Understanding FICO® Scoring

[ariesdreamer]

My boyfriend has very high credit scores, (762 and 797 which we checked on MyFico recently), but we're wondering if its possible for him to open up a credit card with no history of CCs or loans since 1999 (yup, its been that long!).

[nothingman02]

Whats the history like (good and bad) before 1999 and after? He should be fine is what I am thinking.

[haulingthescoreup]

I dunno, you'd be amazed; a lot of banks are gutless wonders when it comes to dealing with someone without recent credit history.

Who does he bank with, and do they offer a CC? He might want to investigate that first, if he's had a long (and positive) relationship with them.

[ariesdreamer]

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nothingman02 wrote:
Whats the history like (good and bad) before 1999 and after? He should be fine is what I am thinking.

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It's good. Only 3 accounts with $0 balances. That's what I thought too....he should be ok. We're gonna try tonight to apply for a CC.

[ariesdreamer]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:
I dunno, you'd be amazed; a lot of banks are gutless wonders when it comes to dealing with someone without recent credit history.

Who does he bank with, and do they offer a CC? He might want to investigate that first, if he's had a long (and positive) relationship with them.

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He hasn't banked with anyone in the last few years but we just opened up a joint checking/savings together. Too bad he hasn't banked with anyone in the last few years...it probably would've been easier to get a CC thru them!

[haulingthescoreup]

I'm curious --if he hasn't had any active credit in the last six months, which is how I read your first post, how does he have FICO scores? I thought he hadn't had anything since 1999.

[nothingman02]

I think he would need atleast 6 months of history. Need not necessarily be in the last 6. But 1999 is a decade ago. Its too long and with no recent history, Id be curious to know what would happen.

[haulingthescoreup]

minimum requirements for FICO score

In order for a FICO® score to be calculated, a report must contain these minimum requirements:

· At least one account that has been open for six months or more
· At least one undisputed account that has been reported to the credit bureau with in the past six months
· No indication of deceased on the credit report (Please note: if you share an account with another person this may affect you if the other account holder is reported deceased).

Something has to still be reporting. Mortgage, maybe? Or a closed account that is still updating?

ariesdreamer, if it's the second, and these accounts are from 1999, they're on borrowed time. Depending on when they were closed/ paid off, etc., they're about to start dropping off his reports. I'm sure you already realized that, but the second shoe finally dropped for me, lol.

[ariesdreamer]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:
I'm curious --if he hasn't had any active credit in the last six months, which is how I read your first post, how does he have FICO scores? I thought he hadn't had anything since 1999.

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I just looked at his report again. On TU, he has one Macy's card still open. No balance and the CL is $100. The other two accounts were 2 CCs closed in 2000 and both were paid off. On his EQ report, its the exact same thing. Both CRs have no collections but have 3 inquiries from 2008. So, maybe the 'active' credit is his Macys card?

I'm confused!

[ariesdreamer]

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nothingman02 wrote:
I think he would need atleast 6 months of history. Need not necessarily be in the last 6. But 1999 is a decade ago. Its too long and with no recent history, Id be curious to know what would happen.

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I'm curious too! We'll find out when we try to apply for a CC tonight!