Too many accounts with balances codes and gained 4 pts back after paying down 1 card to zero

[AzCreditGuy]

The too many accounts with balances code has been bugging me for a while now, in order to pay my monthly bills completely without any surprise changes to amounts, I have set my cards to pay off the statement balance. Which rolls over the next month and of course creates a balance on the account. I will probably consolidate all my bills on one card later, after this experiment as I know I shouldn’t carry balances due these codes. Its interesting how Ex isn’t affected as Eq is and TU is on its on when you have balances on cards.

[Kforce]

There are three ways to pay you credit cards every month.

Each as advantages and drawbacks, less desirable attributes that are on for the ride

I was writing this up for a response on a question about payments and AZEO, however it also

would cover your issue of pending and or re-occuring later charges that post every month

I would consider pushing payments.

-------------------

Standard Payment Method: (Pull)

Stop card use, 8 or more days before due date.
Rotate in another card for use & rewards.
Wait 2-4 days for pending charges to post.
Pay.
Wait additional 2-4 days for payment to post.
Check and make sure payment pulled from pay account,
and credit on CC account received.
Wait additional 3-6 days for statement to post.
Start using card again.

Pros:
Can use normal pull payments from each issuers web page.
Easy to switch which card or cards are zero and which ones report.
No need to set things up a month or two in advance.
Some issuers allow pulls from more than one Bank/CU.
Flexible as to when and amounts of payment,
(However most will not let you pay more than balance)

Cons:
Loss of card use & rewards for 11-14 days.
Caution needed when first linking accounts.
(An error here can cause full account closure)
Extra danger from selecting wrong account when
paying bill if multiple accounts are linked.
(Error here can cause full account closure)
Need to be sure payment account has sufficient funds.
(Error here can cause full account closure)
Payment link accounts closed (un-linked) if
not used for a set number of months.
(Ex: Sock drawer, paying another way, etc.)

* Worst method if looking at cards down time *
* Best for quick payment set up *

-------------------

Auto Payment Method:

Stop card use, 4 days before due date.
(Gives time for pending to post)
Rotate in new card for use.
Have full balance auto pay pull.
Wait additional 3-5 days for statement to post.
Start using card again

Validate that payment was pulled from proper account,
and payment credit applied on card issuers page.
(Auto has failed a few here & there, issuer will
credit & fix, however you need to check that all
is working as it should monthly)

Pros:
Auto, safety and simplicity
4 days less loss of cards use & rewards
than normal pull.

Cons:
Loss of cards use & rewards for 7-9 days
Needs to be set up ahead of time much like push payments
Caution needed when first linking accounts.
(Error here can cause full account closure)
Only one account can be used for payment
Need to be sure payment account has sufficient funds.
(Error here can cause full account closure)

* Worst method if wanting flexible payments *
* Best for safety and simplicity *
* Best for taking advantage of float *

-------------------

Push Payment Method:

8-14 days before due date pay.
(What amount you want, not limited to balance)
Check and make sure payment post well in advance
of due date.

Pros:
No need to stop using card.
No loss of rewards.
No need to rotate cards.
No danger from an error when linking accounts.
No payment links closed because of lack of use.
No way to not have sufficient funds,
using manual push payment with bill-pay service.
Auto pushes can be set up for safety,
to cover minimums, etc.

Cons:
Need to set up push payments with your bank or CU.
(This takes a little time to set up and test)
Interest loss from payment lead time & pre-paying if
doing Azeo.
Longest lead time for payment before due date

* Worst method if wanting to take advantage of float *
* Worst if looking at payment lead time *
* Worst interest loss from lead & pre pay card use *
***
* Best for Azeo control, rewards and no card down time *
* Rewards & loss of down time can be of grater value
* than interest loss from a few days earlier payment (YMMV) *

[Thomas_Thumb]

---

@AzCreditGuy wrote:

The too many accounts with balances code has been bugging me for a while now. Its interesting how Ex isn’t affected as Eq is and TU is on its on when you have balances on cards.

---

Another data point showing that EX Fico 8 is rather insensitive to # accounts with balances. A list of reason codes indicates EX ignores this attribute.

[AzCreditGuy]

I didnt realize I had a free score product here at MyFico, which is EQ. I activated it on Thursday and today I got a notice of my score change. I like how they give you codes on here vs Ex product. 

[AzCreditGuy]

So I pulled CLI requests with Discover and Us Bank on 04/07/23 and I got the letters today, does anyone know why they are pulling old reports for CLI? I am trying to see when the "too many balances" code changes

Discovers TU report was from 03/01/23

Us Bank TU report was from 03/11/23

[GZG]

---

@AzCreditGuy wrote:

 does anyone know why they are pulling old reports for CLI?

---

because pulling reports cost money, so they use their monthly review report for requests rather than generate a new report every time somebody clicks

it's the same pull they use for discover's free TU FICO score offering

[Beefy1212]

@Kforce If the card in question allows for point redemption for statement credit and it isn't a card that gives a sub optimal return for doing so, you can redeem points to force a negative balance, and preemptively pay a balance before it posts. This also assumes you have a plethora of points to use and your spend on the card isn't an excess of your ability to pre-pay. 

This has been consequence free for me, but also unreliable due to slow point gain across too many cards, but it definitely works especially just after a sub or other bonus offer.

[AzCreditGuy]

I wanted to give an update as I just received an alert from my Fico...I have not pulled my 3B from Experian as I am waiting for TU to get updated for 1 more CC that has been paid down to zero. I am a little disappointed that I only gained 1pt with EQ, as it seems I gained 4 pts going from 89% UTI cards with balances to 78%. So now its from 78% to 33% and 1 pt gain?

 

And it seems I still have accounts with balances (too many cards with balances) code for EQ also. EX is not even moved by any of this...

[sznthescore]

---

@Kforce wrote:

There are three ways to pay you credit cards every month.

Each as advantages and drawbacks, less desirable attributes that are on for the ride

I was writing this up for a response on a question about payments and AZEO, however it also

would cover your issue of pending and or re-occuring later charges that post every month

I would consider pushing payments.

-------------------

Standard Payment Method: (Pull)

Stop card use, 8 or more days before due date.
Rotate in another card for use & rewards.
Wait 2-4 days for pending charges to post.
Pay.
Wait additional 2-4 days for payment to post.
Check and make sure payment pulled from pay account,
and credit on CC account received.
Wait additional 3-6 days for statement to post.
Start using card again.

Pros:
Can use normal pull payments from each issuers web page.
Easy to switch which card or cards are zero and which ones report.
No need to set things up a month or two in advance.
Some issuers allow pulls from more than one Bank/CU.
Flexible as to when and amounts of payment,
(However most will not let you pay more than balance)

Cons:
Loss of card use & rewards for 11-14 days.
Caution needed when first linking accounts.
(An error here can cause full account closure)
Extra danger from selecting wrong account when
paying bill if multiple accounts are linked.
(Error here can cause full account closure)
Need to be sure payment account has sufficient funds.
(Error here can cause full account closure)
Payment link accounts closed (un-linked) if
not used for a set number of months.
(Ex: Sock drawer, paying another way, etc.)

* Worst method if looking at cards down time *
* Best for quick payment set up *

-------------------

Auto Payment Method:

Stop card use, 4 days before due date.
(Gives time for pending to post)
Rotate in new card for use.
Have full balance auto pay pull.
Wait additional 3-5 days for statement to post.
Start using card again

Validate that payment was pulled from proper account,
and payment credit applied on card issuers page.
(Auto has failed a few here & there, issuer will
credit & fix, however you need to check that all
is working as it should monthly)

Pros:
Auto, safety and simplicity
4 days less loss of cards use & rewards
than normal pull.

Cons:
Loss of cards use & rewards for 7-9 days
Needs to be set up ahead of time much like push payments
Caution needed when first linking accounts.
(Error here can cause full account closure)
Only one account can be used for payment
Need to be sure payment account has sufficient funds.
(Error here can cause full account closure)

* Worst method if wanting flexible payments *
* Best for safety and simplicity *
* Best for taking advantage of float *

-------------------

Push Payment Method:

8-14 days before due date pay.
(What amount you want, not limited to balance)
Check and make sure payment post well in advance
of due date.

Pros:
No need to stop using card.
No loss of rewards.
No need to rotate cards.
No danger from an error when linking accounts.
No payment links closed because of lack of use.
No way to not have sufficient funds,
using manual push payment with bill-pay service.
Auto pushes can be set up for safety,
to cover minimums, etc.

Cons:
Need to set up push payments with your bank or CU.
(This takes a little time to set up and test)
Interest loss from payment lead time & pre-paying if
doing Azeo.
Longest lead time for payment before due date

* Worst method if wanting to take advantage of float *
* Worst if looking at payment lead time *
* Worst interest loss from lead & pre pay card use *
***
* Best for Azeo control, rewards and no card down time *
* Rewards & loss of down time can be of grater value
* than interest loss from a few days earlier payment (YMMV) *

---

I just like the explanations of this post.  I'm on a pending reconstruction of paying my cards and this really helped.

[Thomas_Thumb]

The minimal point gain for reducing # of cards with balances is not unexpected on Fico 8.

Do you have an open mortgage on file? If so, it mutes impact of high card utilization. When I still had a open mortgage I reported an individual card utilization of 75% with no loss of points on EW/TU/EX Fico 8 when aggregate UT was kept under 9%. What was your aggregate utilization before/after the card paydowns.

BTW- Your 89% card was subject to a max out penalty. Also, the "too many accounts with balances" includes non revolving accounts. 

I had that statement with one mortgage and 2 cards reporting balances (an AU card an an AMEX charge card). At the same time I had a no recent revolving account activity penalty on Fico 8.