What does it take to reach the 800 club?

[veracious]

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@MarineVietVet wrote:

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@JM-AM wrote:

For best scoring opportunities I believe you need a mix of at least 3 accounts reporting. This may be why your scores have been stagnant to not reach the 800 club IMO.

Once your Auto Loan is paid off then it will ding you for not having an installment loan so possibly even lose points in your score. 

IMO I would apply now for additional credit, possibly even apply for 2 additional cards (but that is a choice you have to make). It will cause your AAoA to drop and the INQ will also ding your scores, but these will be temporary until the cards are established about 6 months - 1 year and your scores should rebound and possibly be higher then they are presently. Obviously YMMV depending on how you use the new credit and pay it off.

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Perhaps a tiny bit but it's certainly not much because closed accounts are still included in the mix. To clarify:

While both closed and open accounts are included in the mix, this doesn't mean that a closed auto loan or mortgage will always be as beneficial tp your score as an open one.  So, for example, you're typically going to be better off having some closed auto loan or mortgage than none. But having at least one open is better.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

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Thanks ,  Marinevietvet.

Your advice and comments are always on point.

You mentioned that the auto loan payoff may ding my score,  I hope not !!

Whew!   So if I don't open new credit lines, I get penalized with a lower score.

This all makes no sense.

[larinoriani]

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So, since I'm not looking for new credit...

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Since you are not looking for new credit, don't over do it, you'll get there. I would follow JM's advice and open a couple of credit cards, that would help since FICO like to see more than one "major" credit card. And better sooner than later so you AAoA start recupping.

Don't obsses about the number, is just a number. You already have excellent score, at this level, you wouldn't see any benefit on rates, you already qualify for the best tiers for any credit.

[MarineVietVet]

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@veracious wrote:

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Thanks ,  Marinevietvet.

Your advice and comments are always on point.

You mentioned that the auto loan payoff may ding my score,  I hope not !!

Whew!   So if I don't open new credit lines, I get penalized with a lower score.

This all makes no sense.

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Let me rephrase that. 

I used to think that closed accounts were not part of the mix but I learned a few months ago that they are included. Now it might be a little better to have an open account than a closed one but it's more important to have had any installment loans than none at all. It could mean a few points now that it's closed but it might not cost you any. In the bigger picture you will have one less debt and IMO debt reduction and/or payoff is always more important than a few points.

In other words being debt free should be your focus ; not whether a closed account costs you points.

Variations up or down in your score is par for the course. Just be prepared for them.

And I will stop bloviating now. 

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[haulingthescoreup]

How to reach the 800 club:

Never be late, period.

Be conservative with your acquisition of credit and with your use of credit.

And then you just have to wait it out!

btw, if I recall correctly, one of the mods has a sister with scores in the 800's, and all she had were 2-3 CC's. No auto loan, no mortgage.

[veracious]

Thanks,   HTSU.

Great advice .  I'm always hesitant over opening new lines of credit because I don't like to accept

a credit line lower than what I already have.  One of my attempts in seeking new credit was with

Alliant CU. Total disaster, in my opinion !!     It cost me two inquiries, because I wouldn't accept their

low credit line.

[vanillabean]

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@veracious wrote:

Why do some people reach the 800 Club sooner than others?

If credit gardening is the answer, what portfolio should I establish beforehand ?

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Interesting use of the term portfolio. I tend of think of it as a person's collection of investments as in a retirement account's stocks and bonds, but I suppose a credit report's cards and mortgage and installment loans can be viewed as investments as well.

It was just the other day that I thought of the comparison of a credit score being used for applying for credit with making withdrawals from a retirement account. You get the lowest interest rate on loans when your credit score is high, and you deplete your stocks the least if you withdraw money from the account when they are high.

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

btw, if I recall correctly, one of the mods has a sister with scores in the 800's, and all she had were 2-3 CC's. No auto loan, no mortgage.

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Yes, we have few cards and no auto loan, and due to a refinance no mortgage is listed these months.

[veracious]

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@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

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@veracious wrote:

Why do some people reach the 800 Club sooner than others?

If credit gardening is the answer, what portfolio should I establish beforehand ?

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Interesting use of the term portfolio. I tend of think of it as a person's collection of investments as in a retirement account's stocks and bonds, but I suppose a credit report's cards and mortgage and installment loans can be viewed as investments as well.

It was just the other day that I thought of the comparison of a credit score being used for applying for credit with making withdrawals from a retirement account. You get the lowest interest rate on loans when your credit score is high, and you deplete your stocks the least if you withdraw money from the account when they are high.

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

btw, if I recall correctly, one of the mods has a sister with scores in the 800's, and all she had were 2-3 CC's. No auto loan, no mortgage.

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Yes, we have few cards and no auto loan, and due to a refinance no mortgage is listed these months.

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Yes,  you are right in assuming that I view available credit as an asset, hence the use of the word portfolio.

Credit card companies often refer to their letting of credit as Credit Risk Portfolios.

I could be using the word in the wrong way, though.