In a somewhat thin, moderately aged, profile I'm monitoring for a friend, the All Zero penalty just cost 22 points in EX FICO 8.
I guess this is becoming so well documented that it doesn't count as news, but I just thought I'd throw it into the hopper.
And I might also add that I think it is a ridiculous feature of the FICO algorithms 
To me the all zero penalty, which as you state has been well documented here, isn't about credit worthiness at all. It's a flag to a creditor that says "you ain't makin money off me because I don't carry balances". I suspect it was put into the algos for that simple reason.
All things being equal on the derogatory side, as a creditor I want to lend to someone who will carry some balances and paying some interest over someone who pays everything off every month.
In the end, this penalty is easily defeated next month.
@FicoMike0 wrote:Thanks for the effort, more data is always good.
You may have started another "I think the algorithm is wack" thread. I wonder if this effect shows up in 10t? It seems likely to me that it's an artifact of the " snapshot" nature of the algorithm. Once an algorithm (10t) is keeping track over time, this might go away.
In March I took a 16 point whack in my FICO 8 scores due to the dreaded AZ penalty (I wasn't able to see my FICO 10T scores as the point loss and rebound happened between reports); in April my FICO 8 scores rebounded (plus an extra point on Equifax). I just looked at my FICO 10T scores for March and April and see the following:
- EQ: 811 --> 812
- EX: 817 --> 822
- TU: 805 --> 804
Lame. Thanks for sharing.
@TheKid2 wrote:To me the all zero penalty, which as you state has been well documented here, isn't about credit worthiness at all. It's a flag to a creditor that says "you ain't makin money off me because I don't carry balances". I suspect it was put into the algos for that simple reason.
Agreed. But FICO doesn't admit that
All things being equal on the derogatory side, as a creditor I want to lend to someone who will carry some balances and paying some interest over someone who pays everything off every month.
In the end, this penalty is easily defeated next month.
@FicoMike0 wrote:So, no effect on 10T?
Btw where do you get 10T?
I get my scores once per month via the myFICO Premier package, typically a day either side of the 6th; given my AZ penalty whacked my scores last month on th 8th and then recovered on something like the 22nd, I never saw the snapshot view while my scores were depressed to be able to determine if 10T takes a hit or not.
@CorpCrMgr1 wrote:I have chosen not to pay interest. My score generally doesn't drop.
I don't pay interest either, but when all accounts are zero, your score will drop.