@Anonymous wrote:I wrote the essay below, realized it was super long so I bolded the main questions. The rest is info etc...
First off, I was surprised to find out that my TU score went up a whole 50 points, just due to util (621 to 671 when util went from 54% to 2%). What surprised me the most, I guess, was the fact that I have a 30 day late from last December, so not too long ago. I thought that would hurt my score much more.
Revolving util is a HUGE driver of FICO scores. Congrats on going from 54% to 2%! Great job!! That's money you're paying yourself, instead of lenders.
In terms of that late, if I am not able to get it removed (its on a SL, and I am trying but not having much luck), it stays on for 7 years, right? How will its affect on my score change over time? Will each month passing help, or will it be after 6 months, or a year that I see a bigger improvement?
A thirty day hurts for a year, and then it's pretty negligible. If it's your only late, it won't have much impact once it goes past a year. We think there's a "fade" during that year, but it's just so hard to tell, because no one's reports remain static, and it's hard to be sure what causes a specific score change. I know that a late cost me 50 points right off the bat, but it did seem to improve after 3 months, 6 months, etc. But I had a lot of other stuff going on, too.
Is the late the first-listed negative on your reports? (screen #2 of your online FICO reports, on the left)
I also applied for and received 3 cards. Discover More-$2500, Citi Forward-$5000, Amex PR Gold. Right now I have a Chase Freedom-$700 and Barclay Visa-$400 as well as several student loans.
My oldest account is 4 years 7 months, and my AAoA is only 3 years. I know those new cards will kill my AAoA, but I figured it would be good to let them age over time, as opposed to getting one every 6 months etc, am I wrong?
It's a popular theory, lol. And it's probably true. But cross your fingers that your AAoA doesn't drop under 2 years.
It is my understanding that you get a hit in your score, and then after 6-12 months you will slowly gain back your points as the accounts go from "new" to, um..."not new?"
I think the ding for "presence of a new account" lasts for 6 months. I always thought it was 12, but then I saw a score change on my reports when a card went over 6 months, and the negative factor stopped showing.
In terms of inquiries, Discover hit EQ and Citi and Amex hit EX. My EQ and TU are fine with about 4 inqs total.
My EX had major issues (same name as father) that were easy enough to clear up, but through various difficulties and other apps, I now have 9 (!) total inqs, with 7 from the last 6 (well, actually 2) months.
2 are from Citi (for one app) and the last 4 are from Amex (I can explain the details if you would like). Needless to say, I only applied for one Citi product, and two Amex products, so there are some extras I could call and fight with them about. Is it worth my time?
Probably not. And after 5 (maybe 6) inquiries, you don't get dinged any additional points. If they're all going to hit one year at about the same time, it probably isn't worth it. Also, there's not a great consumer success rate with this.
You never know, though. As long as you're cooling your jets for the next year (highly recommended), it really doesn't matter. It's probably more alarming to potential lenders than a score issue. Most of us only lose 2-5 points for inqs, unless we're in the 800's with umpty-ump years' worth of history.
For the future, I plan to buy a car in the next 1-2 years (for financial and credit score reasons) and other than that I don't think my scores are really going to be that important. No more credit cards, as I feel my bases are covered for a good long while.
How and how much will those inqs get me if I decided to get a car earlier than my projection. I am thinking that I called enough CCC for now, and I will just let the inqs chill and AAoA chill, and work on the 30-day late. Either way, time will heal the late if I can't get it taken care of. If you go car shopping, consider checking out a local credit union. Many --certainly not all --pull Equifax. If so, they'll never see all those inqs. And I don't really think that inqs are much of an issue with auto financing, unless you're trying to join PenFed, which is notoriously allergic to inqs.
Wow haulingthescoreup (nice name! 
) thank you for that detailed and exhaustive reply. I really appreciate it.
I feel much more comfortable now, and I am pretty content to just chill out and let the time pass.
I have that bug where I want to check my scores all the time, get excited/angry every time my score goes up/down 5 points, and post to the forums celebrating/complaining about it.
I think I need to get out of the rat race, use my credit responsibly, and check back when a car purchase is getting more imminent.
I especially feel less bad about the 30-day late. I was having money problems at the time and all my SLs were coming due, and I thought I ruined my credit forever or something. Glad to know that I can still have good scores and the benefits that go with them over time (as long as I don't **bleep** up again! ).
Again, you have been a huge help. Thanks a bunch!
We're glad you're here!
And congrats on achieving calm and balance in scoring-land after only 15 posts. It took most of us many, many more. 