topic Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700? in General Credit Topics

No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:26:11 GMT

I have FAKOs TU 700 EX 620 EQ 670 TU FICO 700 but I'd really like them higher.

I have no delinquents, no collections, no judgements, few inquiries (Hence, nothing I can remove to make the score better), little to no balance on the 3 cards I have (I make sure they report a $10 balance from time to time) and have a $9k student loan balance out of a beginning $11k. No mortgage payment and no car loan.

I got into trouble in college w/ cards but rebuilt with a secured card ($3000 limit, -0- balance) a few "starter" credit cards, all paid on time and I closed due to low available credit, high interest and annual fees. I have only one line of credit that shows up from 1998 and it was closed in 1999. I didn't remove it since "low experience" is apparently on my "to do" list to improve-I'm 29 & had credit since I was 18!! I guess most of it turned bad and got deleted. Everything else is pretty new. My rebuilder Cap One is at the maximum limit that type of card can get: $2000. WaMu recently doubled my limit to $3000.

I've heard paying that loan down won't help my score more than 10-15 points. Is there anything else I can do outside of taking out unnecessary loans?

Thanks in advance

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:42:55 GMT

KYgirl wrote:

I have FAKOs TU 700 EX 620 EQ 670 TU FICO 700 but I'd really like them higher.

I have no delinquents, no collections, no judgements, few inquiries (Hence, nothing I can remove to make the score better), little to no balance on the 3 cards I have (I make sure they report a $10 balance from time to time) and have a $9k student loan balance out of a beginning $11k. No mortgage payment and no car loan.

I got into trouble in college w/ cards but rebuilt with a secured card ($3000 limit, -0- balance) a few "starter" credit cards, all paid on time and I closed due to low available credit, high interest and annual fees. I have only one line of credit that shows up from 1998 and it was closed in 1999. I didn't remove it since "low experience" is apparently on my "to do" list to improve-I'm 29 & had credit since I was 18!! I guess most of it turned bad and got deleted. Everything else is pretty new. My rebuilder Cap One is at the maximum limit that type of card can get: $2000. WaMu recently doubled my limit to $3000.

I've heard paying that loan down won't help my score more than 10-15 points. Is there anything else I can do outside of taking out unnecessary loans?

Thanks in advance

I dont' see how a unnecessary loan is going to help you. You have a mix of credit(revolving/installment).

Time is the only thing I see helping.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:01:14 GMT

It was a tip recommended by some analysis product. The most frequent advice I get is "open more cards". If I get a new card I want higher limits to help out and some places don't tell you that they max out at $1k or $2k limits. More cards just doesn't sound that smart.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:57:40 GMT

If you purchased your reports here, play with the simulator and see what it says about opening more cards.

Have a peek over on the "understanding FICO scoring" forum and see what useful tidbits you can drag up.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:12:55 GMT

A store or gas card might help your mix. If there is a store you shop at a lot and where you would use a store card for rewards and PIF (pay in full) every time you use it then you could raise your score a bit.

Not knowing what your real FICO scores are it is hard to say. Keeping you balances (the amount reported to the bureaus) lower may also gain you some points as well.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:41:10 GMT

Please ---------do NOT open more accounts as they will bring your score down. Closing them does not help and in fact could hurt you as well, especially if you had a bad history within the last 7 years.

Keep those cards in a drawer and if you use them, immediately go home and write a check for that amount and send it in asap. By charging a few things and paying it out quickly will help your credit score. Having a 20 year history of credit helps and so does paying on time each month.

Warning: Right now, with the credit problems all over America, if you are late with one payment, your score may drop around 100 pts. It happened to a friend last week. She had a 20 yr history with her gas credit card with no late payments and then in May, she was late. Unfortunately for her, her score was 760 and is now 660 so she is unable to purchase the home she just found.

Good luck!

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

jbh — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:18:41 GMT

You could get a good deal on a car and a fair deal on a mortgage. That said, if you do not intend on living off a high balance card or if you don't need a new car or home...it's moot. You are in GREAT shape and time will boost it.

I cannot imagine you being in a position where you need credit and you are in trouble with a 700 TU Fico all things =. Credit is really only needed when you need loans or to lease an apartment so it might not be as critical as it is for somebody trying to obtain a $350k loan for a new home. You're doing great.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:05:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I have FAKOs TU 700 EX 620 EQ 670 TU FICO 700 but I'd really like them higher.

I have no delinquents, no collections, no judgements, few inquiries (Hence, nothing I can remove to make the score better), little to no balance on the 3 cards I have (I make sure they report a $10 balance from time to time) and have a $9k student loan balance out of a beginning $11k. No mortgage payment and no car loan....

Ignoring the FAKO's, when you look at your FICO TU report, what does it say on screen 2? This is where they list the negatives and the positives. There must be some negatives for scoring purposes, or you'd have an 850.

And what does the simulator say for best option?

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:11:46 GMT

The negatives for my score are "lack of revolving debt experience" and "lack of premier/premium cards". I'm sure my low card limits don't help.

Sorry-the Fico is a PFICO from Wamu and their simulators are for how to deal with lates, paying down balances and other obvious rebuilding/negatives that don't apply to me.

I'm getting the Credit Complete FICO deal this week and I'll post what the real FICOs say. Crossing fingers!

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:15:33 GMT

Good job! Be sure to use myFICO's discount code of summer20.

Also, print out the reports or save them to disk, because with Credit Complete, they only stay available for a month.

And then, if you'll come back to this thread and copy/paste your positives and negatives (you get both with EQ and TU; only negatives with EX), we'll be happy to bury you under advice!

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:00:34 GMT

You might find getting a couple more cards to be in your long-term interest. Your scores will take a modest hit in the short run, but after six months they should trend up again.

Or you could do nothing. Your scores certainly aren't going to drop if you stay the course, and in fact will slowly rise. It's just your credit file is a little on the thin side, and if you wait a couple years to get additional lines of credit, you'll take an even bigger hit down the road.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:30:57 GMT

Well here's a question and maybe it needs its own thread.. what is a premier card? What companies/characteristics should I be looking at?

Suffice it to say even a 720 won't get me a Black Amex!

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:23:53 GMT

"Prime" means different things to different people. I would say that any card that either a) charges no annual fee, or b) offers rewards and other perks is prime, or very nearly so.

Bear in mind that, for the most part, FICO scoring doesn't care if a card is "prime" or not. You do get some slight props for using a bank-issued card versus a subprime "rebuilder" card, but only slightly. The heavy lifting is done by having three or four revolving accounts with low balances reported as paid on time, over time.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:22:42 GMT

Well what exactly does True Credit mean by this advice:

There are not enough premium bankcard accounts on your credit report. [Experian] A healthy balance of credit and loan accounts is key to achieving a high credit score. It is important to build a record of responsible credit use over time with different types of accounts. Consider opening a new account to strengthen your credit report.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:36:34 GMT

Ignore the advice from TC-

KYgirl wrote:

Well what exactly does True Credit mean by this advice:

There are not enough premium bankcard accounts on your credit report. [Experian] A healthy balance of credit and loan accounts is key to achieving a high credit score. It is important to build a record of responsible credit use over time with different types of accounts. Consider opening a new account to strengthen your credit report.

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:18:54 GMT

YESSSS! I got a $10k card w/ 6% interest through my credit union and $7k Southwest thru Chase. No more apps, no more activity, I just sit & wait for those numbers to rise and make sure any collections stay off my record.

(Yes yes I know I'll take a temporary hit for new credit but with that kind of CL and low interest, I could CHARGE a new car if I had to!)

Thank you to everyone so much for their help. Reached my short term goals (score lifting, out of debt and high limit card) and I'm still a couple years away from a house so I'll probably be begging for help on mortgages then.

Oh Addendum: FICOS: TU 702 EX 697 EQ 698. Time to sit & wait.

Message Edited by KYgirl on 07-31-2008 04:18 PM

Re: No "negatives" - How do I improve a 620-700?

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:51:50 GMT

Wow! Congratulations!