Does it seem to you as if your credit score is different each time you access it? Your credit reports update more often than you think, showing not just creditor information but your other financial decisions, too.
Knowing when your credit report updates is essential since the credit score displayed on it impacts many corners of your life – from your desirability as a potential employee, to renting and buying properties, all the way up to the interest rates you can get.
And the more you are informed on your credit score, the more you know what caused it to go up or down. Meaning, diving into the topic of credit report update aids you in repairing your credit score.
How Often Do Creditors Report to Bureaus?
The majority of creditors report credit card and loan balances to credit bureaus every 30 to 45 days. Creditors rarely choose the exact same day for reporting to said bureaus. And an individual creditor may not report simultaneously to the big three bureaus – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. For instance, the given creditor may report to TransUnion this week but report to Experian next week.
Each time a creditor puts in a report, your credit score may potentially change. The more credit accounts you have, the more frequent the changes in your credit score. Meaning, your information may change weekly or even daily.
Your credit card balances, how frequently you apply for and open new accounts, and how well you are up to date with your bills – all of this impacts how much your credit score changes. Moreover, FICO and Vantage scoring systems also affect your financial standing since they grade you in the 350-800 range.
How Much Exactly Can My Credit Score Change in One Update?
While your credit report can change gradually, it can also see sudden drops. The most obvious culprits for causing your credit score to go down are:
● Late Payments
● High credit utilization
● Bankruptcies, collections, and judgments
Did you know that just a single missed payment can cause your credit score to go down by 150 points? And vice versa – a removed missed payment from your credit report can increase your score by just as much!
When it comes to high credit utilization, it can occur as a negative credit score when you rack up a lot of credit card debt in just one month. But if you pay down a massive chunk of your credit card debt, it can cause a quick spike in the credit score. Overall, your credit utilization shouldn’t be more than 30 percent per month.
As we have mentioned, not all of the data on your credit report comes from creditors. Being turned over to collections, filing for bankruptcy, and being foreclosed are good instances of this. And bankruptcies, collections, and judgments can have a heavy impact on your credit score. Did you know that such negative entries can stay on your credit report for 7 years?
If you believe an error has been made in your report, some services diligently pursue creditors to dispute the information from your credit report. Trustworthy companies thoroughly audit creditors, which can have an almost immediate positive effect on your credit score.
Improving Your Credit Score
If you are monitoring your credit, bear in mind that the information you see on your report may not be up-to-date. That’s why you can help your case in three ways:
● Find out when the provider updates the data (quarterly, monthly, or weekly)
● Educate yourself on improving your credit score
● Enlist the help of a trustworthy credit repair service
If you know when providers report to bureaus and credit reports update, you will know when to check for changes.
Free consultations can help you learn how to keep your credit score healthy. One of the pieces of advice you will receive is to focus on your payment history. That is because timely payments are one of the most significant proofs of financial responsibility and can hike up credit scores.
Another thing you will learn to pay attention to is the credit utilization ratio – the percentage of your credit card borrowing limits fronted by your outstanding balances.
The average age of your credit accounts also has a say – it makes up for around 15% of your FICO score. Did you know that closing credit card accounts can reduce the age of accounts? So maybe keep that old account open for now, even if you don’t use it often.
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