topic Re: How long do I have to wait? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

How long do I have to wait?

mekikya — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 16:36:07 GMT

So I'm new to this game, and been reading over the forums alot...pretty much all I can do at this point since every time I try to buy something from this site, it just tells me to call their call center. Which I did the first time, and the chick was rude, and basically told me I didn't have enough credit to get a score.

I currently have a CapitalOne Platinum Mastercard(300 dollar limit) and I just got approved for a Discover More card(750 dollar limit) Yay! I haven't used the Discover yet so I don't expect it to make any difference yet, but I've had the CapitalOne for 5 months now paid in full everytime, how much longer do I have to wait before I can get my credit score. Also, which of the three options is the best for someone just starting out? the 20 one time, the 15 monthly, or the 5 dollar monthly? Thanks for any suggestions.

Re: How long do I have to wait?

llecs — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:09:15 GMT

The minimum scoring requirement to get a FICO score (and consequently get any product on here) is 6 months. This month (starting today) counts as one month. Going backwards, Nov. would be 2, Oct. 3, Sept. 4, Aug. 5, and July 6. So, if your CC was opened in July or sooner, then you can pull a any product on here provided the open date of July or prior does indeed show on your CRs.

If I were in your shoes, I would pull TU and EQ from somewhere, or via annualcreditreport, just to make sure it did report for 6 months now. If you pull from annualcreditreport, it's for free. Then if you want to know your FICO score, then come back to myFICO and I'd suggest pulling the FICO Standard product (the $20 one). After you get that, then you can always decided if you wanted to pull future reports. If that's the case, then a subscription to ScoreWatch or FICO Quarterly Monitoring would benefit you due to the future discounts (30% and 20% respectively).

Re: How long do I have to wait?

mekikya — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:25:18 GMT

When is my card considered "open" is that the first time I get a statement? or the actual date my account was open?

Re: How long do I have to wait?

llecs — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:43:05 GMT

Usually neither. Your CR will show the actual open date and is often rolled back to the first of the month in which you opened it. FICO looks at the month and year field only. The actual date opened isn't shown on your FICO report.

Re: How long do I have to wait?

mekikya — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 17:29:06 GMT

Actually, turns out you have to wait even LONGER than 6 months, I researched and dug and found all my credit reports and found my start date, which was in July, then I called MyFico and asked them to verify me. Then they told me I needed to wait until January or at the latest February. Sad, but in case other people are waiting around in limbo at least you'll know about how long you have to wait.

Re: How long do I have to wait?

eviLution — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 01:37:15 GMT

Did you recently recieved your 5th statement too? I got it on the 27th and I had my Capital One Secured since July 19.

I wanted to apply for Discover also, but I wanted to wait until I can get a Fico Score first.

Re: How long do I have to wait?

mekikya — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 02:09:17 GMT

yes, i just got my 5th statement...thats funny, I got my CapitalOne card on the 19th too. I applied for the discover card after getting a preapproved letter in the mail, then randomly they called me, and a guy asked me alot of questions, like the time i've lived in my house, my job, why i was interested in credit and why i waited so long to get any...he must have liked my answers because he approved me, and gave me a decent credit line.