If you have a high balance on your card, your credit card issuer will
report high credit utilization.
Not exact matches
Even though you may be able to pay the balance in full each month, depending on when your balance is
reported to the
credit bureaus, it could show a
high credit utilization, which reduces your
credit score.
For
credit card issuers who
report your limit as the
highest balance you've charged, make sure you pay your balance down quickly so your
utilization opens up.
As such, if your
high utilization does get
reported, your
credit score will decrease greatly, but as soon as the
utilization is addressed your
credit score will revert to what it was.
This removal of what, by then, is likely to be one of the oldest accounts on your
credit report could lower your score by diminishing those account age - related factors that, while not having quite the effect of
higher utilization, can lower your score by enough points to make a difference in your ability to obtain new
credit.
We all know that rising revolving debt, as reflected in
higher utilization percentage, can be bad news for your score — just as having no recently
reported open revolving
credit can also be a hindrance.
If your outstanding balance happens to be
high on the date it's
reported, you'll have a
high utilization ratio that will drag down your
credit scores.
If they
report before you have paid the card off then your
credit utilization will be very
high and that would hurt your score.
You would need to have the perfect storm of
credit utilization (probably zero balances with very
high credit limits), a long spotless
credit history, and no negative marks on your
credit report, which is nearly impossible.
Not quite my question, while this was initiated due to my yearly check of my
credit report and score, I am more just curious as to why 0 %
utilization is viewed as SIGNIFICANTLY
higher than 1 %
utilization when it comes to risk!
If your
credit card balances are at or near their limits, this can adversely affect your
credit score by assigning your
credit report with what's known as a
high credit utilization ratio.
If this
reported balance is
higher than the one
reported the prior month,
credit utilization can rise and the score can drop, at least temporarily, until the balance is recorded by the bureau as being paid off.
If our two hypothetical consumers have identical
credit reports except for their
utilization rates, Consumer B has a
higher credit score.
If you were rejected due to
high credit utilization, too many accounts or accounts in arrears, it's time to check your
credit report for potential fraud if you know that none of those behaviors can be attributed to you.
Late payments, collections, bankruptcy, a large number of
credit inquiries, a
high credit card
utilization rate and even
credit report mistakes all have a negative effect on your score.
See related: 10 surefire steps to get errors off your
credit reports,
High installment loan
utilization hurts your
credit score
So for example, someone with
high income and a 20 year stellar
credit history, with most cards held for 10 years or more, on - time payments and no delinquincies, and low
utilization of
credit lines who starts applying for cards might be able to get approved with 15 or more inquiries total on his her
credit report, whereas the story will be quite different for, say, a college student with low income and short
credit history.
Not only does carrying a large balance from month to month often mean interest fees, it also results in a
high utilization rate being
reported to the
credit agencies.
While I always advise to never treat a rewards
credit card with a
high APR like a loan, if something did happen where you had to put a big purchase on a card, your
utilization on your personal
credit report would not be affected.
Remember, this card will not
report to your personal
credit so even if you had
high utilization on this card, it wouldn't affect your
credit score.
Even if you pay your card's balance in full before the due date, your
credit report could reflect
high utilization — and potentially lower your
credit score — depending on when your issuer
reports the account information to the
credit bureaus.
While good -
credit consumers will show many of the same responsible
credit behaviors as those with excellent
credit, they may have shorter
credit histories,
higher utilization rates, or a
reported late payment in the (moderately distant)
credit past.
Since charge cards don't have
credit limits — a requirement in the
utilization equation — older
credit scoring formulas would substitute the
highest previously
reported charge card balance, called the «
high credit» amount, for the missing
credit limit.
Your
credit score will fall because the approval process will require a hard pull on your
credit report and the balance transfer card will likely have a
high utilization rate.