topic Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+ in Understanding FICO® Scoring

I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 08:06:03 GMT

So I'm hoping someone can shed some light as to how often this occurs. I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just surpassed 800: I'm at 806.

In February 2016 I was at 758, and since then I've climbed to 806. Since May 2016 my score pretty much remained between 793 and 797. I have three credit cards, total CL $10K, credit utilization of approximately 1% or less. Never missed a payment. No loans, no car payments - literally nothing else besides three credit cards (and one secured card that I closed in 2013).

So apparently reaching the 800+ club is attainable for someone in their early-20's. I'm sure it's very rare, though - does anyone know someone my age who has hit 800+? I'm curious.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

JLK93 — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 12:00:17 GMT

Congratulations on your 800 FICO adrianaesque!

If your score just increased to 800 in early February, the increase is likely due to some type of aging.

Could you provide us with some data?

AAoA

Age of oldest account

Age of youngest account

Inquiries in the last year

You said that your utilization is approximately 1% or less. Is it consistently <1% or does it fluctuate? Is it 1% on 1 card or overall?

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

newhis — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 12:47:28 GMT

Congrats.

I guess your newest account just crossed the 6 month mark, maybe other age related as JLK93 mention.

Is rare to see someone at 21 with 800, not because is hard to do but for the path they follow (debt, many cards/no garden).

I'm more than double your age but just started building credit 3 years ago in the USA and sometimes cross the 800 mark (I think the score will stay above 800 thanks to SSL technique). DW also hits the 800 with 3 year history.

I think is harder for 21 year olds because they tend to be more aggressive towards credit and want more things that they need.

Keep doing what you are doing.

One question, do you have any loan? Student, auto, mortgage? If not, you can get some extra points with the SSL technique.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 15:31:48 GMT

JLK93 wrote:
Congratulations on your 800 FICO adrianaesque!

If your score just increased to 800 in early February, the increase is likely due to some type of aging.

Could you provide us with some data?

AAoA
Age of oldest account
Age of youngest account
Inquiries in the last year

You said that your utilization is approximately 1% or less. Is it consistently <1% or does it fluctuate? Is it 1% on 1 card or overall?

Thank you, JLK93! And you're right, my newest card (Chase Freedom Unlimited) turned 6 months on January 21, 2017. My 806 FICO-TU score is as of 1/27/2017, so my newest card just made the mark before my score was pulled.

Here's my data:

• Capital One Secured MasterCard (opened 4/2013, closed 4/2014)

• Discover It (opened 6/2013, still active) $5k current CL

• Chase Freedom (opened 11/2014, still active) $2.5k current CL

• Chase Freedom Unlimited (opened 7/2016, still active) $4k current CL

• Total current CL: $11.5k

• Credit utilization: 1% or less (for each individual card and overall), this is pretty much consistent, it rarely goes above 5%, no cards have ever been above 25% utilization

• AAoA: 2 years 7 months

• Age of oldest account: 3 years 9 months (this card was closed 4/2014)

• Age of newest account: 0 years 6 months

• Inquiries in last year: 1 (in 7/2016 to open my newest card; before that my last inquiry was 11/2014 to open a different card)

• No student loans

• No car financing

• No mortgage

• Never missed a payment, and I always pay my balance in-full

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 21:25:31 GMT

@newhis wrote:
Congrats.

I guess your newest account just crossed the 6 month mark, maybe other age related as JLK93 mention.

Is rare to see someone at 21 with 800, not because is hard to do but for the path they follow (debt, many cards/no garden).

I'm more than double your age but just started building credit 3 years ago in the USA and sometimes cross the 800 mark (I think the score will stay above 800 thanks to SSL technique). DW also hits the 800 with 3 year history.

I think is harder for 21 year olds because they tend to be more aggressive towards credit and want more things that they need.

Keep doing what you are doing.

One question, do you have any loan? Student, auto, mortgage? If not, you can get some extra points with the SSL technique.

Thank you, newhis! Yes, my newest account just hit 6 months old right before my 806 FICO-TU score was pulled. See my previous comment for my stats.

Sadly, most 20-somethings aren't good with impulse control or responsible spending. I began lurking the myFICO forums before I turned 18 because I wanted to build perfect credit once the time came. Apparently it has been working out.

I'm aware of the Share Secure Loan (SSL) technique. Actually, thanks for reminding me about it. I couldn't do it before due to not enough money (graduate tuition and bills). I just transitioned into a new job, though, and I'm making significantly more. I now have enough disposable income to do the SSL technique, so I think I'll get on that very soon. I need to start diversifying my credit portfolio in a meaningful way.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

JLK93 — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 21:29:49 GMT

Thank you for the data adrianaesque!

Your data shows that it is possible to have an 800 score with oldest account less than 4 years old and AAoA over 2 years.

If you take out a secured installment loan and pay it down below 10% your can add around 30 points to your score. There is a thread on this forum. You really only need to read the first post.

You might want to add a few cards to provide a long term stability to your AAoA. However, keep in mind that most Chase cards won't be approved if you have 5 new cards in the last 24 months. Also, adding new cards might drop your AAoA below 2 years. This will cause a temporary score drop until your AAoA rises back above 2 years.

Keep up the good work!

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

stellar — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 21:32:34 GMT

Good for you adriana! And what a great example to other young people!

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

newhis — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 22:36:37 GMT

With Discover you can try to SP CLI every month or two, also you can ask for APR offers, sometimes they offer 0% for 12 months or permanent drop by 2% your currently have.

I think your Discover can grow above 5K with SP CLIs.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 00:14:16 GMT

Congratulations! No doubt

Now in fairness, when I worked in UW... You'd be surprised how many 'kids' had crazy high scores

Especially, those whose parents either
A) added them as AUs or
B) gave them a great foundation as what to do

My 19 y.o. and 21 y.o. are benefitting from my leadership in this regard ... While most young ppl
A) just don't have enough interest or are busy doing other stuff like school, military or chasing tale
B) Many if those that do get involved, get in over their heads due to spending and or just being to far into adulthood than they can handle at that point (meaning some kids have spouses, kids and much growner bills than most 21 y.o.s ) so they are swimming upstearm before they know it.

Keep up the good work

Now don't get twisted thinking that score means UWers won't still turn you down,no matter what the score says it entire profile has value as you said no car or installers

You're right the SSL couldn't hurt....You're in lane 1
Now stay there.... Again Congratulations 😀

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 15:37:42 GMT

@JLK93 wrote:
Thank you for the data adrianaesque!

Your data shows that it is possible to have an 800 score with oldest account less than 4 years old and AAoA over 2 years.

If you take out a secured installment loan and pay it down below 10% your can add around 30 points to your score. There is a thread on this forum. You really only need to read the first post.

You might want to add a few cards to provide a long term stability to your AAoA. However, keep in mind that most Chase cards won't be approved if you have 5 new cards in the last 24 months. Also, adding new cards might drop your AAoA below 2 years. This will cause a temporary score drop until your AAoA rises back above 2 years.

Keep up the good work!

Yes JLK93, I'm going to do the Share Secure Loan (SSL) technique soon. newhis mentioned this too. I've known about the SSL technique for a while, I just couldn't do it before because I didn't have the funds thanks to graduate tuiton and other bills. But now I do, so I'll be getting on that very soon to diversify my credit portfolio and bump up my score more.

Opening two more CC's would drop my AAoA from 2 years 7 months to 1 year 8 months for the time-being, but like you said would give me more long-term stability. Which cards do you recommend?

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 15:37:55 GMT

@newhis wrote:
With Discover you can try to SP CLI every month or two, also you can ask for APR offers, sometimes they offer 0% for 12 months or permanent drop by 2% your currently have.

I think your Discover can grow above 5K with SP CLIs.

newhis, once again thank you for the reminder. Back in July 2016 someone on here recommended I try for a SP CLI with Discover - at the time my CL was a measly $2k. They increased it to $3.5k. I didn't realize how long ago that was, I think I'm due for another try.

I just made a subission online, and Discover bumped my CL by another $1.5k! So now I'm at $5k. Thanks again for the reminder, newhis, I'll remember to do this again later this year.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 15:38:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Congratulations! No doubt

Now in fairness, when I worked in UW... You'd be surprised how many 'kids' had crazy high scores

Especially, those whose parents either
A) added them as AUs or
B) gave them a great foundation as what to do

My 19 y.o. and 21 y.o. are benefitting from my leadership in this regard ... While most young ppl
A) just don't have enough interest or are busy doing other stuff like school, military or chasing tale
B) Many if those that do get involved, get in over their heads due to spending and or just being to far into adulthood than they can handle at that point (meaning some kids have spouses, kids and much growner bills than most 21 y.o.s ) so they are swimming upstearm before they know it.

Keep up the good work

Now don't get twisted thinking that score means UWers won't still turn you down,no matter what the score says it entire profile has value as you said no car or installers

You're right the SSL couldn't hurt....You're in lane 1
Now stay there.... Again Congratulations 😀

Gemini101, yes for sure, even though my FICO-TU is 800+ now my credit portfolio is still very young and not yet diversified. When it comes to credit I'm very cautious rather than cocky. When I app'ed for Chase Freedom back in November 2014, I thought I would have to call the backdoor number and beg for a $500 CL. Instead I was instantly approved online for $2.5k. I was shocked, to say the least.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

newhis — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 20:24:40 GMT

You can ask every month if you want (Discover), some people get CLI every 30 days, some every 60 days, no need to wait 6 months with them. You need to wait 6 months after each APR reduction. DW is on her second 0% for 12 months promo, well, third if you count the new client promo.

The card I recommend is Amex BCE. It can grow fast (3X each time) with SP CLI and have good extra deals (well all Amex cards). Check the pre-qual site.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 22:07:06 GMT

@newhis wrote:
You can ask every month if you want (Discover), some people get CLI every 30 days, some every 60 days, no need to wait 6 months with them. You need to wait 6 months after each APR reduction. DW is on her second 0% for 12 months promo, well, third if you count the new client promo.

The card I recommend is Amex BCE. It can grow fast (3X each time) with SP CLI and have good extra deals (well all Amex cards). Check the pre-qual site.

newhis, thanks for the recommendation. I do want to get in with AMEX. Here's my dilemma. I've heard a lot about AMEX's BCE vs. ED, with a large amount of people saying BCE is useless because of other comparable cards (at the time, Sallie Mae before it was discontinued). The big deal with the ED are the MR points. However, I'm not a frequent traveler by any means. I already have three cash back cards, so BCE would be a fourth, but I'm having a hard time seeing my own personal utility in the ED.

When I do travel, I don't stick with a certain airline/hotel. And I don't see myself spending so much on the ED that would earn me enough MR points to make a huge difference for the times I do travel. Even if I did have enough MR points to make a dent, AMEX's airline/hotel partners may not be the cheapest out there, so it might actually be cheaper for me to book travel outright without using AMEX MR points.

Any advice/insight?

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Revelate — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 04:03:00 GMT

Thanks for the data adrianna!

JLK does make a good point regarding AAOA buffering, but with how the market is setup I'd seriously consider waiting a bit till you have income (if you haven't graduated already). Figure out what spending you have once you get settled, and then pick up the right cards to support that... vis a vis with the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited, if you're eating at restaurants or travelling some it's a short walk to getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred depending on your spend to maxmize points there, but reaching for that now if you haven't got income, is going to be suboptimal.

AAOA gets patched up for most people on this forum through natural card acquisition, isn't something I'd run out and do right now as the credit market will continue to be loose for a while from the looks of it, so you can afford to wait a little bit and then get cards optimized for your new life situation.

As for your original post, this forum is a self selected subset of users and sadly most people don't report back. Ideal reporting situation we do know people can hit 760 after a year and then 800 after two years, the more interesting thing to me in this is you did it on credit cards alone without pulling the share secure loan trick, which makes me wonder what you'll get to after that.

FWIW based on non-trivial data there's a AAOA boundary at 2 years, and you'll also possibly take a setback for having a new account, but if it were me I'd pull the SSL and once I had income, look to Chase to complete the trifecta as my next two aquisitions personally unless you don't eat out and don't travel at all haha, otherwise they're worth the first look.

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

newhis — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 14:16:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
newhis, thanks for the recommendation. I do want to get in with AMEX. Here's my dilemma. I've heard a lot about AMEX's BCE vs. ED, with a large amount of people saying BCE is useless because of other comparable cards (at the time, Sallie Mae before it was discontinued). The big deal with the ED are the MR points. However, I'm not a frequent traveler by any means. I already have three cash back cards, so BCE would be a fourth, but I'm having a hard time seeing my own personal utility in the ED.

When I do travel, I don't stick with a certain airline/hotel. And I don't see myself spending so much on the ED that would earn me enough MR points to make a huge difference for the times I do travel. Even if I did have enough MR points to make a dent, AMEX's airline/hotel partners may not be the cheapest out there, so it might actually be cheaper for me to book travel outright without using AMEX MR points.

Any advice/insight?

Both your Chase cards can be cash back cards or UR points cards. You can't use them for travel you need CSP/CSR for that.

If I were you:

a) get the SSL just to have those extra FICO points

b) get Amex BCE

c) save the UR points

d) try to increase your Discover limit to 10K

e) try to increase your Amex limit to 10K

That will be 2 new accounts and will lower your AAoA, but will fill the credit mix on your score for some extra points, maybe 20-25.

In the future, maybe your needs for travel will change, if they do then get a CSP or CSR card from Chase. Then you can transfer the points to travel partners or use some for up to 1.5 value for travel (with CSR card).

If you don't travel, no need to have a card with AF at this point.

You will need to have a plan, how high you want your limits to be?. If you start 'testing' like I did, you could end with a card 15K-20K higher that you think possible. My first goal was to have all cards 5K or more, then it was easy to have most over 10K. I said I only need one or two at 20K but Discover kept giving more (of course I kept asking), even if I only use the card for $200 a month.

Amex BCE sometimes has an extra welcome bonus. My DD got the card with $250 welcome bonus with $1,000 purchases in 3 months and 10% on Amazon purchases for 6 months (up to $200 back). Maybe you want to wait to get something like that instead the regular $100 welcome bonus. Here are some of the extra offers I got with Amex:

- $15 back when you purchase $15 at Amazon

- $20 back when you buy $100 at Staples

- $25 back when you buy Sam's membership

- $25 back when you buy $25 with Hulu (DW got Hulu for 4 months and free Roku stream for $5 plus taxes)

- $15 back when you buy $50 at boxed.com

- a few others

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 03:23:12 GMT

This is awesome, I'm 19 and working my way up haha

Re: I'm 21 and my FICO-TU just hit 800+

bettercreditguy1 — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 12:05:35 GMT

Yes, I hit the 800's in my twenties as well. Paying on time and increasing your history are your best friends. My son had an 847 accross all three bureaus at age 26 with no credit cards or mortage loans. He achieved his feat with automobile loans only. May your journey continue to be positive.