I'm new and an 800 member!

edselpdx · ‎10-28-2008

Hi, I'm new to these boards and just got my FICO score for the first time! Although I have monitored my credit reports, I'm pretty happy with an Experion FICO of 801! I divorced about 4.5 yrs ago, and although the credit and income were mine, I had to close and reopen many CC accounts. The lenders all said because the ex was a joint owner, I couldn't convert them, as well as refinancing the mortgage out of my ex-spose's name. Credit hx is since the mid-1980's for me, bt no cards open longer than a couple of 3-4 yrs.

Truthfully, I wasn't so sure about my FICO until now.... I have only 2 CC accts with very low balances (<10% of CL), but think after reading here, that I probably need to work on getting a couple more... Total CC available is in the 40K range (advice on whether to open more appreciated). No lates at all, even on closed accts. I have several that were closed by the grantor for disuse.I have no NEED for further credit, so I',m not sure that opening more is even what I want to do.

Mortgage with 10 yr hx, but refinanced in 2005 to 5.75%, and a $20K fixed low-interest 10-yr HE (not a LOC) in early 2007 for a bath remodel and some CC consolidation that's on the fast track to being paid in 5 yrs. I have approx 200K in equity even after recent market decreases and outstanding loans. I know that doesn't count towards my score, but it makes me feel much more secure in the current housing market.

I've learned much from the boards. Must say I won't be monitoring day-to-day as some do, as I am happy with the FICO score I have, and have no plans for any major purchases soon.

Recommendations on hitting 850 within a year, and alsorecommendations for CC companies accepting new high-score applicants with a few perks (miles, etc) appreciated. I'm thinking about an REI VISA... anyone with experience with them? I can't remember what bank does their VISA.

Any reasonable advice appreciated!

Thanks.

edselpdx

jbh · ‎10-28-2008

First of all, welcome and congratulations.

Second, the 800 members I know of (or those in high 700's) lose a fair # of fico points with inq's and new accounts (especially if average age of account drops)

That said, you have the house and you can afford to do what you want as, rate wise, being > 760 is A+ status. So, if you do want to get a card, some great EXPERIAN pullers are Patelco Credit Union and American Express/Bank of America (sometimes Transunion)

You are basically in a position to pick and choose what you want, as one would assume your other 2 scores are not too far behind.

That said, 850 is more of an impossible task but there are people who hit 830's. The thing is, it's also based on age more than anything else. Some stories of 840+ are from those who are 70+ years old

Anonymous · ‎10-29-2008

Congratulations on your Experian FICO score! We always enjoy having 800 club members participating in our discussions!

We'll look forward to hearing from you!!!

edselpdx · ‎10-29-2008

Thanks for the advice jbh. (I was being a bit tongue in cheek about 850 in a year, of course, when I read it now though it does look like I was being serious.) I think I will wait and see about another card. I just want a nice rewards/miles card, but will take my time. Even for an 800ish, I'm sure it's not the easiest thing to get now, as it appears no one's loaning much of anything right now.

Eventually, once this housing crunch fixes itself in a few years, I'll likely want to upgrade my housing. The soon-to-be teenage daughter will likely start hogging bathroom time, and I've only got one bathroom....

ed

lisac · ‎10-29-2008

ed, you said you closed a couple of joint accounts, was one of the AMEX?

MsKiwi · ‎10-29-2008

I have no advice but wanted to say congrats on the 800 score. I would imagine that you could app for any card that meets your needs, I would try the cc board to get answers on good cards to apply for. A lot of good info on cards with rewards there.

edselpdx · ‎10-29-2008

No, never had an AMEX. I have a regular B of A Platinum VISA that funds a social/env cause (Working Assets). I did go online to B of A to look at their other selections. I will also go over to the CC forum eventually, but in the interests of keeping it one thread for now, does anyone know offhand if B of A would consider changing my card to their AMEX product to preserve my (relatively short) length of credit?

Closed out a 10+ yr old First USA (or whoever the h*** they are now) and a joint Sears/Visa, and a couple of others. I don't actually need credit right now at all... but as I've read here... this is all a game.

edsel (who is, BTW a woman)

CreditAble · ‎10-31-2008

@edselpdx wrote:

Closed out a 10+ yr old First USA (or whoever the h*** they are now) and a joint Sears/Visa, and a couple of others.

First USA is now Chase.

Chase has treated me very well, in part (possibly) because I have a couple of cards with BoA. Chase definitely is competing for BoA's customers' business.

If you end up only getting one or two more cards, I would try to avoid getting cards from banks which are already providing you cards. BoA will limit its total exposure by considering the total limits of all cards you have with the bank. This has provided a credit limit cap for me at BoA considering that BoA acquired my old MBNA administered card. I can no longer get any credit limit increases on either card without getting a CLD on the other.

If my old MBNA card was still independent of BoA, I would now have higher credit limits on both cards. That leads me to my next observation.

If I have a credit card with one bank and it merges with another bank which also provides me with a credit card, those two cards will no longer compete with each other by giving me ClIs and other offers. Instead the merged bank might feel that it already has enough risk with my combined limits. No more luv.

You might consider applying for cards that have a high probability of not merging with BoA. Chase is one of those banks and you already have been a customer of First USA.

In any event I would only obtain a second card from the same institution if there was a compelling reason. For instance a compelling reason for a second card from Chase would be to reallocate limits to produce higher CLs on one of the cards. Chase pulls hard for CLI requests so one can frequently do better obtaining a new card, reallocating part of the credit limits, and end up with higher limits on one of the cards.

BoA doesn't pull hard so higher CLIs can be obtained regularly upon request. One compelling reason to get another card from BoA is if the bank won't convert your visa to an Amex. Before getting a second card from BoA however, I would obtain one from a bank like Chase. Remember the promote competition objective.

Message Edited by CreditAble on 10-31-2008 04:59 PM