anonymous]

ETA: Too late for tomorrow. We'll see what happens!