CC churning - equifax scores

[Jamesaurus]

The h

I've given up on trying to figure out the scores. My Experian score in early 2016 (when I started paying attention) hovered around 726 (very good?) since buying our first home together in late 2015 at which point had refinanced separately owned properties, and purchased a new home.

A couple credit card applications here and there (1 every 2 months), didn't cause any changes. Suddenly, I applied for a NAB card, and my score dropped to 573 the next month! 1 month after that it went back up to 668 and sat there for 7 months (Nov 16 to May 17). We had this fear of the score going lower, so held back on applications for a few months, until in Feb 17 when we refinanced all of our loans, and immediately after started churning cards again. In June, after a new Amex application, a new Coles MC, and a Virgin Money card, the score jumped to 726, and last month up to 745. I basically apply for a new card and cancel another every 2 months.

We've never had any issue being denied a card, and the bank has never questioned our score or credit cards when reviewing our loans.

My equifax score is lower, 566 (average) , but it changes by 1 point here and there. We never carry a balance, we never pay late (with the occasional 1-2 days when we forget to schedule a payment) so in theory should be a perfect risk to creditors as we USE credit, but always pay it back quickly and we have equity.

A Veda (now equifax) rep told me (after Origin Energy wouldn't give me an energy account saying my score was too low!) that my score was "low" because I moved 5 times in 9 years, otherwise my report had nothing negative that would impact me.

So in your experience did the home buying have minimal impact on the score?

 

[robtemt]

So in your experience did the home buying have minimal impact on the score?

Didnt seem to affect it at all.

 

[flapper]

I have been CC churning for a few years and my Veda falls after every application between 30-40 points.
I pay my credit cards in full every month by direct debit am well ahead on my mortgage and pay more than required every month and pay all other bills on time.
I am now only average and wonder if I should slow down on the churning but those points are addictive.

 

[theblank]

and the bank has never questioned our score or credit cards when reviewing our loans.

of course, banks have been credit scoring loan applications themselves for 20+ years. Nab Started in 1991 and was one of the first. They all have built a massive amount of data by now. There is no chance that they will be relying on any of the credit bureaus who are building a score based on irrelevant information, paarticularly when the bank themselves uses the equifax data when doing their own assessment.

The only purpose of the credit score Equifax displays to you, is to suck you into buying their products, and their referrals. Its a marketing gimmick.

 

[theblank]

I pay my credit cards in full every month by direct debit am well ahead on my mortgage and pay more than required every month and pay all other bills on time..

that has no impact at this time. and not until you start seeing that information being reported by your credit file.

 

[deebens]

I've given up on trying to figure out the scores. My Experian score in early 2016 (when I started paying attention) hovered around 726 (very good?) since buying our first home together in late 2015 at which point had refinanced separately owned properties, and purchased a new home.

A couple credit card applications here and there (1 every 2 months), didn't cause any changes. Suddenly, I applied for a NAB card, and my score dropped to 573 the next month! 1 month after that it went back up to 668 and sat there for 7 months (Nov 16 to May 17). We had this fear of the score going lower, so held back on applications for a few months, until in Feb 17 when we refinanced all of our loans, and immediately after started churning cards again. In June, after a new Amex application, a new Coles MC, and a Virgin Money card, the score jumped to 726, and last month up to 745. I basically apply for a new card and cancel another every 2 months.

We've never had any issue being denied a card, and the bank has never questioned our score or credit cards when reviewing our loans.

My equifax score is lower, 566 (average) , but it changes by 1 point here and there. We never carry a balance, we never pay late (with the occasional 1-2 days when we forget to schedule a payment) so in theory should be a perfect risk to creditors as we USE credit, but always pay it back quickly and we have equity.

A Veda (now equifax) rep told me (after Origin Energy wouldn't give me an energy account saying my score was too low!) that my score was "low" because I moved 5 times in 9 years, otherwise my report had nothing negative that would impact me.

Yeah there's a wide disparity in my Experian and Equifax scores.

Can't give you the numbers offhand, but I'm almost excellent with Experian. I'm almost average with Equifax.

 

[Bindibuys]

Just on the spending requirement for cards, has anyone ever utilised paypal to transfer friends money from a credit card and does this count as spending?.

I did this, had my DIL send me an invoice for "goods" via Paypal and used the new card via Paypal to pay her invoice. When she received the funds, she just transferred the money back to me. It did cost though.... someone has to pay the paypal fees. If I remember correctly the invoice was for $3,500.00 and it cost me around $40.00?? in fees. But I thought it was worth it, as I did not have to think about getting the minimum spend done within a set time.

 

[PointsTravel]

4 CC applications in 4 Months and my Equifax has gone from 773 to 725 - I’m happy to wear the drop in score for 365k Points

 

[get me outta here]

Just rec’d an email from Equifax. Looks like all the cc apps are coming back to haunt us:

You may have seen the recent media activity on Comprehensive Credit Reporting as the Government looks to speed up supply of this information by Australian lenders.

National Australia Bank will start sharing their Comprehensive Credit Reporting information this month which you can read more about here. As this Comprehensive Credit Information becomes available you may see more information added to your Equifax Credit Report which may cause your Equifax Score to change.

Comprehensive Credit Reporting information includes the following categories:

• Type of credit account (credit card, personal loan etc.);
• Date the credit account was opened,
• Current credit limit;
• Account closed date; and
• Last 24 months of repayment history showing whether or not the minimum repayment was made on time.

To help consumers understand the impact this will have on Equifax Scores, we prepared this infographic that talks about what goes into a credit profile.

As seen in other markets around the world which have adopted a Comprehensive Credit Reporting system, it boosts competition between lenders. Additionally, consumers who establish a good credit profile by paying their credit commitments on time are more likely to get access to credit at the price they deserve.


Kind regards,

The Equifax team

 

[Lemon_Party]

Just rec’d an email from Equifax. Looks like all the cc apps are coming back to haunt us:

You may have seen the recent media activity on Comprehensive Credit Reporting as the Government looks to speed up supply of this information by Australian lenders.

National Australia Bank will start sharing their Comprehensive Credit Reporting information this month which you can read more about here. As this Comprehensive Credit Information becomes available you may see more information added to your Equifax Credit Report which may cause your Equifax Score to change.

Comprehensive Credit Reporting information includes the following categories:

• Type of credit account (credit card, personal loan etc.);
• Date the credit account was opened,
• Current credit limit;
• Account closed date; and
• Last 24 months of repayment history showing whether or not the minimum repayment was made on time.

To help consumers understand the impact this will have on Equifax Scores, we prepared this infographic that talks about what goes into a credit profile.

As seen in other markets around the world which have adopted a Comprehensive Credit Reporting system, it boosts competition between lenders. Additionally, consumers who establish a good credit profile by paying their credit commitments on time are more likely to get access to credit at the price they deserve.


Kind regards,

The Equifax team

Interesting link - thanks for posting

 

[I love to travel]

So am a bit confused. Even if you pay on time your score will drop because you have churned credit cards or am I missing something?

 

[deebens]

Just rec’d an email from Equifax. Looks like all the cc apps are coming back to haunt us:

You may have seen the recent media activity on Comprehensive Credit Reporting as the Government looks to speed up supply of this information by Australian lenders.

National Australia Bank will start sharing their Comprehensive Credit Reporting information this month which you can read more about here. As this Comprehensive Credit Information becomes available you may see more information added to your Equifax Credit Report which may cause your Equifax Score to change.

Comprehensive Credit Reporting information includes the following categories:

• Type of credit account (credit card, personal loan etc.);
• Date the credit account was opened,
• Current credit limit;
• Account closed date; and
• Last 24 months of repayment history showing whether or not the minimum repayment was made on time.

To help consumers understand the impact this will have on Equifax Scores, we prepared this infographic that talks about what goes into a credit profile.

As seen in other markets around the world which have adopted a Comprehensive Credit Reporting system, it boosts competition between lenders. Additionally, consumers who establish a good credit profile by paying their credit commitments on time are more likely to get access to credit at the price they deserve.


Kind regards,

The Equifax team

Might be a positive in all the full payments and closures to mitigate the openings.

More than happy to have the fact that I've never missed a payment start working into it.

 

[Dr Ralph]

So am a bit confused. Even if you pay on time your score will drop because you have churned credit cards or am I missing something?

Reality is no one knows how this will all work in Australia, just that there are some new factors in deciding how your score will be calculated.

In my view having high credit limits will be an important factor.

 

[get me outta here]

I am reassured that they say they can see what has been cancelled. It’s good to remember when applying for a cc to get a limit as low as is necessary.

I’m going to look into doing one more ASAP. I made the mistake of not concentrating when doing one of my apps and ended up with a limit of 50K.

 

[amaroo]

I got it... no worries. Neither of us have applied for a CC for 4 years. LOL once the CC cleansing takes place - maybe we'll dip the toes in

 

[Scr77]

Reality is no one knows how this will all work in Australia, just that there are some new factors in deciding how your score will be calculated.

2 on time payments have been reported on my Experian file (no negative reports) and my score has fallen from Very good to below average range overnight. That Doesn’t add up to me!

 

[amaroo]

The link in the Equifax email has a graphic on how your score is assessed.

Credit application = 51%
Credit report age = 3%
Personal Info = 3%
Adverse events = 10%
Repayment history = 30% .... CCR
Credit limit = 3% ..... CCR

CCR component = 33%

 

[I love to travel]

2 on time payments have been reported on my Experian file (no negative reports) and my score has fallen from Very good to below average range overnight. That Doesn’t add up to me!

Same here not happy

 

[Dr Ralph]

2 on time payments have been reported on my Experian file (no negative reports) and my score has fallen from Very good to below average range overnight. That Doesn’t add up to me!

Just checked and my score has fallen by more than 300 points. Now below average.

Have to say that I'm not worried at all. If banks take this as the criteria for credit then no one will be getting credit ever again!

As I've always said a credit score is just one factor in the assessment of your credit application. Income and ability to repay are very highly valued by banks.

I'll continue to apply for every credit card that I can.

 

[benjy]

For me, my NAB account is reporting on Credit Simple (score went up by 30 or so points) but nothing yet on Equifax or Experian

My Equifax is currently Below Average so I'm hoping CCR will bring my score back up.