@Anonymous wrote:My FICO score is around 716-730 or so. My revolving credit history is only a little over a year old. If I continue to use my cards and PIF each month for 12 months, would it be realistic that my credit score would increase to 750? According to Discover when they openned my account last fall, my FICO score was 748 which is amazing because my revolving credit history would be much younger. I currely have 10% usage.
I have installment loans but they are paid as agreed.
1. In terms of credit card utilization there are factors which can affect your score at any given moment, such as overall percentage utilization (based on balances reported in statements), per-card utilization (based on statement balances), and number of cards reporting balances. These are all very temporary and fleeting, but to have them optimized at any given moment it's probably best to have less than half cards reporting a balance, to have overall utilization at 9% or less, and to have any per-card utilization at 9% or less.
2. In terms of installment loans, a factor other than 'paid as agreed' which can affect your score at any given moment is overall percentage utilization; as you pay the loan(s) down your scores go up, especially as you pass certain benchmarks on the way down. Then if you pay them off totally, down to zero, and have no open installment loans at all, your scores -- counterintuitively -- go down. So the best way to optimize this scoring factor is to have installment loans paid down to 9% or less, but not down to zero.
I agree. I'd think the scores would reach 750 if you stayed on the same course.
@Anonymous wrote:My installment loan is close and paid as agreed to be more exact.
All right so you have no open installment loans.
Since I don't know your present number of cards, number of cards reporting balances, or utilization per card, I can't possibly predict what the effect will be on your score if you put those things in place that I recommended, but your score will be optimized as far as credit card utilization is concerned.
And then the passage of time will pick up points.
If you wanted to pick up quick points (quick meaning in 2 months) you could take out a small share secured loan, then pay it down to 9%; that was good for 25 FICO points in my credit profile.