Using an unused CC

[Anonymous]

I remember seeing some posts on dings because of using a CC that has not been used for a while. I normally have a small balance on an old CC that was my only open CC until recently. If I decide next month instead to have a small balance on this new CC that I acquired last month and have the old one show a zero balance, do I have to worry about any dings because the new card is going from zero to nonzero balance for the first time? The new card has reported for one month so far with activity but a zero balance (because I paid it off before the statement date). The utilization is going to be 1% no matter which card is used. They are both bank cards.

[haulingthescoreup]

Good question. There might not be a ding, since it's a brand-new card, so it's not as if it hasn't reported a balance since seven months ago.

I'm pretty sure that I didn't get this when I last got a new card and let it report a balance the next month.

Anyone else?

If it does, it will be gone with the next billing cycle, FWIW.

eta: I can't believe I wrote this again. I've got to get this through my head! Please see GregB's post below.

[GregB]

Using a CC that has been inactive will generate an alert in Scorewatch and possibly other monitoring software. It doesn't change your score unless the amounts and balances change your score.

There is no score change just for the use of an inactive CC.

[AndySoCal]

With the most recent credit report you have does it show your new credit card ?

[haulingthescoreup]

---

@GregB wrote:

Using a CC that has been inactive will generate an alert in Scorewatch and possibly other monitoring software. It doesn't change your score unless the amounts and balances change your score.

There is no score change just for the use of an inactive CC.

---

This is absolutely correct, and one day I will get this through my thick skull, and more importantly, stop posting this. I edited my post above.

Many monitoring services, including Scorewatch, will send an alert for a dormant card being used, but it's just a security alert, in case someone found a long-lost card, I suppose. There are no point deductions for this. But a lot of us have gotten so conditioned to reacting to a Scorewatch alert that we think that every alert means a score change, whether it really does or not.

Thanks, GregB

[RobertEG]

FICO scores approx half of revolving % util on overallo % util, and the other half on util of individual cards.

So which card you charge on wont affect your overall % util.

 As for individ card utils, lets say you charge $200.  If you charge that on a $300 CL card, that is 67% util on that card.  However, if you made the same charge of $200 on a $3,000 CL card, that would only be 6.7%.  A big difference in indiv card % utils.

The important thing to remember is that % utiil has no historical memory in FICO scoring.  Where it was last month is superceded by the next montha's util.

So unless you need actual use of your FICO score for immediate application for new credit, it is kinda academic.