Well, I guess one advantage of pulling scores far too frequently is that I get lots of examples of what those annoying FICO High Achievers do! MidnightVoice posted a list, and I have added to it from my reports, plus from what I found by a search on these forums. I have cited the source for any comments that did not come from my own reports.
If you've gotten anything different, or anything that's not on the list, please post it on this thread! I'll go back and edit the list to try to keep it complete. Has anyone ever gotten a comment about the average age of their revolving accounts? (not their overall accounts) --I wasn't able to find one on that. Please copy/ paste the exact comment --not a rephrasing, and not a quote from a different source.
Depending on your bucket, you may or may not be penalized for not matching these characteristics. For instance, those who are rebuilding don't seem to be penalized for inq's nearly as much as those with established, stable profiles. Also, some seem pretty old-school, such as only having 4 or 5 CC's total, including both open and closed accounts, and only having $1200 remaining on a non-mortgage loan (tough to finance the Jags and Lexuses with that!)
Note: these are all quotes from FICO credit reports, not interpretations and rephrasings. I added comments in parentheses on a few, noting what triggered the comment. I've tried to group them by topic, because it's pretty overwhelming!
Characteristics of FICO® High Achievers (FICO scores of 760 and above)Account age: oldest account: FICO High Achievers opened their oldest account 19 years ago, on average.
average account age: Most FICO High Achievers have an average age of accounts between 6 and 12 years.
oldest revolving account: FICO High Achievers opened their first revolving account 19 years ago, on average.
average revolving age:
age of newest account: FICO High Achievers opened their most recent account 27 months ago, on average (from MidnightVoice's post)
Number of accounts reporting:
number of accounts currently being paid as agreed: FICO High Achievers have an average of 6 accounts currently paid as agreed. (number of open accounts that are currently not late, etc --incl mortgage, etc. Got + for having 8.)
total number of accounts: Your FICO score takes into account the number of accounts (such as credit cards or installment loans) on your credit report. You have a large number of accounts. In general, people who have a large number of accounts pose more of a risk to lenders than people with a moderate number of accounts. (On a TU report, reported by BobSki778 on 4/8/08)
number of accounts carrying a balance: FICO High Achievers have an average of 3 credit accounts carrying a balance. (Note: this is on all types of credit, not just CC's. Got - with 5 accounts: 2 CC's, mortgage, HELOC, student loan; got + with 4 accounts: 1 CC, mort, HELOC, SL--these out of a total of 8 accounts)
Utilization:
Revolving util: For FICO High Achievers, this ratio is 7%, on average.
Installment util: Most FICO High Score Achievers have paid down on average 35% of the original amount of the loan, in addition to the fact that on average they usually owe less than $1200 on their non-mortgage accounts (found on a search)
Inquiries:
Inquiries: About 72% of FICO High Achievers did not apply for credit in the past year. Of those that did, about 20% applied for credit just once. (got with 2 inqs--EQ, didn't get with only 1 on other reports)
Mix of accounts:Your FICO score evaluates your mix of credit cards, installment loans, and mortgages. People who demonstrate responsible use of different types of credit are generally less risky to lenders. (found on a search)
Revolving:
Number of credit cards: FICO High Achievers have an average of 4 to 5 credit cards (including open and closed cards, bank cards and department store cards). (found on a search)
Recent CC use: Your FICO score evaluates your mix of credit cards, installment loans and mortgages. People who demonstrate responsible use of different types of credit are generally less risky to lenders. You helped your FICO score by showing recent use of a credit card. (comment only, no percentage given)
Balance reported on CC's: Your FICO score evaluates how much you owe on your revolving accounts (such as your credit cards). The amount you owe on these accounts is too high. Most FICO High Achievers owe less than $600 on revolving accounts such as credit cards and department store cards. (on Phoenix-rising's report)
Installment:
Consumer finance account: Only 12% of FICO High Achievers have a consumer finance account. (found on a search)
Remaining balance: Most FICO High Achievers carry a total balance of less than $1200 on non-mortgage accounts. (found on a search)
Alternate average balance:Your FICO® score considers how much you owe on your credit accounts, such as revolving credit accounts and non-mortgage installment loans. Generally, the more you owe on these accounts, the greater risk you pose to lenders. FICO® High Achievers have an average total balance of $5000 on non-mortgage accounts. (contributed by JayToo 01/05/2008)
Late payments:
any lates: About 93% of FICO High Achievers have no missed payments at all. But of those who do have a missed payment, it happened nearly 4 years ago, on average.
60-day or longer: Very few FICO High Achievers, about 1%, have a 60 days late payment or worse listed on their credit report.
"bad payment history" --multiple accounts with lates: About 93% of FICO High Achievers have no missed payments at all. But of those who do have a missed payment, it happened nearly 4 years ago, on average. (Got this with lates on 3 three different revolving accounts)
Other derogatories:
Virtually no FICO High Achievers have a public record or a collection listed on their credit report.
Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on
01-05-2008 07:33 PMMessage Edited by haulingthescoreup on
04-08-2008 03:19 PMMessage Edited by haulingthescoreup on
07-05-2008 10:38 AM
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007