It’s a signal that you aren’t actually using your revolving credit, which makes it less relevant for determining your credit worthiness. The formula is stupid only to the extent that the input data is bad. Otherwise, it would be an easy hack to raise your kid’s credit score to open a bunch of credit cards for them at birth, and do just the bare minimum to keep the accounts active.
They could report a long history of the balance, and use some kind of historic weighting function, or they could report both the amount currently due, and the amount paid each month, or both. The institutional players don’t want to reveal more than they have to to each other. Each of them is trying to know the most about you, and deny that to others.
Otherwise, it would be an easy hack to raise your kid’s credit score to open a bunch of credit cards for them at birth, and do just the bare minimum to keep the accounts active.
I think this might actually be a thing that people do (however, kids don’t have a credit report til they hit 18):
It’s a signal that you aren’t actually using your revolving credit, which makes it less relevant for determining your credit worthiness. The formula is stupid only to the extent that the input data is bad. Otherwise, it would be an easy hack to raise your kid’s credit score to open a bunch of credit cards for them at birth, and do just the bare minimum to keep the accounts active.
They could report a long history of the balance, and use some kind of historic weighting function, or they could report both the amount currently due, and the amount paid each month, or both. The institutional players don’t want to reveal more than they have to to each other. Each of them is trying to know the most about you, and deny that to others.
I think this might actually be a thing that people do (however, kids don’t have a credit report til they hit 18):
https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/education/build-credit/how-to-establish-credit-history-for-your-child