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New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

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Anonymous
Not applicable

New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

Hello all,

 

I just came across this forum, and it seems like a great place to hang around and learn more about how financial activity affects my credit worthiness. I also have a few questions related to moves I'm considering making but am unsure if it is wise or not.

First of all, I don't pay the monthly fee to get my scores that the site offers. To be honest, I don't even know what my scores from the 3 major reporting agencies are. I have an idea, but don't know for sure. The only real credit tracking I do is through my Capital One account and its free credit tracker. I have no idea how accurate that number is, but maybe someone here can enlighten me.

 

My question has to do with opening a couple new credit card accounts. Cards I currently have are as follows:

 

Capital One Quicksilver: 5500 CL

Best Buy: 1800 CL

Amazon Store Card: 2700 CL

Capital One Rewards: 18000 CL

 

I also have several accounts on my report that are student loans and a mortgage.

 

Currently on the Capital One credit tracker, my score is 754. I had to get a new bank account for work about 6 months ago, and the score that came back when they opened my account was 788. I have no idea which agency this score is from, but those two scores should give a general idea of my credit rating.

 

According to the Cap One tracker, I have an A rating in on-time payments (100%), credit utilization (2%), and new accounts (one). I have a B rating in oldest line (14 yrs), available credit (28K), and recent inquiries (one).

I also had a Newegg Store card that was just cancelled due to them switching from Comenity to Synchrony. I used this card pretty frequently because computers are my main hobby that requires money and I often took advantage of the 0% financing on purchases. I do not believe this cancellation had any affect on my score because Comenity did not report to the agencies by my understanding.

 

I am considering applying for the Citi Double Cash card and the Newegg Store card through Sync. I already have one account with Sync in my Amazon card. I am considering doing this for a couple reasons. First off, I put every purchase possible on my Quicksilver card. I do this for convenience and cash back. I basically figure I'm spending the money anyways, why not get cash back? I pay the balance in full every month. I never use a credit card for a purchase I don't have the cash for. I just do it to take advantage of perks. I figure if I apply for the Double Cash card, I will get more cash back and increase my available credit, one of the B ratings on my credit tracker. I am considering the Newegg card for the same increase in available credit and also because I utillize their financing quite regularly (out of convenience, not necessity).

 

I guess ultimately my question is if this is a wise move or not. Is the increase in available credit worth two inquiries and new accounts on my report? According to the credit simulator on Capital One, this move would raise my score from a 754 to a 760, but I figured I could get quite a bit more insight here. Also, is there really anything for me to do to get in the 800 club other than let my accounts mature and raise my available credit? I have never requested a credit increase. Is it worth it?

 

Thanks to anyone who made it this far. This ended up a lot longer than I planned. I look forward to some advice!

Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

I'm not the right person to answer your question but one thing I can tell you for sure is don't trust the Capital One Credit Tracker Simulator. It's misleading. 

 

I used it to simulate my scores and when I simulated my score on other applications they gave me the total opposite. Also, the updates on my credit scores were different results from the simulator.

Message 2 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

Thanks for the input. I had a feeling their tracker wasn't the most accurate. That's why I came here.

 

 

Message 3 of 10
JagerBombs89
Established Contributor

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

If your credit score is mid 700s with 14 year history, 2% utilization, and only 1 inquiry... then you must have an old negative holding your score down. 

 

ETA:

However, if your score was 788 six months ago per a bank letter you got, one might assume it was a FICO score, in which case you probably don't have any negative information.  If your utilization was higher 6 months ago and you brought it down to 2%, then you should already be 800+

Message 4 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

Well the 754 is from the Capital One tracker that says it's powered by TU. I honestly don't know what the negatives would be. I've always paid all my bills and to my knowledge never done anything that should negatively affect it. But I really don't understand the scores all that well.

 

Is there anywere I can look to get a better idea of my report and see exactly what is on there? Also a better simulator to see how adding a new card would affect my credit? Is only a paid service going to do me any good?

Message 5 of 10
tufa4311
Established Contributor

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating


@Anonymous wrote:

Well the 754 is from the Capital One tracker that says it's powered by TU. I honestly don't know what the negatives would be. I've always paid all my bills and to my knowledge never done anything that should negatively affect it. But I really don't understand the scores all that well.

 

Is there anywere I can look to get a better idea of my report and see exactly what is on there? Also a better simulator to see how adding a new card would affect my credit? Is only a paid service going to do me any good?


Hi and welcome. You seem to be doing a lot of guessing. As I understand it you do not know what your FICO score is and have never known (while it is likely what occured 6 months ago was a FICO you do not know and even if it was 6 months can be an eternity in credit scoring).

 

To make a decision you first need to determine priorities. What is more important - getting a better card for perks or keeping up to date with your FICO score? There are credit cards, specifically Discover IT and BarclayCard Mastercard, that provide you with your FICO score each month as part of the service. This takes all the guess work out of your credit score and you will always know what your true FICO score is - how much is that worth to you?

 

With regard to your credit report and potential negatives - there is no excuse to not know exactly what is on your credit report. Have you looked at your credit report in the last year? If not you have the right to a free credit report every 12 months - google Annual Credit Report and request your free report. From there review every piece of data and confirm everything is correct and that there are no negatives. If you are unsure if something is a negative come back here and ask. If you have ordered your free report in the last 12 months than just review your report from credit karma as it's pretty much just as good.

796 TU FICO 08 (08/2018)
758 TU FICO 08 (01/12/2016)
753 TU FICO 08 (11/21/2015)
740: EQ Score Power (Beacon 5.0) FICO 04 (01/23/2015)
755 TU FICO 08 (01/21/2015)
652 TU Lender Pull (06/10/2014)
665 TU FICO 08 (05/21/2014)
Goal: 800+
Message 6 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

I am pretty much entirely guessing. I have no issue admitting that. I have indeed never known my FICO score. As far as my priorities, I don't know enough to know what they are. Is it necessary to know my FICO score every month? I don't know the importance of this, although I am assuming that members of this website will tell me that's a lot more important than any perks.

 

As far as my credit report, I don't think I've ever looked at it. I guess I never really thought much about it. I've never been denied credit, so I guess I've never worried about it. As I grow older I'm becoming more aware of this kind of stuff. I suppose I've just been young and dumb.

 

I will do some more research to find out where I actually stand and come back with questions. Thanks for the input!

 

Edit: I am currently traveling for work and do not feel comfortable entering all my personal information (SSN mainly) over an unprotected connection. I will get my reports when I return home next week and will come back then.

Message 7 of 10
tufa4311
Established Contributor

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating


@Anonymous wrote:

I am pretty much entirely guessing. I have no issue admitting that. I have indeed never known my FICO score. As far as my priorities, I don't know enough to know what they are. Is it necessary to know my FICO score every month? I don't know the importance of this, although I am assuming that members of this website will tell me that's a lot more important than any perks.

 

As far as my credit report, I don't think I've ever looked at it. I guess I never really thought much about it. I've never been denied credit, so I guess I've never worried about it. As I grow older I'm becoming more aware of this kind of stuff. I suppose I've just been young and dumb.

 

I will do some more research to find out where I actually stand and come back with questions. Thanks for the input!

 

Edit: I am currently traveling for work and do not feel comfortable entering all my personal information (SSN mainly) over an unprotected connection. I will get my reports when I return home next week and will come back then.


Is it necassary to know your FICO score monthly? No, it isn't. Strictly speaking your FICO score only matters when it is being checked by a third party for the purpose of judging your responsibitly level in one way or another. Credit scores are checked by a number of organizations for a number of  reasons. These days most professional employment apps will include a credit check, rental apps, any kind of loan (personal,home,auto,etc), credit card apps, etc. As you can see, these reasons can vary widely and thus very well may take place a number of times a year - perhaps one will apply for a job in January, then in April they'll apply for a credit card, then maybe in Oct will move and need a rental  application done. My point is that during these various application phases you don't want to be surprised - if you have a tool that will provide you with your FICO score montly you will never be surprised - if there is a problem it will be flagged and you can deal with it, fix it, before it actually matters. That's why knowing my score every month is important to me.

 

With regard to the perks - I understand those as well. They can save you money, can provide enjoyment, etc. That stuff is important as well. I suggest you think long term - you can have your FICO score every month and have your perks - it does not need to be one or the other. You may not get them both at the exact same time however you can end up with both relatively soon.

 

Take some time and think about it. Make a list of things that are important to you with regard to finances (perks, knowing your credit score, when you think you would want to buy a house, anything that you may want that your credit would have a factor in determining if you get it). If you like, list them here, in order of priority, and that can be a starting point to putting a plan together. I suggest you hold off on any decisions or actions until you figure out your priorities. Making a decision now, without knowing how that decision may affect you, could hinder other plans.

796 TU FICO 08 (08/2018)
758 TU FICO 08 (01/12/2016)
753 TU FICO 08 (11/21/2015)
740: EQ Score Power (Beacon 5.0) FICO 04 (01/23/2015)
755 TU FICO 08 (01/21/2015)
652 TU Lender Pull (06/10/2014)
665 TU FICO 08 (05/21/2014)
Goal: 800+
Message 8 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating

Cap1 tracker isn't to accurate mine says 666 right now real fico a are 701-707

Message 9 of 10
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: New member, several questions about the affect of cc activity on credit rating


@Anonymous wrote:

 

 

I am considering applying for the Citi Double Cash card 


Welcome. Simple step to get solid feedback:

Go to the Citi website and use their credit card prequalification link. Put in your name, address, last 4 of SSN and select "Cash back" as your preference. If the prequalification returns a single APR, preferably the best APR for the Double Cash at 12.99%, but as long as it is a single number and not a range of APR, then you have a very good chance to get the DC at that specific APR. The range of APR makes it less certain.

 

Another step to consider is to apply for a Discover it card. This comes with a free, true FICO score each month. Edit: Discover it also has "2x back after your first year", so the baseline 1% becomes 2% after 12 months, any category spend 5% items become 10% after the year, and if you have ApplePay and add Discover to that, in-store uses of ApplePay Discover through December 31 2015 are at 10% back, so that's 20% for the places you can find ApplePay at the end of the 12 months. plus free FICO.

 

Regarding the Capital One Credit Tracker, it was telling me in mid-February 2015 that my TU score was 706 when the TU score here was 707. Not bad. Except that since that time I've paid down cards, the TU score both at myFICO and with Discover has gone to 777, and the CapOne Credit Tracker still says I'm at 705. So it's pretty much garbage, IMO. Discover tracks the TU score exactly the same as myFICO, every month.

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 10 of 10
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