topic Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less?? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

Face_Value — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 01:49:22 GMT

Hi everyone,

Is it possible to reach 800 in 24 months? I had a similar situation as @Anonymous in that I recently started from a clean slate. I'm not as smart as her though. I did things a little backwards. As of January 2020 there was absolutely nothing on my reports and I had no FICO score. I added the following.....

Jan. 2020 Opened an auto installment loan...52K put 30k down... 22,093 @ 18%

Mar. 2020 Opened a secured Capital one credit card... CL $301 ($99 deposit required I sent $200)

Has since become an unsecured platinum... CL $601

Jul. 2020 Opened an unsecured Discover it card... CL $1000

Sep. 2020 Refinanced auto installment loan...$18,102 @ 4.24%

I have been in the garden since.

Inquiries.......EQ has 1/12 EX 2/12 and TU has none. All inquiries will age past 12 months in Sept. I expect 15-20 point increases on EQ and EX bringing them more in line with TU or better.

So I'm at.....AooA 1.5 yrs.

AAoA 1.1 yrs.

AoYA 9 mos.

AoYR 11 mos.

Is it impossible for me to get to 800 in 24 mos.? What if anything do you think I can do to get the last 29 pts. I still have 7 mos. I wish I had started with 3 revolvers, wanted to avoid fee harvester cards. Originally was gonna garden till Discover turned 1 yr but now i'm thinking longer maybe AooA 2 yrs?

Additional DP's......EQ resilience indicator/thingy 49.

I saw my first FICO score in July 2020, it was 700.

I found this forum in August 2020.

I pif every month.....util 1%

I have made double payments on my installment loan every month since I refinanced in Sept. 2020

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

OmarGB9 — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 01:58:46 GMT

You have great scores, and if all stays well, you can most likely hit 800, however I don't know if it'll happen in 7 months. Getting to the 800s usually requires time more than anything. (Length of credit history/Average Age of Accounts, which I believe is considered "excellent" after 7 or 8 years). Most likely your scores will grow very slowly from here on out.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

Shooting-For-800 — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 11:06:12 GMT

800 may be possible, but score is not everything.

I have $400k in unsecured credit available and my scores are lower than yours.

800 is a great goal for sure, but it won't magically transform your acceptance rates or CLs.

Not sure that 800 is really any better than 750 with all other factors being the same.

If it was me, I would open up 2 or 3 more cards at the same time ideally using different credit bureaus so the inquiries fall off together.

GL!

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

Face_Value — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 20:52:17 GMT

I agree with you. After those last inquiries fall off in Sept. it will be hard to get any higher than I will be at that time Roughly 780

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

USMC_Winger — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 09:18:26 GMT

@Face_Value wrote:
Is it impossible for me to get to 800 in 24 mos.?

If that were your goal, you needed to either buy a much cheaper vehicle so that the original auto loan or refinanced auto loan was paid down to less than 9.5% utilization in the 24th month or else forgo the auto purchase for at least 24 months and instead take out a small installment loan that was paid down to less than 9.5% utilization in the 24th month. And possibly open a 3rd CC in the first 12 months to get a few more points using the AZEO method, just to be sure you hit at least 800.

Not really desirable or practical, huh? You already have very good scores, and they're going to get better as they age, as long as you keep using and paying all of your accounts responsibly. Pat yourself on the back for how well you've done thus far and keep working hard! Hard work pays off!

What if anything do you think I can do to get the last 29 pts. I still have 7 mos.

You should pick up about 10 to 15 points on your FICO 8 scores in July, when your youngest revolving account, the Discover IT CC, turns 365 days old. If you could pay your auto loan down to below 9.5% utilization (a $1,702 balance would do it) in the 24th month, then you'd pick up about 15 to 25 more points by then, depending upon whether your auto loan is already below the 87% or 65% utilization thresholds.

I wish I had started with 3 revolvers, wanted to avoid fee harvester cards.

Unless you plan to apply for a mortgage in the next 17 months, I recommend picking up a few more revolvers to help build your credit file into a thick credit file.

Originally was gonna garden till Discover turned 1 yr but now i'm thinking longer maybe AooA 2 yrs?

You can start applying for tier 2 CCs after 12 months of credit history. By then you have an excellent chance of getting approved for tier 2 CCs if you have enough income, a low enough DTI, no recent inquiries, and meet the minimum credit score requirements for each card.

I pif every month.....util 1% <--- Great! But are you already practicing the AZEO method? If not, you could pick up a few points.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

wildboys — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 09:21:28 GMT

Yes it is possible. I had not used or applied for credit in 15 years. I applied for a Discover it and Capital one card in November 2020.I also joined Navy Federal CU in November 2020. I also became an authorised user on my wife's Visa in November 2020. I had no credit score or credit report with all 3 Bureaus. In Feb 2021, I applied for the Navy Federal Flashship Visa and was approved for 25000 limit. In May 2021,

@Face_Value wrote:
Hi everyone,

Is it possible to reach 800 in 24 months? I had a similar situation as @Anonymous in that I recently started from a clean slate. I'm not as smart as her though. I did things a little backwards. As of January 2020 there was absolutely nothing on my reports and I had no FICO score. I added the following.....

Jan. 2020 Opened an auto installment loan...52K put 30k down... 22,093 @ 18%
Mar. 2020 Opened a secured Capital one credit card... CL $301 ($99 deposit required I sent $200)
Has since become an unsecured platinum... CL $601
Jul. 2020 Opened an unsecured Discover it card... CL $1000
Sep. 2020 Refinanced auto installment loan...$18,102 @ 4.24%

I have been in the garden since.

Inquiries.......EQ has 1/12 EX 2/12 and TU has none. All inquiries will age past 12 months in Sept. I expect 15-20 point increases on EQ and EX bringing them more in line with TU or better.

So I'm at.....AooA 1.5 yrs.
AAoA 1.1 yrs.
AoYA 9 mos.
AoYR 11 mos.

Is it impossible for me to get to 800 in 24 mos.? What if anything do you think I can do to get the last 29 pts. I still have 7 mos. I wish I had started with 3 revolvers, wanted to avoid fee harvester cards. Originally was gonna garden till Discover turned 1 yr but now i'm thinking longer maybe AooA 2 yrs?

Additional DP's......EQ resilience indicator/thingy 49.
I saw my first FICO score in July 2020, it was 700.
I found this forum in August 2020.
I pif every month.....util 1%
I have made double payments on my installment loan every month since I refinanced in Sept. 2020

I applied for the NFCU more rewards AMEX and was approved for 25000 limit. My wife's AU account showed up on my CR in FEB 2021this is when my first fico score became available. My inital Fico score was 776. Eight months into my credit my fico score is EQ 809 EX 806 in 8 months, so it is possible, especially when you start from zero.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

USMC_Winger — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 11:27:30 GMT

@wildboys wrote:
Yes it is possible. I had not used or applied for credit in 15 years. I applied for a Discover it and Capital one card in November 2020.I also joined Navy Federal CU in November 2020. I also became an authorised user on my wife's Visa in November 2020. I had no credit score or credit report with all 3 Bureaus. In Feb 2021, I applied for the Navy Federal Flashship Visa and was approved for 25000 limit. In May 2021, I applied for the NFCU more rewards AMEX and was approved for 25000 limit. My wife's AU account showed up on my CR in FEB 2021this is when my first fico score became available. My inital Fico score was 776. Eight months into my credit my fico score is EQ 809 EX 806 in 8 months, so it is possible, especially when you start from zero.

Congrats on your quick success! However, your being an AU on your wife's VISA gives you a significant boost to your FICO scores. With only 3 primary CCs reporting perfect payment histories and very low utilization to the CBs, 2 inquiries on EX, 3 inquiries on TU, and 1 inquiry on EQ, at 8 months your FICO 8 scores would average near 740, not 800+.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

wildboys — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 11:38:13 GMT

@USMC_Winger wrote:
@wildboys wrote:
Yes it is possible. I had not used or applied for credit in 15 years. I applied for a Discover it and Capital one card in November 2020.I also joined Navy Federal CU in November 2020. I also became an authorised user on my wife's Visa in November 2020. I had no credit score or credit report with all 3 Bureaus. In Feb 2021, I applied for the Navy Federal Flashship Visa and was approved for 25000 limit. In May 2021, I applied for the NFCU more rewards AMEX and was approved for 25000 limit. My wife's AU account showed up on my CR in FEB 2021this is when my first fico score became available. My inital Fico score was 776. Eight months into my credit my fico score is EQ 809 EX 806 in 8 months, so it is possible, especially when you start from zero.
Congrats on your quick success! However, your being an AU on your wife's VISA gives you a significant boost to your FICO scores. With only 3 primary CCs reporting perfect payment histories and very low utilization to the CBs, 2 inquiries on EX, 3 inquiries on TU, and 1 inquiry on EQ, at 8 months your FICO 8 scores would average near 740, not 800+.

Yes, my AU account is 20 years old so it probably helped. I have 0 inquires on my Experian account. Capital One only pulled my EQ report. Navy Federal also pulled EQ for both CC approvals. They did not pull TU report. I started with the Discover It secure card and they didn't even do a credit inquiry. When I got the Discover card I didn't even have a credit report on any of the bureaus.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

USMC_Winger — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 12:31:00 GMT

@wildboys wrote:
@USMC_Winger wrote:
@wildboys wrote:
Yes it is possible. I had not used or applied for credit in 15 years. I applied for a Discover it and Capital one card in November 2020.I also joined Navy Federal CU in November 2020. I also became an authorised user on my wife's Visa in November 2020. I had no credit score or credit report with all 3 Bureaus. In Feb 2021, I applied for the Navy Federal Flashship Visa and was approved for 25000 limit. In May 2021, I applied for the NFCU more rewards AMEX and was approved for 25000 limit. My wife's AU account showed up on my CR in FEB 2021this is when my first fico score became available. My inital Fico score was 776. Eight months into my credit my fico score is EQ 809 EX 806 in 8 months, so it is possible, especially when you start from zero.
Congrats on your quick success! However, your being an AU on your wife's VISA gives you a significant boost to your FICO scores. With only 3 primary CCs reporting perfect payment histories and very low utilization to the CBs, 2 inquiries on EX, 3 inquiries on TU, and 1 inquiry on EQ, at 8 months your FICO 8 scores would average near 740, not 800+.
Yes, my AU account is 20 years old so it probably helped. I have 0 inquires on my Experian account. Capital One only pulled my EQ report. Navy Federal also pulled EQ for both CC approvals. They did not pull TU report. I started with the Discover It secure card and they didn't even do a credit inquiry. When I got the Discover card I didn't even have a credit report on any of the bureaus.

Thanks for the clarification. You got lucky on the inquiries! Normally, Cap1 HPs all 3 CBs and Discover HPs, even for the secured CC approvals. Navy Fed usually HPs TU for CC applications, unless there's a problem, then it either checks the EQ CR or denies the application.

Even so, your average FICO 8 scores would still be around 740 at 8 months without the AU account.

When you got your Discover card, you had credit reports at all of the bureaus, but they should have been mostly empty if you've ever applied for credit. You didn't have FICO scores at that time, because you didn't have any credit accounts reporting for the previous 6 months, not until your AU account was reported to the CBs.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

HeavenOhio — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 13:28:00 GMT

@Subexistence did it on a FICO 8 score without an AU.

Turned 20 and over 800 credit score without AU !!!!

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

Subexistence — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 21:23:04 GMT

@HeavenOhio wrote:
@Subexistence did it on a FICO 8 score without an AU.

Turned 20 and over 800 credit score without AU !!!!

Haha I remember that. I had optimized everything with every possible trick mentioned here and still can't believe I pulled it off.

I did it by getting a ton of cards and SSL within my first 12 months and no cards for the next 12 months. I then used AZEO method during the final months to juice out those extra points.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

GrandBay — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 16:17:36 GMT

@Subexistence did you write a thread about your tricks and experience?

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

dustind — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 03:08:11 GMT

800 might be doable in 7 months. If you could pay your loan down to 9.5% or less I think you would have it after hitting a couple aging metrics.

September 1st should give you a nice score bump from aging.

Once you get your 1 year AoYR score boost I would grab a few premium cards and if you wanted a store card or easy to get card grab that after your 2 or 3 premium-card spree. How many cards and in what order is very company specific. This forum will happily let you know what you can and can't get yet, and how picky they are about hard pulls and the like. I would run any plans past the group for advice, strategy, and success chances. This might slow your climb to 800 until maybe next September but it will help you in the medium and long term.

AooA 1.5 yrs. > The next threshold is 3 years for a mature profile. This is usually accompanied by a temporary score decrease until your AAoA and maybe revolver aging metrics go up a bit.

AAoA 1.1 yrs. > You will get points at every increment of 6 months.

AoYA 9 mos. > I think you get points at 3 months, 6 months, and a year. That could be more of a AoYR thing though.

AoYR 11 mos. > You will get points at 12 months, and should get more by at least 1.5 years if not also at 1year 3months.

Re: 0 to 800 in 24 mos. or less??

Subexistence — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 02:40:48 GMT

Sorry for the late reply. I'm no longer an active member but I do have a link to my credit journey in my signature.

I will also post the link here.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Can-I-get-an-800-credit-score-before-my-20th-Birthday/m-p/5116279#M132557