"Correct" number of open accounts?

[vn25]

I was looking though my Credit Karma and the only negative factor according to them was my open accounts, they gave me an F.

I have 4 CC's and an auto lease. CSP, two chase freedom, and a costco card are my cards. One of the freedoms and the costco amex I am authorized user not owner.

AAoA is 93 months.

No baddies, late payments, etc. 1 HP.

So, should I lower my AAoA and go apply for some stuff? I really don't want or need more cards but if it helps my credit score along I do have a spare sock drawer i can fill with new cards. What do you guys think?

[webhopper]

Hi and welcome to myFICO forums!

CK scores are what we like to call FAKOs

The FAKO "credit scores" sold by the CRA's and other companies aren't necessarily "better" or "worse" predictors of risk than FICO scores, but since FICO scores are the accepted standard, pretty much every lender will pull FICO scores, not FAKO scores. So FAKO's really aren't any use and folks shouldn't bother buying them.

Easiest thing to do is get your FICO scores right here.


Please check out Credit Scoring 101 for more info.

Credit Karma information should be labeled "For Entertainment Only" as it does not usually contain a lot of valuable information

Their scoring models and grading system do not correspond to FICO scoring model which is used by lenders.

I would take anything listed on the site with a grain of salt.

[indiolatino61]

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@vn25 wrote:

I was looking though my Credit Karma and the only negative factor according to them was my open accounts, they gave me an F.

I have 4 CC's and an auto lease. CSP, two chase freedom, and a costco card are my cards. One of the freedoms and the costco amex I am authorized user not owner.

AAoA is 93 months.

No baddies, late payments, etc. 1 HP.

So, should I lower my AAoA and go apply for some stuff? I really don't want or need more cards but if it helps my credit score along I do have a spare sock drawer i can fill with new cards. What do you guys think?

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Credit Karma is good for monitoring your report, but its recommendations and scores are rarely, if ever, of any real value. 

[john398]

I have 36 on number of accounts and got an A

But like webhopper said does not correspond to FICO

[longtimelurker]

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@webhopper wrote:

Hi and welcome to myFICO forums!

CK scores are what we like to call FAKOs

The FAKO "credit scores" sold by the CRA's and other companies aren't necessarily "better" or "worse" predictors of risk than FICO scores, but since FICO scores are the accepted standard, pretty much every lender will pull FICO scores, not FAKO scores. So FAKO's really aren't any use and folks shouldn't bother buying them.

Easiest thing to do is get your FICO scores right here.

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Except don't bother buying the TU-98, as very few lenders use that, the EQ is fine.  Hopefully shortly the EX score will be available again on this site.

[NonSufficientFunds]

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@vn25 wrote:

I was looking though my Credit Karma and the only negative factor according to them was my open accounts, they gave me an F.

I have 4 CC's and an auto lease. CSP, two chase freedom, and a costco card are my cards. One of the freedoms and the costco amex I am authorized user not owner.

AAoA is 93 months.

No baddies, late payments, etc. 1 HP.

So, should I lower my AAoA and go apply for some stuff? I really don't want or need more cards but if it helps my credit score along I do have a spare sock drawer i can fill with new cards. What do you guys think?

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This is one of the most perplexing aspects of Credit Karma - the only way to get an "A" rating in the "open accounts" category, is to have 22 accounts ?!?

Although there are some people who think that collecting a huge house of cards is a good idea, the thought strikes me as ridiculous. 

For one thing - staying current on 22 cards seems like it would take an inordinate amount of attention, even if you wanted to just avoid missing a payment.

Another thing (which most members of this forum tend to ignore), is that FICO also maintains a secret "Bankruptcy Risk Score" - which alerts creditors to consumers who acquire unusual amounts of credit availability in an unusually short period of time.

Such alerts will cause creditors to reduce or even close credit lines, and might trigger a "Financial Review", if a card issuer sees behavior which appears unusual, in relation to the typical cardholder models.

Let Credit Karma think what it wants of you - Be smart about applying for more credit than you need.

[john398]

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@NonSufficientFunds wrote:

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@vn25 wrote:

I was looking though my Credit Karma and the only negative factor according to them was my open accounts, they gave me an F.

I have 4 CC's and an auto lease. CSP, two chase freedom, and a costco card are my cards. One of the freedoms and the costco amex I am authorized user not owner.

AAoA is 93 months.

No baddies, late payments, etc. 1 HP.

So, should I lower my AAoA and go apply for some stuff? I really don't want or need more cards but if it helps my credit score along I do have a spare sock drawer i can fill with new cards. What do you guys think?

---

This is one of the most perplexing aspects of Credit Karma - the only way to get an "A" rating in the "open accounts" category, is to have 22 accounts ?!?

Although there are some people who think that collecting a huge house of cards is a good idea, the thought strikes me as ridiculous. 

For one thing - staying current on 22 cards seems like it would take an inordinate amount of attention, even if you wanted to just avoid missing a payment.

Another thing (which most members of this forum tend to ignore), is that FICO also maintains a secret "Bankruptcy Risk Score" - which alerts creditors to consumers who acquire unusual amounts of credit availability in an unusually short period of time.

Such alerts will cause creditors to reduce or even close credit lines, and might trigger a "Financial Review", if a card issuer sees behavior which appears unusual, in relation to the typical cardholder models.

Let Credit Karma think what it wants of you - Be smart about applying for more credit than you need.

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I just keep a spreasdhseet of each card and there statement dtae  and there due date, when there statement posts you can pay right away or wait til get closure, I have most of my cards due dates changed to the same day of the month....anfd not all 36 have balances

[vn25]

Hi guys, thanks for the warm welcome. I recently discovered this site and have done a TON of reading/lurking.

Seems like I might have opened up a small can of worms, but what i hear you guys saying so far is "if it aint broke, dont fix it", and to take CK with a grain of salt, both good advice.

Another question, I currently pay for freecreditreport.com I am thinking more and more that it is overpriced rubbish. There's a thread I saw talking about credit monitoring services, but does anyone have any first hand recomendations to replace freecreditreport.com? I was looking at costco's offering http://costco.identityguard.com. I know its FAKOs but it's all 3 as opposed to 1 and its cheaper as well as ID monitoring.

[longtimelurker]

And of course you can (and should) set up autopay for at least minimum due, to avoid missing payments.  Or, if you don't plan to app and thus don't need the maximum score, set up autopay to pay statement balance on due date....

[john398]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

And of course you can (and should) set up autopay for at least minimum due, to avoid missing payments.  Or, if you don't plan to app and thus don't need the maximum score, set up autopay to pay statement balance on due date....

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that could be disaterous for those that do not keep much cash in there accounts, guess it just all depends on how one budgets, I usually pay mine on pay day for whats due before the next payday