What DOES it take to reach 800? Age?

[Phoenix-rising]

My oldest TL is 1 month away from it's 23rd birthday and my average age is 4 yrs on TU and 5 years on EQ.

I'm sure that my 30% UTI as well as the new auto loan and a new CC within the past 10 months are all helping to keep me out of the 800 club.  I was aspiring to make it by the end of this year, but with another new auto loan (last week), I think I just postponed that dream for another year.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@MidnightVoice wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

-No new credit in last 2 years, and NO hard inquiries in last 12 months

Those are not required. I hit 800 with 2ccs and an auto loan all less than 6 months old, and inqs for them as well

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One of DH's cards was just a year old, and there was still an inq showing. (I forced him to get a second card. Took a month of arguing, lol.)

[fused]

I think the only things holding me back from 800 is credit history length, AAoA and a few util% points. I think age is underestimated when we talk about FICO scoring. 

[CreditAble]

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Boscoe wrote:

There MUST be a minimum age somewhere to get to 800, as it only makes sense.   Maybe that is 10 years if all else is great.  

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I also have come to the conclusion that there is a minimum age to reach 800. I had brought one of my scores up to 798 a couple of years ago. I just couldn't break 800 no mater how many "tricks of the trade" I used. I have been studying FICO and doing a lot of trial and error research with my credit files and those of some friends since 2000.

It took me eight years three months to hit 800. Now it is entirely possible that others may have hit it sooner. If they could speak up we might gain a pretty accurate picture of the "minimum age" required for an 800 FICO.

Good thread. I had been wondering if age was keeping me from hitting 800. Now that I know I obviously have enough age for 800 the answer to the question for my own score potential is moot.

Of course now I am wondering what the absolute lowest minimum age requirement might actually be (if there really is a minimum age).

I believe for the purpose of this discussion what really  matters to someone still seeking 800; is what age definitely does not preclude him from achieving the 800 goal.

 8 years 3 months worked for me.

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Boscoe wrote:

-No lates on credit report (possible exception of 1 and only 1 30 day late at least 3 years old)

-Credit mix of at least 2 of the 3 major types (mtg, installment, revolving)

-At least 4 TL's

-Utilization below 5% (1-3% ideal)

-No new credit in last 2 years, and NO hard inquiries in last 12 months

-Avg age of at least 6 years

-NO public records

Feel free to modify above list with actual experiences.......but I think age is what closes the deal for 800, be it avg or oldest.

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I have had no lates ever and have not applied for credit in almost 4 years. I have however hammered the daylights out of credit limit increases.

The rest of your summary is so close to my credit file that I wonder if you were snooping in my files without permissible purpose. LOL

 Boscoe, You ARE GOOD. I can't find the "trophy smiley" or I would insert it here. 

You were however off by three months for average age. Mine was 5 years 9 months.

[jbh]

When you say 8 years and 3 months, is that the oldest account (how long you have had credit) or is that the average?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

As others have said, it's definitely possible to have scores above 800 after a new account and new inquiry in the preceding 12 months (tho' generally there's a good thumping: usually about 15-20 point loss for a cc, more for an auto, and mortgage--according to the simulator).

Also, some data points (go to work pizza!! --oh, and I appreciate you detailing your ongoing experiments for us- thank you!):
(recent true ficos, ave hx, total hx):
816 eq, 7yr, 16yr
816 tu, 7yr, 16yr
836 ex, ~7yr, 16yr (incidentally 1 hard inq)
819 ex, ~7yr, ~16yr (1 new acct, 0 inq)

[CreditAble]

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jbh wrote:
When you say 8 years and 3 months, is that the oldest account (how long you have had credit) or is that the average?

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When I hit 800 the oldest tradeline was 8 yrs 3mos old, and the average age of all tradelines was 5 yrs 9 mos.

[Anonymous]

I have never seen an 800 fico in 13 yrs of being a loan officer. Best I have ever seen was married couple with 798 and 799 respectively. They had 30 yrs of credit NO DINGS ever and never carried a balance for more than a few months. Now that Ithink about it aybe the fact that they paid their purchases off so quickly is why they did not have a 800. These scores were on equifax so they may have been over 800 on the other CBR's.

[cobra19]

age and luck.

[Anonymous]

Being part of the 800 club (TU, EQ, EX), I can say from experience the following...

My average credit length of history is about 15 years.  I have found that maintaining a small balance on a credit card will keep your score high as opposed to a zero balance.  I had a card that was inactive for about a year and when I brushed the dust off the card and used it...my fico score jumped 25 points from a high 780's - 790's to the 800 plus range. 

Don't close any accounts that are not in use...this will actually hurt your score as it eliminates history and your total outstanding balance to available credit will increase and lower your score.  It is recommended not to have a balance of no more than 10% of available credit...e.g.  $8,000 credit line...with no more than $800.00 balance.

I always paid my credit cards well in advance of the statement close date...subsequently, my balance always showed zero when reported to the agencies, thus lowering my FICO score...I just recently discovered this anomally...now I keep a very small balance to avoid this. 

Pay on time (that goes without saying)

Limit your credit inquiries (I have only three cards...Discover, Visa, and Master)...all have a tiny balance.  I charge a small amount right after the statement close date and then I pay off the prior month's balance in full.

Hope this helps!

SMB