Previously being in sales, I have literally seen thousands of credit files, if not 10's of thousands.  One thing I have noticed about many "high achievers" is that you really do not have to be 90 years old with 19 year old credit cards.

 

For instance, I have a friend who merely had two credit cards on her credit file.  They body had limits around $5000, and balances somewhere in the hundreds.  It appears she had the cards for about three or four years.  Her FICO when she purchased a vehicle from me?  795!

 

My nephew, although not 760 or higher, opened a credit card with a $1000 limit when 18.  I urged him not to use it, and he listened.  Within six months, he purchased a vehicle, and we pulled his FICO at 703 at that time.

 

My score was in the upper 700's in the past.  At the time, I had about four credit cards (MC/VISA) on which I rarely carried balances, three student loans I paid off that same year, and three car loans ($17k, $30k, and $40k) I paid the $17k off in 3 1/2 years, but the others were paid off within a year or two.

 

My parents pay cash for everything, but my mom decided to finance a time share for the heck of it.  After over three years, her credit score is hardly 600!  Although she doesn't really care, I find this extremely disturbing! 

 

It looks like the key is mainly to do well on credit cards, and as long as you keep very low balances on just a few credit cards, your score can go very high within a short period of time.