Hi folks.
I'm a relative newb when it comes to knowing all the factors that affect your score, but I've by and large followed Dan's cardinal rule - make sure your utilization is low by keeping your statement balances low on personal cards. On business cards, however, carrying a large balance shouldn't get reported to the bureaus so long as you pay it on time.
In line with this rule, I've allowed a couple large statement balances to post on my Cap One Spark Business Card. I also received complimentary Experian Credit Monitoring from WF for 90 days. I noticed a month or so ago that my score dropped precipitously. Sure, I just opened several new CC accounts, but to my mind that shouldn't have led to a 40 point drop.
So I checked the report more closely and sure enough, my Spark statement balance from November (12k on a 15k CL) was reported! I think this was the issue. How did this happen? TIA!