When does high balance affect credit score?
Dear Credit Card Adviser, I have several credit cards, and usually I keep the balances on them very low. From time to time, though, I make large purchases on one or two of them, sometimes right up to (but not over) the limit. The next month, I will pay them off in full. My question is: How quickly does this change in “utilization rate” affect my credit score, both on the “fill it up” side and on the “pay it off” side? If reporting is done once a month (when my statement cycles), is my score “bad” for one month, and then “good” the next month? Or, is reporting done more frequently (maybe daily?), so my score “gradually falls” for a while, and then “bounces back”? I really don’t know how frequently reporting is done. — Steve Dear Steve, Your credit score represents a snapshot of your credit report at a particular moment in time. Charging up your credit cards on occasion can create a false, though temporary, picture of you as a riskier borrower to anyone checking your credit. An increase
