 TITLE: Can You Have a Negative Balance on a Credit Card? CONTENT: Does a Negative Balance Affect Your Credit Score?\n-------------------------------------------------\nA negative balance doesn't factor into your payment history, so the issuer won't send that information to the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Any lender or business that pulls your credit reports will not know that you have a negative balance.\nBecause credit scoring models such as FICO® and VantageScore® only use the financial data on a credit report to develop a score, negative balances aren't calculated into scores. That said, a negative balance indicates your credit utilization, or the percentage of available credit you're using relative to your credit limit, is at 0% for that card. Credit utilization is one of the most important credit scoring factors, and the lower your balance, the better your utilization—so a negative balance works in your favor.\nAdditionally, a negative balance has no impact on your credit card's limit. For example, if the limit is $5,000 and the issuer owes you $200, your new credit limit isn't $5,200. You will be able to charge up to the limit plus the negative balance, but your credit limit remains the same. END