topic Re: FICO From 755 to 690.. in Understanding FICO® Scoring

FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 14:11:11 GMT

I hope this is temporal

What happened here?

So i am going through a PC with Citibank.. this is my EQ Bankcard 8 score, I only did a credit reallocation and a product change and my score dropped like never a bomb. My utilization has always been 0% across all my cards, no late payments, i PIF and even pay sometimes before the statement.

When i checked why.... new info appeared that i haven't had before... that the age of my accounts is too young. What i think is because i am going through a Product Change is that Citi has not yet incorporated my oldest account that is the one going through the PC so my Average age of accounts dropped too much.

I only have these cards:

Amex Hilton Honors: $30,000 - Opened January 2020.

Citi Prestige: $25,000 - Opened March 2019

(Oldest Acct) Citi AAdvantage Plat: $10,000 - Opened May 2018. Has gone through different account numbers, and right now is in the process of product changing to Citi Double Cash.

I couldn't believe this PC,credit reallocation is impacting my score so much. ?.? Clueless on whatsup? I think this in an internal Citi score as i don't have SSN/ITIN and my reporting to credit bureaus could be flawed.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Stralem — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 14:31:36 GMT

Personally, I've never put stock into the score that Citi provides. It's never proven to be accurate.

That being said, a drop in AAoA (Average Age of Accounts) is to be expected when opening new lines of credit (especially since it looks like you only have 3 total), so don't sweat it. Your scores will recover in time.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

dragontears — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 14:31:59 GMT

Has your Amex card reported yet?

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 14:51:23 GMT

@dragontears wrote:
Has your Amex card reported yet?

I am not sure. As i don't have ITIN/SSN is near impossible for me to get an accurate Credit Report. The only scores i do have access are from Citi's website (EQ Bankcard 8), Amex Website (EX Fico 8) and American Express - My Credit Guide (TU Vantage).

What i can see from American Express - My Credit Guide (That is the more detailed one) is that my Amex is reporting at $10,000, as i recently got a CLI to $30K and it has not updated yet.

I also don't see on that Credit Report my AA/DC card, only Prestige and Hilton. My score in Amex EX is right now as of today 731, and TU Vantage 733.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:01:11 GMT

I have several cards that are store cards and my oldest wells platinum. They are more valuable to me as old accounts and don't offer much in the way of rewards.

The only reason I have them is for the AAoA. I don't mess with them. I use them every couple of months just to keep them active.

You can call a csr for the card, and find out how often you need to use them to keep them active.

They range from "no use required" (nebraska furniture mart), to every 2 years, to every 6 months.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:10:05 GMT

@Stralem wrote:
Personally, I've never put stock into the score that Citi provides. It's never proven to be accurate.

That being said, a drop in AAoA (Average Age of Accounts) is to be expected when opening new lines of credit (especially since it looks like you only have 3 total), so don't sweat it. Your scores will recover in time.

Totally, i won't sweat it but i thought that a Credit Reallocation, Opening of a new card (Amex Jan), and a PC would impact so much. I think this is still processing so i won't sweat it so much it's just i thought these changes were like 5-10 points down.. not exactly expecting 65 random point drop from 1 month to the other per Citi.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

elixerin — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:46:17 GMT

who cares lol and i mean this in the nicest way possible you seem to be rocking the credit game for someone with no SSN/ITIN and just a year in.

Agree with others about the time thing but unless you're going for a mortgage or car loan soon i wouldn't worry, the score that Citi shows you is EQ08 so it is widely used by lenders.

I think the next update will be an exponential increase if anything, even if not though you'll live

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 10:28:22 GMT

Thanks, i am a virgin still...

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Remedios — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 13:49:38 GMT

@Stralem wrote:
Personally, I've never put stock into the score that Citi provides. It's never proven to be accurate.

That being said, a drop in AAoA (Average Age of Accounts) is to be expected when opening new lines of credit (especially since it looks like you only have 3 total), so don't sweat it. Your scores will recover in time.

I'm not sure why you think it's inaccurate

It's FICO 8 Bankcard score, and it's very accurate on the day Citi does SP.

It matches my Bankcard score when compared to two paid CMS, EX credit works and MyFico

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Remedios — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 13:55:02 GMT

@elixerin wrote:
who cares lol and i mean this in the nicest way possible you seem to be rocking the credit game for someone with no SSN/ITIN and just a year in.

Agree with others about the time thing but unless you're going for a mortgage or car loan soon i wouldn't worry, the score that Citi shows you is EQ08 so it is widely used by lenders.

I think the next update will be an exponential increase if anything, even if not though you'll live

Who cares?

Well, lenders could, because a lot of them subscribe to alerts, based on parameters they set.

It could be something like "Alert if collection account added", or "Alert if score drops by X amount of points", and/or "Alert if utilization exceeds 59%", at which time account may undergo a review.

While this is not the end of the world if it's resolved quickly and no negatives are present, it can cause issues depending on a lender.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

elixerin — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 15:50:44 GMT

In this specific case it was a mere "who cares" moment, following his/her profile, that was expressed mostly just to relieve OP's concern... Not general advice.

Kudos to OP for utilizing as many credit monitoring services as possible without an SSN/ITIN👍

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 15:23:00 GMT

Thanks guys for all your insight!

Now what do you guys think i should do? Not apply for anything for 1 year or 2 years? or keep adding a new useful line per year?

Like what should be my strategic move haha.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

elixerin — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 16:14:42 GMT

i'd say pick up a couple useful cards in a rather short time period simply because in a year or two the SD'ed Citi card wont hold so much weight to its tradeline, me personally adding only 1 card a year and denting AAoA every year as oppose to picking up 2-3 in a few months eating the dent firsthand and then growing from there is what im doing personally. Im going for a thicker profile in the beginning so that all those lines are built with time (at the same time). These are infrastructure cards that are going to be kept indefinitely so i want my history to be there with them (for me earlier the better)

This can be problematic or simply not efficient for individuals truly using 1 (or just a couple) card/s for that year for ease of mind OR to be able to get more potential value year 2 on from other cards.. Maybe the spend doesn't line in. It's really about you in this space, how you utilize each or don't is to your value.. nobody elses. Determine where you fit best and rock it IMO🤙

You're pretty much in a good position to (and this is what the peak of "credit" leads up to) pick any card you like, ultimately what will work best for you at that time should be the main factor in your decisions. That's the 1 and only "strategy"

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

FireMedic1 — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 22:16:28 GMT

@Deuter wrote:
I hope this is temporal
So i am going through a PC with Citibank.. this is my EQ Bankcard 8 score, I only did a credit reallocation and a product change and my score dropped like never a bomb. My utilization has always been 0% across all my cards, no late payments, i PIF and even pay sometimes before the statement.

When i checked why.... new info appeared that i haven't had before... that the age of my accounts is too young. What i think is because i am going through a Product Change is that Citi has not yet incorporated my oldest account that is the one going through the PC so my Average age of accounts dropped too much.

I only have these cards:

Amex Hilton Honors: $30,000 - Opened January 2020.
Citi Prestige: $25,000 - Opened March 2019
(Oldest Acct) Citi AAdvantage Plat: $10,000 - Opened May 2018. Has gone through different account numbers, and right now is in the process of product changing to Citi Double Cash.

I couldn't believe this PC,credit reallocation is impacting my score so much. ?.? Clueless on whatsup? I think this in an internal Citi score as i don't have SSN/ITIN and my reporting to credit bureaus could be flawed.

@Deuter

This might be why that others missed. Never have all your cards report 0% usage and/or $0 balance. One card has to report a balance each month between 1-8%. As we call AZEO. All zero except one. That can whack you for the point loss each month. So. Never have all cards not report a balance. And never have all cards report a balance.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 14:37:17 GMT

@elixerin wrote:
i'd say pick up a couple useful cards in a rather short time period simply because in a year or two the SD'ed Citi card wont hold so much weight to its tradeline, me personally adding only 1 card a year and denting AAoA every year as oppose to picking up 2-3 in a few months eating the dent firsthand and then growing from there is what im doing personally. Im going for a thicker profile in the beginning so that all those lines are built with time (at the same time). These are infrastructure cards that are going to be kept indefinitely so i want my history to be there with them (for me earlier the better)

Mmm so you are basically recommending me that i apply to a few useful cards right now in a batch. Hmmm

The only problem is i don't know what to apply for as i think i'm already covered with what i got? Given that i can only choose Citi or AMEX

Well next time i apply to another one (that i don't know when that will be), i'll try to grab 2 (if they are useful) at the same time instead of adding a new one per year. Hmmmmm...

That's mostly it i shouldn't apply for a new card every year with such short AAoA. Haha, i am already confused what would be ideal? 1 new card per every 2 years, don't get any new card at all for years or get right now or the next time i get card a few that i would use instead of a single 1. This no ITIN affair has me handcuffed more limited in useful prepositions, and also spending all my time outside of USA complicates things a bit in what to add to the Portofolio. heh

@FireMedic1 wrote:
This might be why that others missed. Never have all your cards report 0% usage and/or $0 balance. One card has to report a balance each month between 1-8%. As we call AZEO. All zero except one. That can whack you for the point loss each month. So. Never have all cards not report a balance. And never have all cards report a balance.

Thanks! I am still new to cards, i will try the AZEO technique... i am just in the newbie stage where i am still like in "trial and error" sometimes i leave a balance randombly in the card to see what happens, other times are all left just in $0... and then i check my reports of each month and see what was better for my score because i'm still distinguishing the changes or how payment affects my score.

So regarding your recommendation.. .. i will start reporting 1% instead of 0% and leave a balance not greater than 1% on one of my cards and then the rest of them all in $0 balance.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

FireMedic1 — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 18:31:08 GMT

@Deuter wrote:
@elixerin wrote:
i'd say pick up a couple useful cards in a rather short time period simply because in a year or two the SD'ed Citi card wont hold so much weight to its tradeline, me personally adding only 1 card a year and denting AAoA every year as oppose to picking up 2-3 in a few months eating the dent firsthand and then growing from there is what im doing personally. Im going for a thicker profile in the beginning so that all those lines are built with time (at the same time). These are infrastructure cards that are going to be kept indefinitely so i want my history to be there with them (for me earlier the better)

Mmm so you are basically recommending me that i apply to a few useful cards right now in a batch. Hmmm
The only problem is i don't know what to apply for as i think i'm already covered with what i got? Given that i can only choose Citi or AMEX
Well next time i apply to another one (that i don't know when that will be), i'll try to grab 2 (if they are useful) at the same time instead of adding a new one per year. Hmmmmm...

That's mostly it i shouldn't apply for a new card every year with such short AAoA. Haha, i am already confused what would be ideal? 1 new card per every 2 years, don't get any new card at all for years or get right now or the next time i get card a few that i would use instead of a single 1. This no ITIN affair has me handcuffed more limited in useful prepositions, and also spending all my time outside of USA complicates things a bit in what to add to the Portofolio. heh

@FireMedic1 wrote:
This might be why that others missed. Never have all your cards report 0% usage and/or $0 balance. One card has to report a balance each month between 1-8%. As we call AZEO. All zero except one. That can whack you for the point loss each month. So. Never have all cards not report a balance. And never have all cards report a balance.
Thanks! I am still new to cards, i will try the AZEO technique... i am just in the newbie stage where i am still like in "trial and error" sometimes i leave a balance randombly in the card to see what happens, other times are all left just in $0... and then i check my reports of each month and see what was better for my score because i'm still distinguishing the changes or how payment affects my score.

So regarding your recommendation.. .. I will start reporting 1% on one card instead [edit] and then the rest of them all in $0 balance.

Your chart goes up and down. Thats why the one month it reports 1% and it goes up. None report it goes down. The last sentence I rearrainged so you see how the games played. FICO is a numbers game. Let us know how the AZEO work on your next statement for others to see. Good Luck!

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 11:40:21 GMT

Hey my profile has changed!! Citibank fixed my file and now they added an extra year to my length of history Just showed on Vantage TU.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

elixerin — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 19:17:19 GMT

nice! yeah the history must have went from 1y11mo to 2 but only show 1/2/3 years etc.. (i think)

when you say they fixed your profile was that meaning that your score went back to its original 750s with this update? with 1% uti it better haha

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

Deuter — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 21:00:04 GMT

No i didn't meant about the score but that i had a problem with my Last Name, and my 1st card never reported in these two years. It was issued with my second last name instead of the first so i guess it was never attached to the credit bureau registry i already had from my 2nd card. I talked with Citibank about this and they fixed my name so the wrongly issued name card could be the same as my other cards. So what happened here is that my oldest account is now on my credit bureau file

I had a $23,500 AAdvantage card that was not reporting to the bureaus . As this was my oldest acct i thought it would be more beneficial to me that it would report instead of living the stealth life. My FICO 8 scores have yet not updated, not even a month has passed to see the results! This is only pulled from my weekly Vantage.

Re: FICO From 755 to 690..

elixerin — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 21:43:11 GMT

OH, true that. How much older is it then your DC? not gonna lie i'd love an invisible trade to play with the money however i want without affecting scores for the month. Even a charge card just excludes the utilization scoring aspect which is just 30% but the rest is still there

pet peeve is the Overall Credit won't increase either xD and your history either simply isn't being recorded or recorded incorrectly, Cant decide Lol.

Glad you managed to get it fixed anywho