Why is this....it seems so ridiculous for them to not do this. Is it worse on OUR scores this way? It would appear so, if your goal is to get below 50% of CL and they are only reporting a faction of that!!! That would mean I'd better pay another chunk on this card before closing huh??? Is this an "option" for CC's...report the CL or the highest balance?? Urgggh...SO much to learn.
It has been their policy. If most of your accounts show credit limits, and balances a fraction of those limits, it probably does not matter much. Why close it? Just run it up, to get a high balance, then pay it down. FICO probably uses high balance if it does not have credit limit.
The reason is well-publicised by the government. Well with a little bit of research; since not every government press release makes the traditional mainstream press. From the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council http://www.ffiec.gov/press/pr011800a.htm To make a long story short... If you have a $1,000 C1 limit only spent $50 on it, C1 doesn't want to risk that another bank pulling a promotional inquiry would nab you for having a low utilization on a large credit limit. Instead you'ld have a high utilization on a small $50.00 credit line. Each of which could be used against you.
