Questions about weird things that hurt your score

[PolarBearnCO]

With the exception of Amex, you can flip your limit by taking a cash advance 1 day before the billing cycle ends to bring your account up to limit, then use that money to pay the bill in a day or two. Your cost is only 1 day of interest on the cash advance. Having online account access makes this pretty easy to arrange.

Wouldn't you also have the cash advance fee?

Has both savings and checking accounts

I have never seen on any of my credit reports any information that would suggest to the world I have nor don't have a checking and/or savings. What exactly are you talking about? I have had a checking account forever. I do not have a savings account, because I'm a federal employee and participate in the TSP (tax-deferred savings with historically good returns). Should I get a checking account? I still don't see where that would help.

[LNY]

PolarBear: Yes, you may have a cash advance fee. Normally, you'd use the "convenience checks" that, say, Capital One bombards you with weekly. There are two types... one with a fee of usually 3-5% and a low interest rate on your advance, and one that's no-fee but you pay the same interest rate on the advance that you pay for purchases.

[Methuss]

I have never seen on any of my credit reports any information that would suggest to the world I have nor don't have a checking and/or savings. What exactly are you talking about?

The CRAs get this information from loan applications you submit. They do keep track of if you have checking, savings, or both in figuring a FICO score. People who have both checking and savings are considered more reliable under the FICO model because it shows some saving potential rather than living paycheck-to-paycheck (a risk factor) and checkwriting is seen as responsible if there is no major record of bounces (reflected by collections for bounced checks).

The FCRA is silent on the matter of whether or not they must indicate this information they track; so they don't have to show it on a consumer report. It does show up on a "Subscriber Report" which is the report they produce for creditors that buy a report on a consumer for the purpose of determining creditworthiness.

[PolarBearnCO]

Hmmm.... ok. Guess I'll open up that savings account then, just in case.