topic Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

crystal626 — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 05:26:27 GMT

I have been floating between 760s and 780s for years now. Just curious what metric I'm missing to cross 800.

AoOA: 12y3m

AAoA: 5y8m

Aggregate UTI: <1%

Highest individual UTI: 14%

Cards with a balance: 9 of 19 on EX, 9 of 18 on the other two (PNC never reported my card closed to EX) - if all revolvers count I have two CLOCs

Scoreable inquiries: 1 on TU, 0 on EQ, 1 on EX

Current scores: 786 TU, 787 EQ, 783 EX

Credit mix: Credit cards, lines of credit, closed personal loan, closed SSL

No derogs obviously.

On an average month I usually have 6-8 cards reporting a balance.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

JoeRockhead — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 11:42:09 GMT

You should be able to see 800+ scores without an open loan. There is a score penalty for 50% of accounts with balances and although you said you've dipped down to 6 accounts with balances reporting, since your scores have gone 780+ have you ever experimented and had your highest individual card report under 9% and greatly reduced the number of reported balances to just 1, 2 or maybe a max of 3 of your revolvers?

What's your usage of the CLOCs?

Do you still have any paid/closed loans on your reports?

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

FicoMike0 — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:29:40 GMT

looks like 800 metrics to me. The ssl trick would put you over.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

Thomas_Thumb — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:54:12 GMT

There are total reported balance thresholds in addition to aggregate utilization. One is believed to be around $2k, another around $5k and BBS says there is a 3rd around $10k. I've seen a 3-5 point loss crossing above the $4.5k to 5.5k range. Always stay below $10k so I can't speak to that.

* LOCs are lumped in with revolving credit and count toward total revolving balance in $. What are your LOC account balances?

What are your 4 reason codes in rank order? I suspect the top one is no open/active installment loan. Another is likely too many accounts with balances. There are penalties for too many accounts independent of % of cards. Curious what gain you might see dropping to 5 or less reporting including lines of credit.

Do you see any time related ones such as: you opened an account relatively recently or lack of sufficient installment account history?

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

crystal626 — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 15:07:09 GMT

@JoeRockhead wrote:
You should be able to see 800+ scores without an open loan. There is a score penalty for 50% of accounts with balances and although you said you've dipped down to 6 accounts with balances reporting, since your scores have gone 780+ have you ever experimented and had your highest individual card report under 9% and greatly reduced the number of reported balances to just 1, 2 or maybe a max of 3 of your revolvers?

What's your usage of the CLOCs?

Do you still have any paid/closed loans on your reports?

I can try dropping down to less cards. Right now I have more balances than normal due to higher expenses and 0% promos as well as 5% category cards that fit my spending.

CLOCs are all $0.

I have a closed personal loan from 2014 and a closed SSL from a couple years ago for installments.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

crystal626 — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 15:14:36 GMT

@Thomas_Thumb wrote:
There are total reported balance thresholds in addition to aggregate utilization. One is believed to be around $2k, another around $5k and BBS says there is a 3rd around $10k. I've seen a 3-5 point loss crossing above the $4.5k to 5.5k range. Always stay below $10k so I can't speak to that.

* LOCs are lumped in with revolving credit and count toward total revolving balance in $. What are your LOC account balances?

What are your 4 reason codes in rank order? I suspect the top one is no open/active installment loan. Another is likely too many accounts with balances. There are penalties for too many accounts independent of % of cards. Curious what gain you might see dropping to 5 or less reporting including lines of credit.

Do you see any time related ones such as: you opened an account relatively recently or lack of sufficient installment account history?

My balances are at ~$2800 right now so that could be part of it but I doubt it would have that much impact.

Nothing on the LOCs. They're strictly for emergencies.

Experian (from Experian.com) only has one reason code: Lack of non-mortgage loan info.

TransUnion (from Discover) says: Credit mix lacks different types of credit (I checked and it does show 2 closed installment loans so it must be mortgage as well)

Equifax (from myFICO) says: lack of recent non-mortgage loan information, new account, short account history, and consumer finance accounts

Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

Thomas_Thumb — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 15:55:49 GMT

Not having an open "optimized" installment loan is leaving 25-35 points on the table. Having a revolving account under 12 months age typically costs 15 points on a clean file, sometimes 20.

Some other file deficiencies are: too many accounts with balances, too high a % of cards with balances, AAoA below 7 years, AoOA under 15 years, seeking new credit (HPs) and limited closed installment loan payment history.

Fico 8/9 have about 30 points worth of buffer. That allows files with some sub optimal categories to still reach 850. I can still get there on EX from time to time with no open loan.

In your case aging youngest revolver past 12 months might be sufficient for 800 particularly if number of accounts reporting balances is 5 or less (3 reporting may be better still) but may not make a difference.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

Realist — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:12:48 GMT

Lots of ways to capture the installment loan opportunity if that was ever an option. But, that would only matter if you're chasing a score that pushes you into 800. If you don't need the cash for anything, or there isn't an efficiency upgrade by use of the loan, then it's probably not worth it - unless you have a few bucks to blow.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

GZG — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 17:07:35 GMT

@crystal626 wrote:
Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.

not being 0/12 are the points you're missing

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

AndySoCal — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:44:38 GMT

You can recieve 800 FICO scores without an installment or Morgage loan. My credit utilation on all cards combined is 1 to 2 percent. I have a couple cards individually are at 2 to 3 percent due to auto pays and a 5K Walmart One pay limit and spending. All cards are paid in full each month. FICO scores prefer accounts with a long credit history.

This year I gardening to allow my new accounts to age a bit. Maybe an app in 2027 not sure if I will or not

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

crystal626 — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 21:31:44 GMT

@Thomas_Thumb wrote:
Not having an open "optimized" installment loan is leaving 25-35 points on the table. Having a revolving account under 12 months age typically costs 15 points on a clean file, sometimes 20.

Some other file deficiencies are: too many accounts with balances, too high a % of cards with balances, AAoA below 7 years, AoOA under 15 years, seeking new credit (HPs) and limited closed installment loan payment history.

Fico 8/9 have about 30 points worth of buffer. That allows files with some sub optimal categories to still reach 850. I can still get there on EX from time to time with no open loan.

In your case aging youngest revolver past 12 months might be sufficient for 800 particularly if number of accounts reporting balances is 5 or less (3 reporting may be better still) but may not make a difference.

Thanks for this info. I guess we will see what changes at 7y AAoA. I really don't want to open up an SSL to get the artificial boost. I'm not having any problems getting credit when I need it, it's just a mental thing when I see people with younger files getting 800s wondering why I'm not.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

Thomas_Thumb — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 01:15:21 GMT

Good decision - forego the SSL. Just allow AoYRA to reach 12 months to reach an 800 goal. Then open accounts as appropriate knowing you will likely drop back to the 770s-780s.

As a test, I'd be interested to see what impact dropping to 3-4 cards reporting balances from 8-9 has on score. EQ and TU scores should show an increase. EX not so much.

FWIW going under $2k total balance won't be worth more than 2-3 points by itself given your current low AG UT%.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

GrillMasterTake2 — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:52:04 GMT

@GZG wrote:
@crystal626 wrote:
Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.
not being 0/12 are the points you're missing

Nailed It!! Go to the Garden until you're 0/12 if hitting 800+ is really important to you.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

CreditBob — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 01:49:06 GMT

There is at least a couple of things that you can still do. Have a balance on no more than 2 accounts. The current 9 credit cards with balances is part of the problem. The highest utilization on one account needs to be brought down to the single digits. Take all of your lines of credit, add them together, and times it by .01 or one percent. That is the balance that you should have on only one credit card. Here is a video link and this person has worked at both FICO & Equifax . Pay close attention to the number of accounts with balances that you should have or not have. And on this video, even though it is geared towards an 850 FICO score, you can use the information to get intpo the 800s. 700s, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M53wNlq6sro

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

Patient957 — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 05:18:12 GMT

@GrillMasterTake2 wrote:
@GZG wrote:
@crystal626 wrote:
Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.
not being 0/12 are the points you're missing
Nailed It!! Go to the Garden until you're 0/12 if hitting 800+ is really important to you.

Right, but who wants to stay at 0/12? You give up a lot of opportunities for SUBs. That's real money. Which is why so many of us opt for SSLs. You can have the 800 score without having to stay at 0/12. There's value here, actual money on the line.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

crystal626 — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 03:46:40 GMT

@Patient957 wrote:
@GrillMasterTake2 wrote:
@GZG wrote:
@crystal626 wrote:
Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.
not being 0/12 are the points you're missing
Nailed It!! Go to the Garden until you're 0/12 if hitting 800+ is really important to you.
Right, but who wants to stay at 0/12? You give up a lot of opportunities for SUBs. That's real money. Which is why so many of us opt for SSLs. You can have the 800 score without having to stay at 0/12. There's value here, actual money on the line.

For sure. I am definitely feeling the urge to open a new card or two currently. Could use some $500-$1K spend SUBs to pay for my new video card lol.

We will see if I make it. I feel like I've seen people with profiles similar to mine that are already over 800 despite their credit seeking is the reason I made the post.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

Thomas_Thumb — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:01:29 GMT

In the meantime try dropping # of cards reporting balances to 3 with total balance reported under $2k and highest card UT under 9%. Let us know how many points you gain on EQ and TU relative to EX.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

GZG — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:48:28 GMT

@Patient957 wrote:
@GrillMasterTake2 wrote:
@GZG wrote:
@crystal626 wrote:
Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.
not being 0/12 are the points you're missing
Nailed It!! Go to the Garden until you're 0/12 if hitting 800+ is really important to you.
Right, but who wants to stay at 0/12? You give up a lot of opportunities for SUBs. That's real money. Which is why so many of us opt for SSLs. You can have the 800 score without having to stay at 0/12. There's value here, actual money on the line.

can confirm I'm 800 Exp FICO 8 being 6/12, 11/24

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

Thomas_Thumb — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:01:19 GMT

@GZG

Do you have an open installment loan and how many of your cards typically report balances? The OP does not have an open loan and also is reporting a boatload of accounts with small balances. The OP would like scores above 800 while having cards under 12 months age and no toy SSL.

Based on the OP's no loan profile, that should be possible. However, it may require total balance to be held below $2000 and cards reporting balances to be 1-3, IMO. The OP has a closed SSL on file.

Re: How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

BrutalBodyShots — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 04:07:13 GMT

I've seen a single credit card profile return a 792 score on TU FICO 8 inside 3 years (before scorecard reassignment to "mature") which means that a 3 card profile if all cards were opened very early on would be able to boast an 800+ inside the same timeline with AZEO implementation with AWB% at 33% verses the 100% that a single card profile would have by definition. Since EX is bulletproof to AWB%, the 800+ would likely only be possible on TU8 and EQ8 though, IMO.