credit limit scoring?

[treschic]

as far as scoring goes, is your score affected by your credit limits?  i understand that utilization comes into play. but, i'm wondering if the credit limit period has any affect on your score if you keep it around 1-9% utilization.

[RobertEG]

Credit limits are not a direct scoring criteria, but do contribute indirectly in that once credit is used, the CL then affixes % utilization.  Also, be aware that a potential creditor pulls your credit report, and not just your score.  Seeing higher credit limits, regardless of %util, reflects higher credit worthiness.  It is not all just the score that matters.  So, yes higher CLs do matter, but not directly.

[RobertEG]

Also be aware that each of the three CRAs use different scoring algorithms.  It appeats that the Advantage scores from TU and EXP do include CL as a direct factor.

VantageScore vs. FICO score

The VantageScore is based on six variables, versus the FICO score's five variables. Here's a comparison of the two:

Vantage score

Payment history                          32%

Uttilization                                 23%

Balances                                               15%

Depth of credit                           13%

Recent credit                             10%

Available credit                            7%

Total                                        100%

FICO score

Payment history                         35%

Length of credit history               15%

Amounts owed                           30%

Types of credit uses                   10%

New credit                                 10%

 Total                                       100%

[treschic]

thank you.  that was a very detailed answer, but exactly what i was looking for.