Magic Number 3?

[Anonymous]

I have been reading in these forums that the 'magic number' in terms of maximizing your score is 3; that you should have 3 different accounts reporting on your score.

Can anyone share their experience with this?  Did you have success with this?  Also, should it be 3 revolving accounts, or 3 accounts total, maybe 2 CC and an installment loan?

Any input appreciated, thanks :-)

[Anonymous]

Definitely 3 revolving accounts like a CC.

I got a score bump after opening each one.

Doesnt matter if they are secured or unsecured or what the CL is, just that they are reporting to all 3 CRBs and in good standing.

Try to sue the CCs to show usage.  Try to have 2 CCs report zero and 1 CC at less than 10% for best scoring.

Having some type of installment loan in effect is an additional type of factor and will get more points.

This thread that is a sticky at the top of this forum has info on secured cards.  Some do not require a credit check.  If you can find a secured card that will graduate in time with responsible use, that is a double win for you:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Helpful-Rebuilding-Threads/td-p/224981

HTH

[Anonymous]

Thanks.  I have 2 unsecured Capital One credit cards that I opened last month, as well as a new auto lease, which will be an installment account.  Neither of them has shown up on any reports yet, so I don't know how that will affect my score, but I am impatiently waiting to see.

Just wondering whether I really should try to open up a 3rd card to maximize my score.  Really wasn't planning on it, but started to wonder when I starting reading about c credit cards being ideal.

[Anonymous]

I would encourage you to open the the third one.

At this point, there is no issue with your AAoA if the others are also new.  New is new, really new isnt much difference.

Ok to wait until you see the others report so you can for yourself about the bump for number 3.

My method of encouraging a new CC to report to the CRBs is to make a small purchase, kind of forcing them to notice you and make an entry on theri books.  Doesnt work so well with Amex, but it does with others.  Amex is notoriously slow to report.

I wouldnt wait really long to get number 3, but of course, your choice.

Almost forgot, I like to have a diversified mix of CCCs so I spread my business around.  One policy change from one CCC wont slow me down much if I diversify.

hth

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would encourage you to open the the third one.

At this point, there is no issue with your AAoA if the others are also new.  New is new, really new isnt much difference.

Ok to wait until you see the others report so you can for yourself about the bump for number 3.

My method of encouraging a new CC to report to the CRBs is to make a small purchase, kind of forcing them to notice you and make an entry on theri books.  Doesnt work so well with Amex, but it does with others.  Amex is notoriously slow to report.

I wouldnt wait really long to get number 3, but of course, your choice.

Almost forgot, I like to have a diversified mix of CCCs so I spread my business around.  One policy change from one CCC wont slow me down much if I diversify.

hth

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Thanks.  Definitely something to think about.

I don't even know which CC I would apply for at this point.  I have 2 Cap One cards.  On the same day I applied for the CO cards, I had applied for a Barclays rewards MC, and I was denied.  When I called recon, they said it was becuase I had no recent revolving accounts.  I know they are very BK/rebuilding friendly, so besides them and CO, I dont know who I'd go with.  Really don't want a Credit One, being that I have 2 decent cards now.  The CO cards I have now are QS1 with a 2K limit and a platinum with a 1K limit.

In fact, my EQ FICO is 648.  BUT because I was able to get some recent 'baddies' (even though they were included in my BK7), deleted from TU and EX, they can't even formulate a score for me, based on no recent activity within the last 6 months.  It says there is not enough available info.  That's why I am so anxious to see these new accounts report!!! LOL.

Based on this info, do you think once I see the new scores I should still go ahead and apply for one more card?  If so, which one?  I kind of wanted to wait until about Feb or March and apply for a Barclays Apple Rewards card?  Maybe the 6 or 7 months of positive reporting from these new accounts will help me get in with them.  And by then, I am hoping for a nice CLI on the CO cards, as I am definitely using them a lot, esp the QS1.

Thanks again for all the input!  :-)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would encourage you to open the the third one.

At this point, there is no issue with your AAoA if the others are also new.  New is new, really new isnt much difference.

Ok to wait until you see the others report so you can for yourself about the bump for number 3.

My method of encouraging a new CC to report to the CRBs is to make a small purchase, kind of forcing them to notice you and make an entry on theri books.  Doesnt work so well with Amex, but it does with others.  Amex is notoriously slow to report.

I wouldnt wait really long to get number 3, but of course, your choice.

Almost forgot, I like to have a diversified mix of CCCs so I spread my business around.  One policy change from one CCC wont slow me down much if I diversify.

hth

---

Thanks.  Definitely something to think about.

I don't even know which CC I would apply for at this point.  I have 2 Cap One cards.  On the same day I applied for the CO cards, I had applied for a Barclays rewards MC, and I was denied.  When I called recon, they said it was becuase I had no recent revolving accounts.  I know they are very BK/rebuilding friendly, so besides them and CO, I dont know who I'd go with.  Really don't want a Credit One, being that I have 2 decent cards now.  The CO cards I have now are QS1 with a 2K limit and a platinum with a 1K limit.

In fact, my EQ FICO is 648.  BUT because I was able to get some recent 'baddies' (even though they were included in my BK7), deleted from TU and EX, they can't even formulate a score for me, based on no recent activity within the last 6 months.  It says there is not enough available info.  That's why I am so anxious to see these new accounts report!!! LOL.

Based on this info, do you think once I see the new scores I should still go ahead and apply for one more card?  If so, which one?  I kind of wanted to wait until about Feb or March and apply for a Barclays Apple Rewards card?  Maybe the 6 or 7 months of positive reporting from these new accounts will help me get in with them.  And by then, I am hoping for a nice CLI on the CO cards, as I am definitely using them a lot, esp the QS1.

Thanks again for all the input!  :-)

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Barclay is "low score friendly" but they do like to see some recent payment history of a year or more. I would certainly keep trying with them periodically until you get approved. What I would suggest for now is a secured card from SDFCU, or perhaps BofA (I hate recommending them), or Wells Fargo.

[Anonymous]

I second the SDFCU suggestion. I'd also very strongly encourage you to get into an installment loan of some kind. DCU offers a "credit builder" loan at 5 percent, and SDFCU offers share secured loans at 3 percent. If you get a one year term, you should have enough of the principle paid down in 6 months to be getting some decent juice from the loan. This is assuming you don't currently have an active installment loan.

DCU will hard pull your credit, SDFCU you can get setup without a credit pull and they report to all 3.

[crrredit]

Adding the first three bank credit cards definitely game me a boost almost instantly. But adding an installment loan will help more down the road. At first it is a slight negative because your balance is too high at first, since you just got the loan and haven't paid anything on it. The FICO material I've read says that most FICO high achievers (that's their term, not mine) have paid down the balance on their installment loans to below 60% of the original loan amount. So one trick may be to get the loan, make a couple scheduled payments, then make an extra principal-only payment to get the balance down. Don't pay it all of, however. Keep the loan open and keep making regular payments. This is what I plan on doing with the car loan I just opened. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

As for the installment loan, I do have the car lease, which is an installment loan, so I don't think I need to open any type of loan in addition to that.

As for the 3rd credit card, does anyone think a store card might be a good idea?  I know people have varying opinions on them.  I really don't want to invest in a secured card at this point.  The few hundred dollars I'd have to put down for one, I'd rather use to pay down the QS1 card (the only reason I have a higher balance on that one is the 0% APR; the platinum I PIF).

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

As for the installment loan, I do have the car lease, which is an installment loan, so I don't think I need to open any type of loan in addition to that.

As for the 3rd credit card, does anyone think a store card might be a good idea?  I know people have varying opinions on them.  I really don't want to invest in a secured card at this point.  The few hundred dollars I'd have to put down for one, I'd rather use to pay down the QS1 card (the only reason I have a higher balance on that one is the 0% APR; the platinum I PIF).

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Store cards are OK if you're going to actually use it, but they are scored "slightly" less than bank cards, according to many FICO sources.