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Improving My FICO Score “Types of Credit Used”

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Anonymous
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Improving My FICO Score “Types of Credit Used”

According to “What’s in Your Score” under this site:

“Number of (presence, prevalence, and recent information on) various types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage, consumer finance accounts, etc.)”

The only type of account I have is (two) credit cards. Should I open a retail account? (It sounds like this will help this FICO Score category and because it is a different type of account that credit cards - will not hurt my “Length of Credit History”???)

What are examples of “retail accounts” (Macy’s - I got, but what about an airline credit card or a gas station credit card? Others?)

What is a consumer finance account? I have an account with “Waddell &
Reed” which is an investment company. Should I set up a recurring deposit to them?

Thanks!

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Anonymous
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Retail accounts would include store cards (and some, like...

Retail accounts would include store cards (and some, like Macy's, Target, and Nordstrom, also issue major credit cards, so it's not necessarily a given that a store card would therefore be a "retail" account).

Consumer finance accounts include things like Household Finance and CitiFinancial. Many lenders see finance company accounts as a warning sign for financial dire straits, so be aware that just because it adds to a mix, it may not help you achieve your financial goals.

Investment companies generally do not report on consumer credit reports.
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