If there’s one topic that seems to have universal appeal, it’s credit scores. We are fascinated with the three digits that have the power to get you the best interest rates or deny you credit altogether.

I’ve even run across people with good scores above 700 asking how they can achieve a “perfect score.” To those people, I say get yourself to the movies.
My credit score has always been good and I don’t give it much thought. I’m not in the market for a new loan or on the search for a new credit card. So why would I care about my score?
Still, considering my beat, trying to anticipate the questions you’ll have about your finances is part of my life.

When I recently forgot to pay a credit card bill, I did wonder what, if any impact that might have had on my score.

The answer– like so many that relate to credit– is it depends. Acc. to a FICO score spokesman, it depends on whether the lender reports delinquent information to the credit bureaus.

Most don’t report until you are 30 days late and some won’t report one-time later payers for even longer…that said, other issuers report late payments almost immediately.

Last month, I received a letter from one of my creditors stating “Your credit limit has been increased to $12,500!” It goes on to say: “With your new, higher credit limits, you will have the flexibility you need for major purchases and daily expenses. Now you have more power to handle various financial situations.”

Do they know something I don’t about a financial situation i need to handle? Because last time I checked, I hadn’t used even half the available credit on that card. In fact, those in the know say you should try not to use more than a third of your available credit to optimize your score…and I’ve always tried to adhere by that, as odd as the rule of thumb seems.
Again, from a FICO spokesperson:

A higher credit limit by itself will help the FICO score of most people at least a little. That

This entry was posted on Monday, April 2nd, 2007 at 11:43 am and is filed under Kara\'s finances, credit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.