topic Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:26:59 GMT

Hi, I'd love it if I can get some advice. So I'm going to be refinancing my mortgage and having my husband's name be put on it (he wasn't on the original). My credit score is two tiers higher than his, but they still need to use his credit score. The problem is that his middle credit score (2 out of the 3 scores are actually this score) is 1 point below the next higher credit rating category. I'm bummed that I'm not getting as good a deal with his name on it, but I'm even more bummed that he misses the next higher tier by 1 point. Anyway I noticed that the credit report does not reflect $3500 made in credit card payments. Otherwise there's a $5,000 credit card balance and two car loans (with the one car loan close to being paid off).

I want to get the best deal. Should I ask them to run another credit check on him in a couple weeks? He's only had one inquiry so far. Do you think the $3500 in payments can make the score increase at least by a point? The problem is too, I don't know if another inquiry will make it go down by a few points though it would be by the same lender. Anyone know how fast a score can go up? Thanks!

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

llecs — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 19:45:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi, I'd love it if I can get some advice. So I'm going to be refinancing my mortgage and having my husband's name be put on it (he wasn't on the original). My credit score is two tiers higher than his, but they still need to use his credit score. The problem is that his middle credit score (2 out of the 3 scores are actually this score) is 1 point below the next higher credit rating category. I'm bummed that I'm not getting as good a deal with his name on it, but I'm even more bummed that he misses the next higher tier by 1 point. Anyway I noticed that the credit report does not reflect $3500 made in credit card payments. Otherwise there's a $5,000 credit card balance and two car loans (with the one car loan close to being paid off).

I want to get the best deal. Should I ask them to run another credit check on him in a couple weeks? He's only had one inquiry so far. Do you think the $3500 in payments can make the score increase at least by a point? The problem is too, I don't know if another inquiry will make it go down by a few points though it would be by the same lender. Anyone know how fast a score can go up? Thanks!

Welcome to the forums!

The fastest way to improve your FICO score is through lowering your revolving balances, so you are on the right track. Credit card companies typically update your credit reports only once per month, right around the statement date (with the exception of a few quirky cards like Amex, HSBC, and US Bank if memory serves who report differently). Most companies update the balance you had on the statement date and most will report that within a day or two or three, give or take, from the statement date. So, if you paid a CC and the CC has a statement date of October 20, for example, then you won't see a lower balance until after Nov. 20 if you paid it after that earlier Oct. statement date. Now lenders have a tool available to them called rapid rescore. This is a request put into the CRAs to request an update to the CCs in between statement dates. There's usually a fee associated with it though.

For max points, ideally you'd want all of your and spouse's CCs to report $0, with the exception of one, and have the remaining reporting a balance of under 9% of the CL.

Per the inquiry, for scoring purposes, FICO lumps them together if the mortgage inquiries were pulled within a minimum 14 day (and later) window of time. This is because borrowers will shop around with other lenders for the best rate and you can do so without having to worry about any score dings. IMO, inquiry damage is overrated anyway.

Will $3500 in payments help? It depends on what was paid down, changes in utilization, if any were maxed out, and so on. YMMV.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:26:19 GMT

Thanks for the response. Well actually I see the balance that's on there now is the statement balance from October 20. I believe that balance was on there when my credit report was checked on October 27 (my husband's was checked a few days later). I guess it's safe to say if I have my husband's credit check done around December 1, it will be reflected on it then. I just worry though since that will be more than 14 days after this inquiry, but if we do it under 14 days, the balance probably won't be updated by then. I guess either way, it can't hurt to look at it around the beginning of December because if his score does go down, it still can't go down by much. I really should get him onto the mortgage because that will probably boost his credit score even more in the future.

The credit card that has a balance that's $3,000 less now (around $3,900 balance now) has a $30,000 revolving credit. The other credit card that has a balance is not as bad (like $1400). That has a revolving line of $8,000. That statement date should be coming up on the 8th. Do you think if I just pay that balance of $1400, that could make a difference? I would really only want to be going into my savings to do this if it's going to at least bring it up by a point. What do you think? This is so frustrating because before September, the CCs were nearly paid down and an emergency came up I think if I paid that $1400 credit card off (plus the $3500 that was paid that is not reflected yet), that would bring the percentage of credit/debt ratio on the credit cards to 10% instead of 22%. I just don't know if I do this before the statement dates are up this month, will the score increase a little by next month?

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:10:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the response. Well actually I see the balance that's on there now is the statement balance from October 20. I believe that balance was on there when my credit report was checked on October 27 (my husband's was checked a few days later). I guess it's safe to say if I have my husband's credit check done around December 1, it will be reflected on it then. I just worry though since that will be more than 14 days after this inquiry, but if we do it under 14 days, the balance probably won't be updated by then. I guess either way, it can't hurt to look at it around the beginning of December because if his score does go down, it still can't go down by much. I really should get him onto the mortgage because that will probably boost his credit score even more in the future.

The credit card that has a balance that's $3,000 less now (around $3,900 balance now) has a $30,000 revolving credit. The other credit card that has a balance is not as bad (like $1400). That has a revolving line of $8,000. That statement date should be coming up on the 8th. Do you think if I just pay that balance of $1400, that could make a difference? I would really only want to be going into my savings to do this if it's going to at least bring it up by a point. What do you think? This is so frustrating because before September, the CCs were nearly paid down and an emergency came up I think if I paid that $1400 credit card off (plus the $3500 that was paid that is not reflected yet), that would bring the percentage of credit/debt ratio on the credit cards to 10% instead of 22%. I just don't know if I do this before the statement dates are up this month, will the score increase a little by next month?

I'm really new to all this, so I could be wrong, but you mentioned that the card you are paying down has a $30k limit. My understanding is that cards above $25 or $30k to not factor into utilization. If this is correct, then paying that particular card down may not help you as much as originally thought.... Maybe someone else (Marinevietvet or hauling) can chime in here.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

haulingthescoreup — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:09:12 GMT

$30K cards should count. It starts getting iffy in the $35 - $40K range. Experian might be an exception --it might be lower than the others. But of course, how we would know anything about Experian these days??

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:09:55 GMT

Hi Qtip...well there there are 2 different credit cards. The one with 30k that currently has $3900 but right now it's almost 7k on the credit report because it doesn't show the payment I made to it yet. Then I have another one with 8k limit that has $1400 on it. Do you think paying the $1400 one off could help?

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:13:28 GMT

Hauling, I think Experian had the best score for him actually. But it couldn't be used since the middle one had to be used (Equifax & Transunion had same number that was lower by a 6 points). Transunion was the worst on mine. I had 760, 770, and Transunion had me at 745.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:32:16 GMT

Okay so I just made a $500 payment (which is the second payment I've made this month) to the card with $1400 on it. I've had to go into my savings to make credit card payments already, and I don't feel comfortable taking more out especially when I can't know for sure if it'll help or not. So now we're looking at one card with $3900, the other with $900. I hope this helps. Those are the only two credit cards with balances besides the car installment loans. Either way, it will be $4500 made in payments compared to what's on the current credit report. I hope this helps! I know from reading about FICO scoring on here, it's really a crapshoot.

Would it be a good idea to pay to check my husband's credit report myself before I ask the lender to re-run his credit check? Does it bring down his score if I were to check it on MyFICO? I guess I'm paranoid, what if his credit score went down a lot more for some reason because once I ask them to re-run it, they'll have to put down the new number and use that to figure out our rates.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

MarineVietVet — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:38:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Okay so I just made a $500 payment (which is the second payment I've made this month) to the card with $1400 on it. I've had to go into my savings to make credit card payments already, and I don't feel comfortable taking more out especially when I can't know for sure if it'll help or not. So now we're looking at one card with $3900, the other with $900. I hope this helps. Those are the only two credit cards with balances besides the car installment loans. Either way, it will be $4500 made in payments compared to what's on the current credit report. I hope this helps! I know from reading about FICO scoring on here, it's really a crapshoot.

Would it be a good idea to pay to check my husband's credit report myself before I ask the lender to re-run his credit check? Does it bring down his score if I were to check it on MyFICO? I guess I'm paranoid, what if his credit score went down a lot more for some reason because once I ask them to re-run it, they'll have to put down the new number and use that to figure out our rates.

If you haven't already pulled your free reports at annualcreditreport.com you have that option. You were talking about just the reports is that correct?

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Travis-84 — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 02:30:36 GMT

Checking the score yourself will never hurt. Having a lender check it will count as an inquiry.

What I would do is once the payment post, call the credit card company and ask if they can update your report. They may or may not be able to, but its worth a try.

If they cant, then you need to wait until they normally update their reports, which could be 30 days away.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

vanillabean — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:40:43 GMT

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread is verification of utilization. It will not help much to pay off the $1,400/$8,000 account if it's not used for utilization. I assume that the two credit card accounts are listed on the credit reports for both of you or at least for your husband.

girl11, what is the utilization percentage listed in your husband's EQ and TU myFICO score reports? The first account is $6,900/$30,000, so the overall utilization is (1400 + 3900 + 3000) * 100 / (8000 + 30000) = 21%, if both accounts report credit limits and are used for utilization.

In comparison, (0 + 3900) * 100 / (8000 + 30000) = 10%. You mention 22% and 10%, so that aligns. But the key question is if his FICO score reports say so too.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:35:14 GMT

The credit cards are for both of us. I have more accounts on my credit report though, the mortgage and a HELOC loan with 12k on it (22k was the original amount). I have more debt under mine yet the higher score.

How do I know if both accounts are used for utilization?

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:37:46 GMT

Also, I was wondering not to pull his report, but to find out if his credit score increased before I ask the lender to re-run his credit check. Can I pay to find out his credit score? I already know Experian had the best score, so I would need to know if either TU or Equifax changed in order to get that higher middle score.

I think those balances should come up by December 1. Because when our credit reports were pulled on November 1, they had the balances from the most current statements that were generated.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

MarineVietVet — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:11:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Also, I was wondering not to pull his report, but to find out if his credit score increased before I ask the lender to re-run his credit check. Can I pay to find out his credit score? I already know Experian had the best score, so I would need to know if either TU or Equifax changed in order to get that higher middle score.

I think those balances should come up by December 1. Because when our credit reports were pulled on November 1, they had the balances from the most current statements that were generated.

Yes you can but you're not supposed to access anyone else's information. Why not let him do it?

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

vanillabean — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:25:01 GMT

Have your husband go to http://www.myfico.com/Products/FICOOne/Description.aspx

Click Buy Now. Uncheck TransUnion on the next screen, so he's paying $15.95 for EQ only.

Once he gets his score report, look for "Ratio of your revolving balances to your credit limits" towards the beginning.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

MarineVietVet — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:31:50 GMT

@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:
Have your husband go to http://www.myfico.com/Products/FICOOne/Description.aspx

Click Buy Now. Uncheck TransUnion on the next screen, so he's paying $15.95 for EQ only.

Once he gets his score report, look for "Ratio of your revolving balances to your credit limits" towards the beginning.

Before you do that though it's worth a few minutes to do an internet search for "myfico discount codes" to save a little money. I've saved as much as 25% by doing this. The offers change constantly but saving on anything is always good.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

llecs — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:43:13 GMT

twitter.com/myfico also throws out some new discounts from time to time.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

MarineVietVet — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:46:31 GMT

@llecs wrote:
twitter.com/myfico also throws out some new discounts from time to time.

Thanks for reminding me of that. Since I neither twitter nor tweet I forget about that option.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:27:22 GMT

@MarineVietVet wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
Also, I was wondering not to pull his report, but to find out if his credit score increased before I ask the lender to re-run his credit check. Can I pay to find out his credit score? I already know Experian had the best score, so I would need to know if either TU or Equifax changed in order to get that higher middle score.

I think those balances should come up by December 1. Because when our credit reports were pulled on November 1, they had the balances from the most current statements that were generated.

Yes you can but you're not supposed to access anyone else's information. Why not let him do it?

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

Don't worry, he would know I was doing it. If I asked him to do it, he wouldn't want to be bothered. He leaves everything having to do with money and bills and whatnot to me. That was decided long ago. When we were first together, who do you think made sure that he started making his minimum payments on credit cards because he wasn't paying attention to the credit card bills he got in the mail? That's why he had to recover from bad credit. He had the money to pay them, but he would forget about making payments. His credit score is getting up there, so I want to help him get it higher so it'll help us get the best deals in the future.

Re: Advice Please on How Soon a Credit Score Can Go Up

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:30:45 GMT

Thank you...if I want the mortgage lender to re-check it, it would be $16. His credit score would have to drop I think 40 points to put him into the next lower tier. I don't think it can change that much, right? I am trying to find out if his credit score does go up by a point into the next higher category, what would be the deal we would get then. If it's not going to be much difference, I don't know if it's worth stressing about either.