Util % update on myFICO vs CK

[Louscrw]

A few days ago, my Util % dropped from 30% to 0% for both TU and Equifax CK; however, myFICO is still reporting 30%  on TU and Equifax (Experian updated about the same time CK did).  

Is there normally such a delay in reporting?  This is my first month with the $39.95 subscription on myFICO, so I still learning.

[Anonymous]

Different CMS software can update at different times.  How often is MF supposed to update on its own?  I always thought monthly.  When you receive alerts you get an update though, so I'm assuming you received an Experian alert and got your new utilization/score and are just waiting on TU/EQ?  I would think that would happen within the next few days, but I'm no MF expert by any means.

[Anonymous]

Karma updates its credit reports once a week and that is reflected in Karma's front-end summary page.

The myFICO product updates its report once a month (if you are getting the $40/mo package).  It may be that balance changes in credit cards are not reflected in its front-end summary until the new report is generated.  I do not subscribe to the myFICO Ultimate tool so I don't know exactly how that product works -- hopefully someone else reading this can tell you.

Are you planning to buy a house soon?  If not, the $40/mo product may be costing you a lot more than you need to spend (nearly $500 a year).  FICO 8 scores are free most places and so are reports.

[Louscrw]

No, I’m not planning on a house purchase anytime soon; however, my ex-wife let “our” house get foreclosed June 2017 (6.5yrs post divorce and she never refi’d removing my name as court ordered) and since then I’ve become obsessed with my FICO, updates, etc.  My scores are slowly recovering (a/o yesterday, EQ 702 TU 718 EX 719).  I’m sure at some point, I’ll be at a score where I’ll feel more comfortable not micro managing, but for now I’ll continue to obsess. LOL

With the $40 Ultimate subscription, I get updates throughout the month whenever something changes, and the resulting score impact.

[Anonymous]

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@Louscrw wrote:

... since then I’ve become obsessed with my FICO, updates, etc ...

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I can relate. CK is good because of how it sorts and lays out your accounts -- very easy to see amounts & when each account was updated. Another useful site for frequent score updates is CCT. I love this site. It's $1 on a "7 day trial membership" for a 3 bureau report w/Fico 08 scores. However on Day 8 you get to run another 3 bureau report w/FICO 08 scores and then on Days 9 & 10 an Ex report w/score (but only if the score changes, I think). Just be sure to cancel the renewal before the 7 days are up.

[Anonymous]

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@Louscrw

With the $40 Ultimate subscription, I get updates throughout the month whenever something changes, and the resulting score impact.

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One suggestion I might make to save you ~$38-$39/mo would be to subscribe to WalletHub.  It's a free service and you'll get updates every morning at 6AM to your TU report.  Log in every morning to see if/what changed with your report.  Most days, it will be nothing.  Whenever you do see a change however, you can ask yourself whether or not you'd like to get a new set of FICO 8 scores to go along with that change.  If the answer is yes, head over to CCT and do a $1 trial as recommended above by James.  You'll get your 3B reports/scores for $1.  Cancel your trial within the next week.  Continue to monitor your TU report daily on WH.  If you see another change happen in the next 7-10 days, do another CCT pull (the second one is free, included in the $1 cost of your original trial).  Even if you don't see another change, definitely do that second pull on Day 10 just because you can... "use it or lose it."  If you see any changes to your TU report where you'd like to know it's impact on your score(s), simply do another $1 CCT trial.  It's that simple.  Most people can do a single $1 trial with CCT and be completely satisfied when using it along side free services like WH and CK.  You'll save $38-$39/mo over a MF subscription if you go this route.  The choice of course is completely yours.

[Louscrw]

Thank you for that information

[Anonymous]

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@Louscrw wrote:

No, I’m not planning on a house purchase anytime soon; however, my ex-wife let “our” house get foreclosed June 2017 (6.5yrs post divorce and she never refi’d removing my name as court ordered) and since then I’ve become obsessed with my FICO, updates, etc.  My scores are slowly recovering (a/o yesterday, EQ 702 TU 718 EX 719).  I’m sure at some point, I’ll be at a score where I’ll feel more comfortable not micro managing, but for now I’ll continue to obsess. LOL

With the $40 Ultimate subscription, I get updates throughout the month whenever something changes, and the resulting score impact.

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This is a common belief, but it turns out not to be true.  There are many ways your reports and FICO 8 scores can change (sometimes drastically) without you getting an "alert" from the myFICO product. 

Brutal Body Shots can give you a number of examples of these -- he's very good at explaining this.

PS.  Aside from free tools like Karma and WalletHub, and the $1 trial at CCT, there's creditscore.com which gives you a full report (as well as a FICO score) once per month drawn on Experian data, all at no cost.  You can stagger that with the Discover Scorecard (sign up for it 15 days after you sign up for creditscore.com) to get an additional free FICO 8 (and you don't need to have an account with Discover).

[Anonymous]

If you're getting a free update every day from a free service (like WalletHub) there really isn't any need for a paid subscription that provides you with "alerts" as anything alertable (balance change, inquiry, new account, etc) would simply be seen with the free service(s).

There are also plenty of free services like Credit Sesame and Credit Karma that you can set up to provide you with the same alerts, except that they are cost-free.