No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
Hi!
This would be my first post on this forum, so please excuse me if I've posted in the wrong area, or if this exact issue has been raised before.
Actually, I know there have been posts about difference in scores, but none of those were quite as close to my situation, nor did they answer my questions.
So here goes:
I've recently had my credit on the mend, undoing the frivolity of my youth, and things are going along pretty well. I only have two negative things on my credit reports that will be gone by april. Aside from that, the remaining accounts are all good.
In 2007, my aunt added me as an AU on her AMEX account, which she opened in 2000. On my credit reports, it shows that I've had an AMEX since 2000 as well (I'm guessing that account histories are transferable) Because of her high credit utilization (over 90%) I asked her a few years later to take me off, which she did. I noticed an immediate 30pt jump in my score. Now, two years later that AMEX account still shows on my credit report. It shows a zero balance, though, and is giving me a 13 year history with that account.
Question #1: Is this normal? For that account to still be on my credit report after I've been removed as an AU? (Not that I'm complaining, it gives me a credit history longer than my actual one, and shows a $0 balance on a $40k CL)
Moving on:
I recently decided to apply for my own AMEX and was denied. Before applying, I read up on which CRA they use, average scores, what factors might negatively impact me, etc. I had those two negative things on my report, but they are from years ago, so I wasn't worried about those. In their rejection letter, AMEX stated that the reason they declined my application was because of my FICO score. They told me they got my FICO score from EX, and since there's only one "official" FICO score, I'm guessing that they got the FAKO score from EX's in-house scoring system, or whatever (right?).
On the myfico website, my score is 793 (which surprises me because I previously used mycreditinform to track my score and there it was always ~690). The score AMEX told me that was on my EX report was a sorry 595. In other posts I've read about 70 point diferences, but holy cow, this is almost a 200 point difference!
Question #2: 200 points? What the heck is the deal with that?
Thanks guys!
Something strange going on here. What did AMEX list your score as? Because AMEX uses FICO EX08, which is the same exact one that's sold here. With a 793 I don't see why they would decline for score.
amex dont use fako
See, that's what I thought. The letter I got from AMEX said my score was 595, but the one I get from myFICO is 793.
And it was EX they pulled? Sounds like maybe a split file, but EX isn't known for that.
I would make sure that they pulled the right report? Call them and see if they have everything correct. Maybe you can have them re-evaluate your application because EX could have very well sent them an incorrect report or you have something negative that may have hit your report.
next thing Amex only use in-house scoring system, for cli not for new accounts
@Shogun wrote:Something strange going on here. What did AMEX list your score as? Because AMEX uses FICO EX08, which is the same exact one that's sold here. With a 793 I don't see why they would decline for score.
How did you know which FICO score Amex used?
One possible theory for the score difference is the dates of the reports. Amex may have soft pulled the OP a while ago and determined the credit score based on the old credit report which may have some negative items. Yeah, I say negative items because they are the only thing that could possibly cause a 200 points difference.
Does it give you a score range for the score they used? It could be a bankcard enchanced FICO also.
I have seen numerous posts, none of which I can find now, that says AMEX uses 08, Someone posted the letter they received and it also said the same thing.
This may not apply to you , but i have noticed that ccc that use fico 08 scores, which i think amex uses. They tend to not count any account you are an AU on so that is why there may be an huge discrepency in scores. For me my TU fico from Walmart, which i think also uses fico 08, is 110 points lower than TU fico from myfico. That may be what is happening to you i am not really sure tho:-(