Maybe you thought your credit was pretty good. You followed the rules by paying off your balances and even kept those cards open so that they would continue to age. Yet, if you have not used your major credit cards, they tend to provide less of a benefit. This is likely the case if your credit report is flagged with the “no recent bankcard balances” risk code.
| “No Recent Bankcard Balances” | Credit Score Risk Factor Codes |
| Equifax | Not Factored |
| Experian | 29 |
| TransUnion | 29 |
| NextGen | G3 |
If this is the worst aspect of your credit report, then you should consider yourself to be in pretty good shape. It means that you do not rely heavily on revolving credit.
If you do use revolving credit a fair amount, but restrict it to mostly store card accounts, then you could still see this risk factor. Credit bureaus have separate risk reasons for no recent revolving balances and no recent bankcard balances. Therefore, if you aren’t using any revolving credit, you could get tagged with both labels.
This just might be one of the easiest risk codes to erase. All you have to do is use your major credit cards periodically to show some use. Contrary to the advice of some loan officers, you do not have to carry a balance to erase this code. You simply have to have used the card at some point within the past 4-6 months.
It does not take a big purchase either. You probably should not buy something just for the benefit of keeping your card active. Instead, use the card for something that you would buy anyways and then promptly pay off the balance.
It can take up to a month for your activity to report to the credit bureaus. For this reason, it is important to make sure that you make the charges and then pay the accounts off at least 2 months prior to planning a major credit purchase. Depending on when your next billing cycle ends, it could delay the reporting of your balance information to the credit bureaus.
Even if the balance is reported, it is possible that your payment may not be reported until the following month. This can occur if your payment is posted after the close of that billing cycle. While this is not a serious problem, you will likely want for your credit report to show that you have paid off the balance prior to qualifying for a major loan or credit account. For minor charges, this is irrelevant. For larger purchases on credit though, it could temporarily raise your credit utilization rate until the balance is repaid.
No recent bank/national revolving balances is credit bureau risk score reason 29 with TransUnion and Experian. This factor is ignored by Equifax. Code G3 is used on NextGen scoring products. For more information on credit scoring, see the complete list of credit score factors.
Long is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Industrial Relations. He subsequently received his Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. His Certificate in Financial Planning was issued by Florida State University.
Long has achieved the Accredited Credit Counselor and Accredited Financial Counselor certifications through the Association for Financial Counseling, Planning and Education. Long originally achieved the Certified Credit Counselor designation through the National Institute for Financial Education.
In addition to years of nonprofit leadership, Long has been an innovator in the field of volunteer tax return preparation programs. He assists volunteer associations and nonprofit organizations who seek to integrate credit counseling and asset-building programs with free personal income tax preparation. His approach to using free credit reports as both an incentive and a screening tool for placement into asset-building programs has been shared with members of the National Community Tax Coalition, the EITC-Carolinas Initiative of MDC, Inc. and nonprofit groups across the Carolinas.
Long assists members of our armed forces in the Carolinas, Iowa, Rhode Island, Georgia and Germany with financial readiness. Please support our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors!
Favorite quote:
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
Thomas Jefferson
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