Understanding FICO® Scoring

[moods]

How much will my 620 score change if I become debit free? Or is it better to pay them off slowly? And when can I expect a change like how do I know when the credit card agencies report to the credit reporting agencies?

[moods]

also, is it better if I close some of my store cards? I have like 5 CC all totaling around 10k in debit. and 3 store cards which are fully paid off. what is my best bet to raise my score if I can pay off 9500 today

[appstate]

I'm in the same boat! I have a 644 and just paid off $22k in CC and my GF took over a 20% Home Equity loan ($65k of debt). How fast will my credit go up?

[j_ten_man]

You would be best off to get those credit card debts paid down under 10%. In terms of closing the cards, or to leave them open it depends how much activity and payment history there is on the cards. If you used it for a month, paid it off, then never used it again, then it probably isn't a bad idea. But, if you paid it off over a few years, then it would probably be a good idea to just leave it open on there.

[fused]

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=2654

[ilovepizza]

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moods wrote:
also, is it better if I close some of my store cards? I have like 5 CC all totaling around 10k in debit. and 3 store cards which are fully paid off. what is my best bet to raise my score if I can pay off 9500 today

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I'll take a crack at this. First. Canceling store cards won't raise your score. Paying store cards in FULL is best. Canceling them can lower your "FICO" score for ULT reasons. Keeping them is not hurting your "FICO" score. (Some models don't like store cards, FICO doesn't mind) I need to know this to answer this score increase question. You stated that you have 8 Cards. You stated that you have around 10k in debt. *I would need to know the total credit lines for all 8 cards added together.* (Exact debt vs Total available credit) From there I can tell you what your score should be around.

[moods]

well lets see

1) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

2) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

3) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

4) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

5) Revolving CC - CL of 400 - 350 Unpaid

6) Best Buy Store Card - CL of 1500 - Balance $0

7) Home Depot Store Card - CL of 1500 - Balance $0

8) Fire Stone Store Card - CL of 800 - Balance $0

9) AMEX PIF CC showing balance of 2000-3000
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Now if I can pay my balances in full, what is the best way to do that and get a CLI? Thanks!

by the way I had just got score watch and score is a shame full 597 the 620 is a FAKO

Message Edited by moods on 07-25-2007 02:06 PM

Message Edited by moods on 07-25-2007 02:18 PM

[fused]

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moods wrote:
well lets see

1) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

2) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

3) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

4) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

5) Revolving CC - CL of 400 - 350 Unpaid

6) Best Buy Store Card - CL of 1500 - Balance $0

7) Home Depot Store Card - CL of 1500 - Balance $0

8) Fire Stone Store Card - CL of 800 - Balance $0

9) AMEX PIF CC showing balance of 2000-3000
------------------------------------------------------

Now if I can pay my balances in full, what is the best way to do that and get a CLI? Thanks!

by the way I had just got score watch and score is a shame full 597 the 620 is a FAKO

Message Edited by moods on 07-25-2007 02:06 PM

Message Edited by moods on 07-25-2007 02:18 PM

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Mind if I chime in? How much money do you have to pay down these balances? Also, how is your Amex charge card being reported on each CRA? Is it listed as a revolving account or other open account. It's paramount that you know the answer to this question.

Message Edited by fused111 on 07-25-2007 12:56 PM

[CreditBob]

You have high balances on your accounts. get them paid down to 50% or less and then check your score on one credit bureau, only $ 15.00    Wait a month after paying that much down so the system ahs a chance to reflect it. It may take another billing cycle to do so.

[ilovepizza]

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moods wrote:
well lets see

1) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

2) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

3) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

4) Revolving CC - CL of 2000 - 1900 Unpaid

5) Revolving CC - CL of 400 - 350 Unpaid

6) Best Buy Store Card - CL of 1500 - Balance $0

7) Home Depot Store Card - CL of 1500 - Balance $0

8) Fire Stone Store Card - CL of 800 - Balance $0

9) AMEX PIF CC showing balance of 2000-3000
------------------------------------------------------

Now if I can pay my balances in full, what is the best way to do that and get a CLI? Thanks!

by the way I had just got score watch and score is a shame full 597 the 620 is a FAKO

Message Edited by moods on 07-25-2007 02:06 PM

Message Edited by moods on 07-25-2007 02:18 PM

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If you pay in FULL your score will go up about to about 708 FICO score. If you hit the sweet spot you can get as high as 718. So I'd guess between 708-718 from a 597 current. It's just a guess. I made another guess of 49 points for a 35% payment. Waiting for a few more days to see how good I am. I could be off too.
Link. http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&thread.id=26880

Message Edited by ilovepizza on 07-25-2007 08:29 PM