Unexpected Score

[Anonymous]

I was in shock today when I got a score report from Equifax. I am 18 years old and have a score power of 730. Is this normal? I have 2 credit accounts open at the moment. I am looking to close one of these accounts and open an account with American Express. I assume that my score is good enough for approval, though seeing that I have only had credit accounts open for a year, I am expecting denial. I also do not want to risk an unnecessary inquiry. Thoughts?

[haulingthescoreup]

Hi, welcome to the forums, and congrats on your beautiful EQ FICO score! Just goes to show that young people can have good scores, and even with only two accounts.

Before you start closing accounts, make sure that you understand how FICO credit scoring works. Click on "Closing Credit Cards" down in my siggy. I wouldn't close one of two cards, unless it had annual fees or was abusive in some other way.

Are both accounts actually yours, as opposed to your being an authorized user (AU) on someone else's card? In fact, are they both revolving (= credit card) accounts, or is one a loan or something? How long have you had them, what are their credit limits, and what balances are reported, if any? Obviously, you've never had any lates with that score.

If you haven't already, please read Understanding Your FICO ® Score and Credit Scoring 101 (at least the first post.)

These will give you the background knowledge you need to understand what you read here on the forums.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the warm welcome

As you mentioned above, both accounts are revolving credit cards in my name and only my name. I have had both accounts open for approx 6 months and usually made payments as soon as a transaction was posted. Both cards have a 500 CL and the total balance on both cards would be $400.00

I would love to have a charge card, my current CL holds me back quite a bit. I make approx 2500$ monthly and find my self having to withdraw lots of cash to make big purchases. 

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the warm welcome

As you mentioned above, both accounts are revolving credit cards in my name and only my name. I have had both accounts open for approx 6 months and usually made payments as soon as a transaction was posted. Both cards have a 500 CL and the total balance on both cards would be $400.00

I would love to have a charge card, my current CL holds me back quite a bit. I make approx 2500$ monthly and find my self having to withdraw lots of cash to make big purchases. 

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I also welcome you to the forums.

May I suggest you use a debit card as an alternative to carrying large amounts of cash? That can be very dangerous.

Just a thought.

From a BK years ago to:
7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

You can do the same thing with hard work


Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Credit Problems Which Is Worse?
Whats In Your FICO Score

[Jazzzy]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I was in shock today when I got a score report from Equifax. I am 18 years old and have a score power of 730. Is this normal? I have 2 credit accounts open at the moment. I am looking to close one of these accounts and open an account with American Express. I assume that my score is good enough for approval, though seeing that I have only had credit accounts open for a year, I am expecting denial. I also do not want to risk an unnecessary inquiry. Thoughts?

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Welcome...thanks for joining us.

As said above, don't rush into closing a card unless it has an annual fee or is giving you headaches. Have you checked into getting credit line increases on either of your accounts?

With AmEx, income is a factor as well. I don't know if your income will hold you back at this point. They will ask income questions in the application, and more and more credit card companies are asking for tax returns or proof of income.

You might choose to try to raise the limits on your accounts now. Higher limits bring higher limits. When you are ready to apply for an AmEx, it might look better to them if you had a bit higher limits on the cards you do have. If you call and ask for an increase, ask them if they have to do a hard pull.

Are you a student? If you are, there are good student cards out there, such as Discover. You might want to set your sights a bit lower than AmEx until you gain a little more positive history.

Good luck...and good job being aware of your credit and your FICOs at such a young age.

[StartinOver]

Won't that new law affect this person that is under 21? Do they have to have a co-signer now?

[Jazzzy]

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@StartinOver wrote:
Won't that new law affect this person that is under 21? Do they have to have a co-signer now?

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Yes, the new law could very well affect him. He asked about this before it came into effect, but he may have to deal with it now.

If he has adequate income, he'll be fine. If he doesn't, they'll ask him for a co-signer.

[smallfry]

I would not close those accounts unless you have to pay annual fees. One day you'll be glad you kept at least one of these old lines of credit open.