topic Re: Why isn't my score higher? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Why isn't my score higher?

sssick — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:53:44 GMT

Hello all,

My score has always been around 7would love to know what I can do to get over the 800 mark.

A little about me:

30 years old, with a credit card since 18 years old

Never a late payment....ever

Have a primary mortgage and a secondary mortgage

A discover card from 2001 $15,000 limit

A Best Buy card from 1999 $5,000 limit

An Amex gold from 2010

Have had multiple car loans all paid off

Keep a zero balance on all credit cards

Have one hard inquiriy in the past two years

What am I missing here? What do I need to do to get over 800?

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

Mustanglvr2006 — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:24:55 GMT

sssick wrote:
Hello all,

My score has always been around 7would love to know what I can do to get over the 800 mark.

A little about me:

30 years old, with a credit card since 18 years old
Never a late payment....ever
Have a primary mortgage and a secondary mortgage
A discover card from 2001 $15,000 limit
A Best Buy card from 1999 $5,000 limit
An Amex gold from 2010
Have had multiple car loans all paid off
Keep a zero balance on all credit cards Let one CC report a small balance even if only 5 dollars, Fico likes to see a little util.
Have one hard inquiriy in the past two years

What am I missing here? What do I need to do to get over 800?

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

What I have suggested above will not put you into the 800's, but I can almost guarantee you will see an increase in your scores, how much? Only FICO know's the answer to that.

What are your current EQ and TU FICOs? Not Fakos, FICOs?

What are your AAoA's?

You seem to have a decent "Mix" of credit, and good AAoA's and a flawless history, and based on the profile you've listed, I would assume your FICO's are well above 700. The only thing I see that you could benefit from is having one more CC, it seems to be the general consensus that having 2-3 CC's is better than having just one.

ETA: Welcome to the Forums and Happy Holidays.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

smallfry — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:36:24 GMT

Looks like you have 5 open accounts. Your 2 installments will report balances so long as they are open which is a bit problematic. Try letting 1 CC report a very small balance and see where your scores are. No reason why you can't be over 780 which is good enough for now.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

sssick — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:51:09 GMT

Thanks for the quick responses.

I got my scores from my lender when I refinanced last year, so I am assuming they are real FICO's. They were all in the 750-765 range.

I am pretty sure my AMEX reports my monthly balance as utilized credit, so I do have a card that technically has a balance even though it is paid off every month.

I know my score is good enough, I am just curious as to why I can't get over the 800 mark. I was going to get a Chase Sapphire since they sent me a pre-approved offer of $500 cash back when I make my first purchase.

If I get my scores on this website from TU and EXP are they real FICO scores?

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

RobertEG — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:41:58 GMT

Length of credit history and average age of accounts.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

GregB — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:21:46 GMT

sssick wrote:
Thanks for the quick responses.

I got my scores from my lender when I refinanced last year, so I am assuming they are real FICO's. They were all in the 750-765 range.

I am pretty sure my AMEX reports my monthly balance as utilized credit, so I do have a card that technically has a balance even though it is paid off every month.

I know my score is good enough, I am just curious as to why I can't get over the 800 mark. I was going to get a Chase Sapphire since they sent me a pre-approved offer of $500 cash back when I make my first purchase.

If I get my scores on this website from TU and EXP are they real FICO scores?

Yes, they are. These aren't fantasy/nonsense scores, which is why a score of 800+ is very, very good.

RobertEG has pointed out two reasons that your score is not going to get better than it is for awhile. It is already very good.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

llecs — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:24:35 GMT

OP, even though you pay off your cards each month, are they reporting as paid off? CCs update only once per month and was wondering if they reported a balance in between the updates.

Amex doesn't enter into this because the versions your lender(s) are using likely already exclude the balance and "high balance" from CC util calculation. In other words, you can charge $10k tomorrow and report that way and it likely won't have any score impact.

If you refi'd last year and those scores are over a year old, could it be possible you are at or near 800 already?

sssick wrote:

If I get my scores on this website from TU and EXP are they real FICO scores?

The TU and EQ scores from myFICO are FICO scores.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

smallfry — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:44:06 GMT

I've gotten over 800 with an AAofA of 5 and oldest account 10 years. The combination of high amounts owed on the mortgages combined with relatively low AAofA and oldest account might be what is holding your scores down. I had no mortgage debt and under 1K owed on revolving.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

sssick — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:27:50 GMT

Ok, I got my score from TU from this site and it is 795. The derogitory items are : You have not established a long revolving credit history. Your first revolving account was opened 12 years 3 months ago. My average age of accounts is 7 years.

One issue I see is that it says I have a credit utilization of 17% which is just not true. My Discover has a $5 balance and a $15,000 limit. My Best Buy has a $0 balance out of $5,000. My Amex has an $1,138, but no reported limit. I know when I use the available credit checker on the Amex site, it says I can charge $28,000 before I have to call them for approval. Does anyone have this same problem?

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

llecs — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:28:17 GMT

Getting there...this version of TU FICO, TU98, happens to score charge cards like Amex into utilization. It'll calculate it off the balance in relation to the high balance. Newer versions, including ones more lenders are using now, exclude that Amex per utilization. If that Amex is the cause of the 17%, then I predict your TU FICO will be over 800 if your lender were to pull it today.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

sssick — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:48:28 GMT

Well that stinks. I heard that was the case and I actually called Amex and asked them to report a limit. They denied that it would negatively effect my score and denied to report a limit. I will stop using that card and use my discover. Thanks again.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

llecs — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:46:25 GMT

sssick wrote:
Well that stinks. I heard that was the case and I actually called Amex and asked them to report a limit. They denied that it would negatively effect my score and denied to report a limit. I will stop using that card and use my discover. Thanks again.

I have an Amex Green and I hope they never report a limit. I wouldn't stop using it on the basis of a score alone. Again, your lender might pull a newer version of your TU FICO which would ignore the balance anyway. Your score isn't being permanently harmed by carrying a balance. If uber-concerned, you can always time your usage around the statements. Instead of paying it off on the due date, you can pay it off before the statement date to get it to report at or near $0. I personally wouldn't worry about it (well, I don't I should say).

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

sssick — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:45:44 GMT

llecs wrote:
I have an Amex Green and I hope they never report a limit. I wouldn't stop using it on the basis of a score alone. Again, your lender might pull a newer version of your TU FICO which would ignore the balance anyway. Your score isn't being permanently harmed by carrying a balance. If uber-concerned, you can always time your usage around the statements. Instead of paying it off on the due date, you can pay it off before the statement date to get it to report at or near $0. I personally wouldn't worry about it (well, I don't I should say).

Well I only got the Amex because I got 75,000 bonus points. I only spend about $20,000 a year on the card, so I would barely break even after the $175 a year. I don't travel much, and can't see the extended warranty being worth the annual fee. But then I have to cancel the card and suffer a score hit....ohhhh the madness!!! lol

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

llecs — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:54:06 GMT

Why would you suffer a score hit for closing it?

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

sssick — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:25:20 GMT

I thought that it would effect my AAoA? No? I was always told to not close an account once it is open.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

llecs — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:28:22 GMT

Closing a CC has zero impact to AAoA. In FICO-speak, AAoA includes all open and closed OC accounts like your Amex.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

Mustanglvr2006 — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:57:08 GMT

llecs wrote:
Closing a CC has zero impact to AAoA. In FICO-speak, AAoA includes all open and closed OC accounts like your Amex.

Re: Why isn't my score higher?

MarineVietVet — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:50:49 GMT

sssick wrote:
I thought that it would effect my AAoA? No? I was always told to not close an account once it is open.

Here is an excellent thread that discusses Closing Credit Cards.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".