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Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list

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MattH
Senior Contributor

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list

Well, on my Experian (821) it says "there are no actionable negative factors."
On my Equifax (786) the only ding is "You have too many credit cards carrying balances"
and on my TransUnion (796) the only ding is "The balances on your non-mortgage credit accounts are too high." All three pulled 21 March 2008 from myfico.

The positive factors listed are basically what others have posted: no baddies, oldest account (Amex Gold) over 25 years, average age over 10 years, low percent utilization on revolving accounts, and a variety of types of credit.

One thing I do find slightly irritating about the reporting system: there is no distinction made between revolvers and convenience users. Only I and the credit card companies know that I always pay the full balance each month. The only interest I pay is on the car loan (which will be paid in full by July) and the mortgage.

I did read somewhere the suggestion for those convenience users obsessed with getting their FICO score as high as possible, instead of only paying CCs when the monthly statement arrives, right after making any large purchase send them an electronic payment so the balance doesn't accumulate during the month. I suppose I could do this, but it seems like a lot of trouble just for a few points.
TU 791 02/11/2013, EQ 800 1/29/2011 , EX Plus FAKO 812, EX Vantage Score 955 3/19/2010 wife's EQ 9/23/2009 803
EX always was my highest when we could pull all three
Always remember: big print giveth, small print taketh away
If you dunno what tanstaafl means you must Google it
Message 71 of 474
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list


@MattH wrote:

I did read somewhere the suggestion for those convenience users obsessed with getting their FICO score as high as possible, instead of only paying CCs when the monthly statement arrives, right after making any large purchase send them an electronic payment so the balance doesn't accumulate during the month. I suppose I could do this, but it seems like a lot of trouble just for a few points.


And that's a great summary of playing the util game. If your scores are already way on up there, unless there is some specific reason to maximize your points, there's no reason to do this.

After all the debates I've read about this one part of scoring, I think that the sensible thing would be for the CRA's to report the outstanding balance as of midnight at the end of the due date, as opposed to the statement date. For one thing, those of us who know about paying early can game the system something fierce. But if FICO and the credit industry want to think that the balance on the statement date is somehow predictive of consumer risk, that's what we have to work with.
* 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
Message 72 of 474
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list

I know this is OT, but did anyone else get the Hillis / Slack settlement notice?
 
I just got it in the mail and that means 3 months of free Score Watch Smiley Happy.
 
Only a credit junkie would be so excited from something as boring as 3 months of free score monitoring.
 
Just for the heck of it, I am gonna run up a few of balances and see if I can force my score to go below 800 and if Score Watch will catch it.
Message 73 of 474
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list



MattH wrote:

One thing I do find slightly irritating about the reporting system: there is no distinction made between revolvers and convenience users. Only I and the credit card companies know that I always pay the full balance each month.
Oh, yes, there is.  A typical convenience user probably uses 1 or at most 2 cards, and probably the month-to-month usage is significantly lower than a typical revolvers.  Unless you have relatively young trade-lines, by now you have probably gotten your CC limits about 15-20 times higher than your average balance.  That means that in your typical month, your utilization is in the 5-7% range.
 
I will tell you what the credit scoring can not catch: the difference between those who pay interest and those who borrow at 0% to invest elsewhere.
Message 74 of 474
psychic
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list



ChumChurum wrote:
I know this is OT, but did anyone else get the Hillis / Slack settlement notice?
 
I just got it in the mail and that means 3 months of free Score Watch Smiley Happy.
 
Only a credit junkie would be so excited from something as boring as 3 months of free score monitoring.
 
Just for the heck of it, I am gonna run up a few of balances and see if I can force my score to go below 800 and if Score Watch will catch it.


Many members received these notices last September.  You can read their comments here--
 


Message Edited by psychic on 04-06-2008 09:03 PM
EQ 814 / TU 815 / EX 842
Message 75 of 474
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list

Is this one buried somwhere in the list?
 
FICO High Achievers opened their most recent account 27 months ago, on average.
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 76 of 474
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list

Yep, it's on the list, and I even credited it to you! Smiley Very Happy

Fifth one down, under "account age."
* 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
Message 77 of 474
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list

Fall from grace....out of the 800 club (for now).
 
I'm OUT!  My score declined today 21 points resting at a dismal 786.  My email notification advising me of this occurrence stated I had too many cc's with balances.  Funny thing is I took two 'dormant/$0 balance' cards out to charge one item each - a tank of fuel on one - and a haircut on the other....the only reason I did that was due to hearing a consumer advisor talking about how some cc companies will begin to charge an "inactivity fee" if an account is dormant for a period of time.
 
Frankly, I browse through the numerous privacy notices and account change terms I get frequently in the mail, but couldn't recall any language that would have affected me - but I hate uneccessary fees - so I figured I'd just charge something small on a couple and I'd be good to go again for a while.
 
So, I dusted off the two cards and charged one item each, then paid off the bills when they came in....
 
Any other credit cards that are used are paid off monthly (one Visa for business expenses, one Visa for any merchant that doesn't accept AMEX and AMEX for everything else).
 
I suppose the good news is my FICO should head back up in the next month or two....
 
 
EDIT:  The FICO notice also contained some language I found interesting:
 
Your FICO® score went down on a day when there were no credit alerts on your Equifax Credit Report™. This can happen if:
  • There was a change on your credit report that lowered your score but did not trigger an alert. For example, the balance on an account might have increased enough to lower your score, but not enough to trigger a balance increase alert.
  • You moved from one category of credit users to another as time passed. For example, you may have transitioned from the category "consumers with a new credit history" to the category "consumers with a two- to five-year credit history". As a result, your credit report is evaluated differently, causing a slight change in your score. The good news is that moving between categories like this usually offers you the potential to reach a higher FICO® score in the future.

Has anyone else received this message?  I've got a 20+ years history - has FICO made any changes to their scoring that would result in a lower score?

 
 


Message Edited by Esteban5 on 04-11-2008 04:37 AM

Message Edited by Esteban5 on 04-11-2008 04:57 AM

Message Edited by Esteban5 on 04-11-2008 04:57 AM
Message 78 of 474
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list

I have an old. dormant gas card still open.  If I don't use it for a year they will close it, and there are no local stations.  So when I go out of town I use it.  The first time I used it and let it report and my score took a little hit for using a dormany card.  So now I use it and then pay the exact bill on line before it reports.  That was the CCC knows I have used it, but FICO does not see the balance  Smiley Happy
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 79 of 474
psychic
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Expanded "FICO High Achievers" (scores of 760 and above) characteristics list



Esteban5 wrote:
Fall from grace....out of the 800 club (for now).
 
I'm OUT!  My score declined today 21 points resting at a dismal 786.  My email notification advising me of this occurrence stated I had too many cc's with balances. 
 
 
EDIT:  The FICO notice also contained some language I found interesting:
 
Your FICO® score went down on a day when there were no credit alerts on your Equifax Credit Report™. This can happen if:
  • There was a change on your credit report that lowered your score but did not trigger an alert. For example, the balance on an account might have increased enough to lower your score, but not enough to trigger a balance increase alert.
  • You moved from one category of credit users to another as time passed. For example, you may have transitioned from the category "consumers with a new credit history" to the category "consumers with a two- to five-year credit history". As a result, your credit report is evaluated differently, causing a slight change in your score. The good news is that moving between categories like this usually offers you the potential to reach a higher FICO® score in the future.

Has anyone else received this message?  I've got a 20+ years history - has FICO made any changes to their scoring that would result in a lower score?


Esteban5-
 
You might want to take a look at this thread regarding being "rebucketed"--
 
EQ 814 / TU 815 / EX 842
Message 80 of 474
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