topic Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score in General Credit Topics

What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 15:25:48 GMT

I'm new to the FICO Forum Community, but have been working to increase my credit scores since a CH13 BR discharge in October 2019. My starting scores (in Oct 2020) were:
EQ (MyEQX and CK): 698
EX (EXP.com): 693
TU (CK): 693

I realize that the above scoring models are outside of the FICO model and can be a little off. I didn't start tracking my FICO scores until July 2021. In this model there are so many credit score versions, but currently my FICO 8/9 scores are (as of Feb 2022):

EQX - 675/712
EXP - 700/731
TU - 677/725

I financed a car in February 2020 ($25K, owe $16K), purchased a home in Janury 2021 ($385K, owe $360K), have 3 credit cards (PNC - $14K, CapOne Plat $3.3K, Upgrade $13.5K), plus 2 personal loans (Lending Point - $25K, owe $7K) and Upgrade - $30K, owe $26K). My annual income is approx $226K.

Here are my other data points:
Credit Utilization: 17%
AAoA: EQX - 8 years; EXP - 6yr/8mo; TU - 6yr/9mo
Inquiries 12: EQX - 2; EXP - 2; TU - 2

My overall goal is to increase AND maintain a FICO 8/9 score across all bureaus of 780 or greater (850 would be ideal). My short term goal is to get my FICO 8 scores above 720 by December 22'.

Could use and would appreciate any advice to help me achive these goals.

Thank you!

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

SouthJamaica — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 15:59:06 GMT

@MrsE wrote:
I'm new to the FICO Forum Community, but have been working to increase my credit scores since a CH13 BR discharge in October 2019. My starting scores (in Oct 2020) were:
EQ (MyEQX and CK): 698
EX (EXP.com): 693
TU (CK): 693

I realize that the above scoring models are outside of the FICO model and can be a little off. I didn't start tracking my FICO scores until July 2021. In this model there are so many credit score versions, but currently my FICO 8/9 scores are (as of Feb 2022):
EQX - 675/712
EXP - 700/731
TU - 677/725

I financed a car in February 2020 ($25K, owe $16K), purchased a home in Janury 2021 ($385K, owe $360K), have 3 credit cards (PNC - $14K, CapOne Plat $3.3K, Upgrade $13.5K), plus 2 personal loans (Lending Point - $25K, owe $7K) and Upgrade - $30K, owe $26K). My annual income is approx $226K.

Here are my other data points:
Credit Utilization: 17%
AAoA: EQX - 8 years; EXP - 6yr/8mo; TU - 6yr/9mo
Inquiries 12: EQX - 2; EXP - 2; TU - 2

My overall goal is to increase AND maintain a FICO 8/9 score across all bureaus of 780 or greater (850 would be ideal). My short term goal is to get my FICO 8 scores above 720 by December 22'.

Could use and would appreciate any advice to help me achive these goals.

Thank you!

Concentrate on (a) keeping your revolving utilization low, and (b) not applying for anything new, or for anything that could generate a hard pull.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

Horseshoez — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:25:49 GMT

@MrsE, our profiles have a lot of similarities:

My Chapter 13 discharged five months after yours
While the bankruptcy was still reporting my scores looked virtually identical to yours
We have very similar income
I have a few more inquiries than you over the last two years

The parts where our profiles diverge are as follows:

I have no mortgage
I have no car loans
My only personal loan is a $3,000 SSL with a balance of only about $250
I have three revolvers which usually report a total monthly balance of less than $100, typically on one card, but sometimes two
My FICO 8/9 scores are as follows:
- EQ: 836/850
- EX: 817/838
- TU: 843/835

Long story short, my gut tells me your unsecured utilization is what is depressing your scores; I'm thinking if you pay off those two personal loans and keep your revolving cards mostly paid off, your scores will all pop up into the 800s.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

dragontears — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:31:53 GMT

@Horseshoez wrote:
@MrsE, our profiles have a lot of similarities:
My Chapter 13 discharged five months after yours
While the bankruptcy was still reporting my scores looked virtually identical to yours
We have very similar income
I have a few more inquiries than you over the last two years
The parts where our profiles diverge are as follows:
I have no mortgage
I have no car loans
My only personal loan is a $3,000 SSL with a balance of only about $250
I have three revolvers which usually report a total monthly balance of less than $100, typically on one card, but sometimes two
My FICO 8/9 scores are as follows:
EQ: 836/850
EX: 817/838
TU: 843/835
Long story short, my gut tells me your unsecured utilization is what is depressing your scores; I'm thinking if you pay off those two personal loans and keep your revolving cards mostly paid off, your scores will all pop up into the 800s.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Just wanted to point out that paying off the personal loans are not going to increase FICO 8/9 scores.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:35:16 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
Concentrate on (a) keeping your revolving utilization low, and (b) not applying for anything new, or for anything that could generate a hard pull.

@SouthJamaica - thanks for your feedback and advice.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 19:54:20 GMT

@Horseshoez - thanks so much! This is really helpful. I planned to pay off my LP personal loan and pay down my Upgrade loan to half of the balance since I just got it in December 2021. What are your thoughts? I know it's recommended to keep an account open for at least 2 years. Wondering if I pay off the Upgrade PL will my CS drop. Note: I've done this before with a credit card paying off $3K to bring the balance to $0 and my score dropped by 18 points. I was totally confused.

I was also going to payoff my car loan in September. Wondering if I should hold off or continue as planned? By then, I would have had the loan for 31 months.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

SouthJamaica — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 17:09:37 GMT

@MrsE wrote:
@Horseshoez - thanks so much! This is really helpful. I planned to pay off my LP personal loan and pay down my Upgrade loan to half of the balance since I just got it in December 2021. What are your thoughts? I know it's recommended to keep an account open for at least 2 years. Wondering if I pay off the Upgrade PL will my CS drop. Note: I've done this before with a credit card paying off $3K to bring the balance to $0 and my score dropped by 18 points. I was totally confused.

I was also going to payoff my car loan in September. Wondering if I should hold off or contine as planned? By then, I would have had the loan for 31 months.

As @dragontears correctlly pointed out, paying down the installment loans is NOT going to help your FICO 8 and 9 scores much. The revolving utilization is what counts.

When your aggregate installment loan utilization goes below 10% then you would realize a boost in those scores, but for your profile that would require hundreds of thousands of dollars.

When maintaining your revolving balances, let one bank card report a small balance each month before you pay it off. That is to avoid the "all zero" penalty which you no doubt experienced when your score dropped after paying a credit card account down to zero.

Your thought that keeping an installment account open for 2 years is meaningful is wrong; it doesn't matter one way or the other. But since your aggregate installment utilization will someday be a factor, it's just as well for your FICO 8 scores to keep mostly paid down loans open as long as possible, from a pure scoring perspective. But only when you get it all down to below 10% will you see any significant score improvement. For life purposes, it's often best to pay off an installment loan just for the peace of mind and simplification it provides, but for scoring it doesn't help.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 18:20:48 GMT

Thanks @SouthJamaica. For clarity, I only have a balance on my auto loan and my two personal loans. My credit card info detailed above represent my credit limits. The balance on all my CCs is $0, except for PNC which is $91. That said, I could easily pay down my installment loans to 10% of the loan value (I paid $5K on my Lending Point Loan in Nov 2021 to get it down) and it wouldn't cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. If the foregoing is what's needed to get my scores up, then I can totally make it happen. I have read in other credit forums NOT to pay down installment loans before the 2 year mark. So maybe this info was misleading or just flat out wrong.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

dragontears — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 18:23:59 GMT

@MrsE wrote:
Thanks @SouthJamaica. For clarity, I only have a balance on my auto loan and my two personal loans. My credit card info detailed above represent my credit limits. The balance on all my CCs is $0, except for PNC which is $91. That said, I could easily pay down my installment loans to 10% of the loan value (I paid $5K on my Lending Point Loan in Nov 2021 to get it down) and it wouldn't cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars. If the foregoing is what's needed to get my scores up, then I can totally make it happen. I have read in other credit forums NOT to pay down installment loans before the 2 year mark. So maybe this info was misleading or just flat out wrong.

@MrsE your mortgage is included in loan utilization so it would take 100s of thousands to get below 10%

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 18:26:07 GMT

Got it.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

SouthJamaica — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 18:55:40 GMT

@MrsE wrote:
Thanks @SouthJamaica. For clarity, I only have a balance on my auto loan and my two personal loans.

You're forgetting your mortgage. That counts as an installment loan.

My credit card info detailed above represent my credit limits. The balance on all my CCs is $0, except for PNC which is $91. That said, I could easily pay down my installment loans to 10% of the loan value (I paid $5K on my Lending Point Loan in Nov 2021 to get it down) and it wouldn't cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You're forgetting your mortgage. That counts as an installment loan.

If the foregoing is what's needed to get my scores up, then I can totally make it happen. I have read in other credit forums NOT to pay down installment loans before the 2 year mark.

You were misinformed.

So maybe this info was misleading or just flat out wrong.

Or both.

Unsolicited advice: there are lots of people giving out misinformation, including in MyFICO forums. You're going to have to be a little more discriminating in terms of who and what you believe. And you're going to have to research things a little more deeply. Everything I have told you is true. Perhaps you should ask the moderator to move this post to "Understanding FICO Scoring"; I believe your post might find more input there from knowledgeable folks like @dragontears

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 19:52:50 GMT

Agreed! Thanks for taking the time to review my posts and giving sound advice. I really appreciate it. Will keep you posted on my progress.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

HeavenOhio — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 01:54:46 GMT

@MrsE, the idea of keeping accounts open for X number of months generally applies to credit cards that have earned signup bonuses. Other accounts can generally be closed when they've outlived their usefulness.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 11:40:06 GMT

One tact that I have used for a car loan is to pay in advance for several months and allow the loan term to continue reporting in good status every month. As opposed to just paying down the principal so low to where the loan drops off your profile early.

I've also found the AZEO method is one way to get put some points on the board very quickly. You may not need to play around with your loans too much if you want a quick 10 + boost within a month. Ask your CC lenders to issue a mid-cycle report after you PIF all accounts except one (leaving a balance at about 1% uti ratio).

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 01:08:35 GMT

Hi everyone! It's been a little over a year since I posted my scores, so I thought I'd give an update.

FICO Score 8/9 comparison from Mar 2022 to May May 2023:

March 2022
EQX - 675/712
EXP - 700/731
TU - 677/725

May 2023
EQX - 721/746
EXP - 737/710
TU - 694/744

Other Datapoints:
Credit Utilization: 1%
AAoA: EQX - 7yrs/2mo; EXP - 5yrs/11mo; TU - 6yrs/3mo
Inquiries 12: EQX - 1; EXP - 4; TU - 1

Here's what I've done since March 2022:
- paid off car financed in Feb 2020
- Opened 2 credit cards; Chase Freedom ($2.8K limit) and AMEX ($19K limit)
- Paid off Lending Point Loan
- Paid down Upgrade Loan to $5,840 (previous balance was $26K)
- Kept utilization down to 3% or lower
- Leased a vehicle in July 2022 for $49K for 3 years, but paid down lease to $15K as of March 2023
- Increased limits on all CCs

Not sure why Experian took a dip in score for FICO 9, but I assume due to some payoffs. Still aiming for 720 or higher on FICO 8 (TU) and FICO 9 (EXP), but new overall goal is to move from "Good" rating to "Very Good" for FICO 8/9 on all 3 bureaus.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

SouthJamaica — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 20:58:37 GMT

@MrsE wrote:
Hi everyone! It's been a little over a year since I posted my scores, so I thought I'd give an update.

FICO Score 8/9 comparison from Mar 2022 to May May 2023:

March 2022
EQX - 675/712
EXP - 700/731
TU - 677/725

May 2023
EQX - 721/746
EXP - 737/710
TU - 694/744

Other Datapoints:
Credit Utilization: 1%
AAoA: EQX - 7yrs/2mo; EXP - 5yrs/11mo; TU - 6yrs/3mo
Inquiries 12: EQX - 1; EXP - 4; TU - 1

Here's what I've done since March 2022:
- paid off car financed in Feb 2020
- Opened 2 credit cards; Chase Freedom ($2.8K limit) and AMEX ($19K limit)
- Paid off Lending Point Loan
- Paid down Upgrade Loan to $5,840 (previous balance was $26K)
- Kept utilization down to 3% or lower
- Leased a vehicle in July 2022 for $49K for 3 years, but paid down lease to $15K as of March 2023
- Increased limits on all CCs

Not sure why Experian took a dip in score for FICO 9, but I assume due to some payoffs. Still aiming for 720 or higher on FICO 8 (TU) and FICO 9 (EXP), but new overall goal is to move from "Good" rating to "Very Good" for FICO 8/9 on all 3 bureaus.

Congratulations on your good forward progress.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 21:50:36 GMT

Thanks @SouthJamaica! Please let me know if you have any other pointers to help me get to the next credit rating. Thx.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

SouthJamaica — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 21:58:06 GMT

@MrsE wrote:
Thanks @SouthJamaica! Please let me know if you have any other pointers to help me get to the next credit rating. Thx.

Well it's easy to give you the pointers, may not be so easy for you to follow them:

1. No new applications for anything for a year.

2. Pay loans down but not off.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

MrsE — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 22:14:39 GMT

@SouthJamaica - Easy enough to follow. Thanks!

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@MrsE wrote:
Thanks @SouthJamaica! Please let me know if you have any other pointers to help me get to the next credit rating. Thx.
Well it's easy to give you the pointers, may not be so easy for you to follow them:

1. No new applications for anything for a year.
2. Pay loans down but not off.

Re: What More Can I Do To Increase My Credit Score

FireMedic1 — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 23:19:52 GMT

Congrats on your recovery. Keep at it. Follow what @SouthJamaica has informed you on. You'll get there.