what will affect be

[bcdudley]

Four months ago, I had a single secured credit card from Wells fargo for $1300.

Today, the Wells Fargo card is closed and I have 3 other credit cards. I have a secured card from US Bank as well as 2 other unsecured cards. One is from Capital one, the other is USAA.

MY limits are:

CapOne = $350

US Bank =$1000

USAA = $1000

My balance between all 3 cards is less than $100 and the cards are paid off every 2 weeks.

I know long term, this will be a positive move, but when should I start seeing big jumps in my credit score from this. Will it be pretty much immediate, or will it take 6 months or so. My score is currently a 643.

Thanks,

[llecs]

When did you open those three?

[bcdudley]

The US Bank and Capital One were opened about 3 months ago. The USAA was just last week. The Wells Fargo card was also just closed last week.

[llecs]

Your FICO scores might take a dip due to the new credit. Most of the loss will return within 6 months and the remainder within a year. But since these three play a large role in your mix of credit, I don't see too many points being lost. In fact, I bet you'd see a net gain within 6 month (for your latest CC) and a significant bump (guessing up to 20) within the next 9-12 months for the anniversary of your new credit. After that, if util stays the same as it is now, then it'll be steady from there on out.

[guydiver]

Your AAoA is in the dirt.  Is the Wells Fargo reporting as a positive tradeline?  Either way, you now have three active revolving accounts.  To maximize your Fico score, you would need for only 1 of those cards to report a balance at any given time,(<50% of revolving tradelines) and keep the balance reporting at between 1-9% to maximize your score.  Let the accounts age, anything else you add will only dump your AAoA even lower.  Give them a full year of good use and you will see your scores respond accordingly.  Good luck.

[bcdudley]

The Wells card is reporting as a positive. It has 2 years of good history on it with no negatives at all. I closed it because they would not graduate it after 2 years and they kept on givign me a bs excuse. The last excuse was my checking account balance with them was to low. They were not my primary bank and I only deposited money in there to pay my credit card.

Why would I only want a balance on one card at a time. I use my cards heavily for the points I earn. In December so far, I have charged over $4000 on my US Bank card, but I always pay for it immediately and never go anywhere close to my limit. My current balance on it as of today is $38. I use my other cards the same way pretty much. I try to make sure they are PIF around the time the statements are published.

[MarineVietVet]

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@bcdudley wrote:

The Wells card is reporting as a positive. It has 2 years of good history on it with no negatives at all. I closed it because they would not graduate it after 2 years and they kept on givign me a bs excuse. The last excuse was my checking account balance with them was to low. They were not my primary bank and I only deposited money in there to pay my credit card.

Why would I only want a balance on one card at a time. I use my cards heavily for the points I earn. In December so far, I have charged over $4000 on my US Bank card, but I always pay for it immediately and never go anywhere close to my limit. My current balance on it as of today is $38. I use my other cards the same way pretty much. I try to make sure they are PIF around the time the statements are published.

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This isn't absolutely necessary unless you are wanting to tweak your score for maximum points in anticipation of applying for new credit sometime in the near future or you just want a hobby. 

Many people seem to get their best scoring when they only let one of their cards report a small (<9% of credit limit) balance on the monthly statement and then PIF before the due date to avoid interest.

On any other cards always let them show a zero balance each month on their statements. That doesn't mean you can't use them it just means you time your payments so that the desired zero balance is achieved several days before the statements post.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[bcdudley]

I just checked a few minutes ago and my average AAoA is 7 years. That is showing up with the new US Bank and CapOne cards, but not the new one from USAA. does AAoA care if an account is negative or positive?

[haulingthescoreup]

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@bcdudley wrote:

I just checked a few minutes ago and my average AAoA is 7 years. That is showing up with the new US Bank and CapOne cards, but not the new one from USAA. does AAoA care if an account is negative or positive?

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No, as long as it's an actual account (as opposed to a judgment, etc.) AAoA includes any account, open or closed, clean or tarnished, that appears on your credit report(s.)

[guydiver]

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@bcdudley wrote:

I just checked a few minutes ago and my average AAoA is 7 years. That is showing up with the new US Bank and CapOne cards, but not the new one from USAA. does AAoA care if an account is negative or positive?

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So you do have some other accounts to give your AAoA a boost.  The USAA card not reporting yet will put a small dent in there, but not too much.  Your score will be affected for six months or so for the new accounts, YMMV.  I just got a EQ score boost of 13 points and it says it is because my previous "recently seeking credit" was not affecting my score any more.  That was almost exactly 9 months from my last hard Inq. for a cc.   Again, to maximize your score(if that is what you are seeking), keep your "reporting" balances at $0 except for one card that should report a small balance of between 1-9%, some say less than 9%, but more than 1%. Who knows for sure.  Make sure you know the date each account reports so you can have them paid appropriately before then. If you keep up with your daily balances you can figure out the reporting date each month by the amounts(balances) shown on your CR.  Give your new cards time to age some. On-time payments is the key to long term Fico score health, everything else is secondary.