I have been following these boards for a while. A few months ago I started to pay my cc bills online right before their cycles closed and I watched my scores at creditexpert/experian, quifax and others go up. My business chanrges a decent amount to these cards and pays them every month. Unfortunately the scoring models do not take this into account. this worked for a while. The last few months my score dropped. This month I made sure the balances were completely paid well before the cycles close. Especially on AMEX since I charge big with them. Now my score was updated on Dec 17, which is a good 13 days before cycle close and shows a 26 point increase. I thought others might be interested in this... Rob
Rob, I'm a little confused with the terms. Which "score" are you referring to - FICO or what we call a "fako", something you get for free w/PrivacyGuard on EQ. I have been paying down balances substantially and been very frustrated by how long it takes to be reflected on my CR. Generally, within 14 days of my statement, the amount on my statement shows up on my CRs. However, EXP has been VERY late, letting months go w/out updating. When I attempt to dispute, they push back saying they need 90 days before a balance dispute will be done. Aarrgghh... Anyway, back to your siituation. I think what you're saying is you tend to keep a zero or low balance by paying when you're "supposed" to - usually within 20-25 days of the statement date. But that higher balance gets put out on your CR and your utilization looks higher than it actually is. Yes, this is a problem, especially if you have a lot of biz/travel expenses, get reimbursed and pay them in full. By paying online JUST before your statement is generated, you can have zero balances and your scores, obviously, should go up. You may be missing the exact timing when you're seeing your scores go down, but I'm just guessing - it's hard to follow just what's happening from your description.
Hmm... that's odd. For me it's the opposite; EXP usually shows updated balances within 2-3 days of statement close, EQ takes a week or two longer, and TU is just totally unreliable (usually at least 1 month, often 3; sometimes they actually go backwards and put a balance from 4 months ago after reporting more recent months...)
