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Will and when scores raise

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DollyLama
Established Contributor

Re: Will and when scores raise

Curious, they made you pay off all the CCs, but did they require you to close them also?

Message 11 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise

No, they are still open.  My credit one has a $-xx amount.  I will be closing that one shortly because of the $8 fee they charge me every month just to have the account.  I threaten to close it but they gave me a 6 month fee suspension.

I know that closing accounts will hurt your score so I am waiting for my score to raise enough to get a great card and then cancel the 28% credit one card.

Message 12 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise


@Anonymous wrote:

 

I know that closing accounts will hurt your score so I am waiting for my score to raise enough to get a great card and then cancel the 28% credit one card.


This is a common misconception.  The act of closing accounts does not impact your score at all.  Closed accounts still stay on your credit report for 10 years and continue to age.  If you have a 3 year old account now and close it, 10 years from now before it falls off your report you'll have a 13 year old account positively impacting your AAoA.

 

The only exception where closing a revolving account could possibly impact your score would be if it caused your overall utilization to increase past a threshold (9%, 29%, 49%, etc).  If you have $200 in total balances across $10,000 in combined credit limits, you're at 2% utilization.  Now if you close down $3000 in credit cards, bringing your total limits down to $7000 but you still have $200 in balances your utilization rises to 3%.  A change from 2% to 3% won't do a thing.  In fact, as long as you are in the 1%-8.99% range you receive maximum scoring benefit under FICO models. 

 

So just complete that exercise above for your credit balances divided by your limits, then subtract out the limits of the card(s) you plan on closing and recalculate.  If it's not going to impact your utilization significantly, there's no reason at all to keep open an account that you no longer have any use for. 

Message 13 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise

Hi squiresj1.  You are getting a ton of helpful spot-on advice.

 

But just to help you sort through it, some of the advice is for stuff down the road.  When to close cards eventually, etc.

 

Right now you'll want to focus on the next three weeks.  That means doing four things immediately (as in today):

 

       * Signing up for free tools to pull your reports.  Karma and WalletHub for sure.  WH will give you daily updates on your TU score.  So do that first.  Then based on what you see on WH, time two Karma pulls (separated by at least seven days).  Figure out a good place to get your two CCT pulls in there too.

 

       * Researching for each card when the last two statements were and when the next statement will be.

 

       * Using the info from the above actions to choose a card to make your small purchase on.  You ideally want a card that will be printing a statement on April 21-23, given your incredibly tight timeframe.  Is it clear to you why?

 

       * Creating a plan for the next three weeks.  That plan should incorporate what to do if your balances aren't all reporting perfectly by April 27, and it is likely that they will not be.  For example, looking into whether you can just rent a car for a week.

 

The good news is that even if your balances aren't perfectly reporting, some will likely be at $0, which may be all you need to get you the minimum score you want.

 

You should also call any creditors where it looks like the new balance won't be have reported in time.  This is basically any CC issuer where the first $0 statement will be happening after April 22.  The creditors may be willing to help you out and do an early report of your $0 balance.  This is called a mid-cycle report.  Some issuers will do this if you ask.

Message 14 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise

Good call above on the mid cycle reporting, I hadn't considered that option.
Message 15 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise

Thanks for all of the great advice.  Yesterday, I called all 5 places that I paid off to verify the date they received my final payments and how they report to the credit bureaus. All 5 confirmed they received payments around March 25 and they report right away with the exception of Credit One, which they said they reported on April 12.  I was also told that once companies report, it can take 30 -45 days for the bureaus to update my information.  So, looks like I will have to wait until May to see any changes.

Message 16 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise

Most will give you that 30-45 day statement... sometimes even 45-60 days... but, IMO, that's BS.  Every time I've had a creditor report information it's updated with the bureaus within days, a week tops.  I guess this can vary based on creditor and/or personal experience... but with all the ones I've ever dealt with it's an extremely quick process.

Message 17 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise

Should I contact all 3 bureaus directly to inquire?

Message 18 of 27
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Will and when scores raise

GGreat news!!  I went to wallethub and saw that my TU went from 667 to 776 and EQ go to 709.  It didnt have Experian so I had to pay a trial period to get my score.  It is 722.

All things were updated.

But why the big diffence between my EQ and the other 2?

It is all reporting the same stuff.

Message 19 of 27
HeavenOhio
Senior Contributor

Re: Will and when scores raise

It's likely that these services don't use the same scoring model. WalletHub uses VantageScore. You don't say where you got Equifax. Experian may have given you a FICO or one of their proprietary scores.

 

I'd suggest going to CreditCheck Total, signing up for their free trial, and canceling. That'll ultimately cost you a dollar, and you'll have your three FICO 8s. Others here can give you the ins and outs of when and how to cancel.

Message 20 of 27
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