@ztnjpv wrote:Just Venting....
I feel stuck. My TU has an average account age of 10 years. My oldest account is 20 years and 5 months. A few days ago, it was an average of 9 years because an AU account from wife's card opened in 2/12 was still on my report. I had it removed and my score went from 753 to 789. My EQ is in a similar position. Oldest account is 16 years 9 months and average account age is 7 years. And that was 6 years average before that AU account was removed. Score went from 764 to 777 with the deletion. My EX has an average account age of 7 years 9 months with the oldest being the same as TU. Average account age changed by one year as well with the removal of that AU account. My score was 755 on 6/1/12 with that AU. I'll see the effect of the deletion with my PESECU score next month.
Watching the increase in my scores from the removal of that 4 month old AU account was an eye opener. My credit report shows 2 cards I don't even use, which were opened in Oct and Nov of 2011 and an AU account from my wife that was opened in 2001. That AU account from 2001 was a masterful move. My account age jumps YEARS in one day and my scores skyrocketed. With only 2 open loans from 1/11 and 9/11 and two open cards from 10/11 and 11/11, that AU account (added in 1/12) was a real difference maker. My report is odd. I have a lot of stuff from the 90s into the early 2000s and then very little from 2005-2010 when I was in default on student loans. My average age of accounts would be even lower if my three business cards (two opened in 3/12 and one 5/12) reported but luckily they don't.
Basically I love my scores where they are...however misleading some of the contents on age of accounts may be...and I am afraid to make my AAofA younger. I will already get younger in several weeks when I close on a mortgage and it starts reporting. Adding two personal cards to both beef up my accounts that actually report on my personal credit and move my personal spending to personal cards instead of business cards is good in the long run but I'm afraid of the hit my scores will take to have new accounts lower my average age.
If you are happy with your score and AAoA, why worry about it? You can always add a business CC if you need more spending power and it won't affect your AAoA. Your scores are pretty amazing already. I'm sure you'll break 800 when your mortgage is reporting more. Why bother adding the additional CCs? You will just have to worry about utilization reporting. By keeping any revolving debt reporting on a business card, you don't need to worry about it on your personal CR.
Great idea on business cc. Do you know what kind of info you're required to submit to amex for business card?
FICO 9: 
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.
Goal: Gardening!
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.
Goal: Gardening!
GST2008 said:
If you are happy with your score and AAoA, why worry about it? You can always add a business CC if you need more spending power and it won't affect your AAoA. Your scores are pretty amazing already. I'm sure you'll break 800 when your mortgage is reporting more. Why bother adding the additional CCs? You will just have to worry about utilization reporting. By keeping any revolving debt reporting on a business card, you don't need to worry about it on your personal CR.
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Well, GST, I am trying to think ahead and make my credit file more robust. I already have 3 personal cards reporting (2 of which are mine, one is an AU that is just for score boosting thru AAoA) and the two that are mine are less than a year old. They are from 10/11 and 11/11. Adding a couple new cards now will seem like a big deal now but as time passes, they will only be 7-9 months younger than my two existing cards. So, in the long run, they'll all look about the same age and give a thick cluster of accounts to absorb shocks to AAoA from future new credit. Yes, I can always apply for more business cards or simply use the ones I have more on the personal side but I find something bothersome with that. I'd like my biz cards to be mainly for biz. It's kind of an irrational preference. My accoutant has no trouble with it but it somewhat bugs me to have all my personal and biz charges getting mixed together on biz cards. Moreover, creditors can't see those cards. So 99% of my card usage goes unnoticed (unless creditors have alternate ways to see those cards). My files are neither thin nor thick. 23, 19, and 13 accounts reporting. I had a bunch deleted while cleaning my credit. Two would be in the low 20s and one around 30 without the deletions but I would have more negatives.
Like I said earlier in the thread, I have a few more tricks and cheats to pull out of my sleeve to help with this. A review of my wife's report shows two open cards from 2004 that I can jump on as an AU to help offset the hit to my AAoA.
And thanks for the props to my scores but truth be told, I am the poster boy of a rigged credit file that has been reworked, tweaked and enhanced to leapfrog point thresholds in timeframes that I could get do in so little time by myself.
Start (Sept 2011): low-mid 600s. NOW: TU FICO: 801, EQ FICO 808, EX FICO 798 (PSECU). Goal: Achieved! Now Maintain!
webhopper,
They generally require all your personal stuff like any card plus they ask about your business along with wanting to know the EIN and gross sales and years in business. Since I have a real business that has all that to easily report, it was no problem. I do know there are ways to sidestep or fiddle with those business details. Google it and see what experiences have been. Some may be more stringent than others about that side of things. I don't know
My business is incorporated but it doesn't have an ein. I have no employees. I report it on my personal taxes under schedule c. I wasn't sure if they were going to ask me to send in copies of my returns and/or profit/loss statements. I have all of those but I don't necessarily want to share my returns with amex. I would under FR; but not.to just apply. The business is great; but I usually invest more into it than I make.
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.
Goal: Gardening!
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.
Goal: Gardening!
GST2008:
Why not open a CC that is just dedicated to personal purchases and keep it separate from the others? That way you won't need your accountant to go review it for you. Back when Advanta was still around, I only used my Advanta business card for personal purchases that i wouldn't be able to PIF each month as it had a 5.9% APR and the balance wouldn't report on my personal CR. It was easy to keep track of since it was only my personal purchases. Also, I'm not completely sure about how it works, but as your Plum card ages, you might be able to get a personal CC with AMEX backdated to the original date for your Plum card. It worked in the opposite way for us, our business gold card was backdated to the member since date for our personal AMEX card. Getting an personal AMEX once your mortgage clears might added a little AAoA if you can get the Plum's member since date.
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That's kind of the point of all this.
My two personal cards are boring. They do nothing for me. I am addicted to cash back rewards now. I hate paying cash when avoidable because I get nothing back. I get strong rewards from my biz cards so I use them all the time. That's why I am looking at two personal rewards cards that I can shift my gas, walmart shopping (non-biz petty cash purchases), restaurants and that personal stuff away from my biz cards. They'll also show with high balances to further boost my available credit on personal reports. My 3 Biz cards have literally about $44k in available credit (I think my Plum's NPSL is about $32K) and $12K that would show on a report if they were personal cards to add onto what's there. My Util% always around 1% or 0 and I PIF every month but I do know that having some prime PERSONAL cards that actually report would look better and boost my available credit, which would also look better....even though my Util% will always be around zero.
Webhopper,
You're good then! You have an incorporated business. They can see that. Is your corp ID'd with your SSN? If it is, that's fine. It will work. Call Amex's app number on the website. When you go to the app page, a box will come up offering a number to call to do it over the phone. Ask them what they need and call back tomorrow. You WILL be approved. I got my Plum with a 702 Experian. One pull. and then no reporting unless you are delinquent.
They didn't ask me for any income verification or tax return info. None of them did. I wouldn't have done that either.
Ever look to see if you have tradelines reporting at Dunn and Bradstreet or EQ or EX Small Business? One of them will likely be checked. Chase checked my EX. They told me. If Cap1 or Amex looked at them, I don't know. They didn't divulge that info. EX seems to be the more popular of the two tradtional personal bureaus.
How long have you been incorporated? That might factor in but I doubt it's overly important.
Would adding a second AMEX account help with AAoA?
Right now I just have a Zync card but it is reporting back to 1991 (maybe 93, not looking at it now) when I first joined with them. If I add a Gold/Plat product wouldn't it also report back to that date and help with my AAoA? Would love to have another 19-20 year instant history on there.
Cahiatt, if your member date is 93 or 91, any new cards will show opened in that same year so you would get that "instant" AAoa bump. However under manual review, most underwriters would spot that right away.
LIMITS IN CARD DESCRIPTIONS