I couldn’t believe it! Experian notified me last month that my credit score dropped by 45 points. So I logged into my account to see what was going on. I had not been late or anything like that.
But I had made a large purchase on my JPMBC Visa card, and for that, they punished me. I’ll explain.
I had a planned $6,000 purchase. I had the cash, but I wanted to pay using my Visa card that gave me a lot of reward points, which translated into cash on future purchases. This was an unusual purchase for me, because I have a habit of limiting my balance below 15 percent of the limit. I also pay the entire balance each time the bill comes due.
But this special purchase took me to 91% of my $7,400 limit. Not maxed out, mind you, but over the 90% mark. You’d think that would be no big deal since I’ve paid on time every month for 20 years. But nope!
The almighty FICO thought that I should lose 45 points for the crime of making a one-time large purchase.
I rolled my eyes. I was annoyed. There was only one thing I could do.
When my bill came, I paid off the entire balance immediately. Like I said, I had the cash saved.
On Monday, I checked my credit score since it had been a month, and not only did I have my 45 points back, but they added another 3 points, too.
The 45 points was for having my low balance back (less than 15% of my limit) on my JPMCB card. The 3 extra points was because my SYNCB credit card went from 37% of the limit to 0% (paid off and not used). That’s my second credit card that I use only once every few months to keep it active. Mostly, it sets at $0.
I got my excellent credit score back, and I am happy.
Please note: I do not pay for credit monitoring. My credit reports are on freeze, so there is no need for me to pay for credit monitoring. In my opinion, paying $27/month for credit monitoring is a waste of money. I can see what’s going on with my credit for free, and no one can hack in because my accounts are frozen.
Next week I’ll tell you how I get a score of 814, so remember to keep a watch for that.
