topic Re: Need Help with Score in Rebuilding Your Credit

Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 19:36:52 GMT

I need to buy some business equipment before the end of the year. Equipment loan bank I want to work with says I need 675 Min Equifax. I do not know which version.

Currently at 636 on EQ Fico 8. I have 61% utilization on a line of credit and 61% on a credit card. Then I have 48% on an Authorized User Navy Card. FICO says my overall Utilization is 56% Also have 5 collections that are 6 years old.

Should I pay LOC and my Credit card down to under 30% and leave authorized user account alone?

Is it even possible for me to get over 675 with the collections hanging on?

Re: Need Help with Score

FicoMike0 — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 23:08:48 GMT

Getting individual util under 29% and total under 9% should help. I doubt the Au is helping.

Do the collections show a balance? If so, that hurts more. They're close to 7 years, have you checked the dofd on them? Some of the bureaus do early exclusion.

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 23:22:40 GMT

Dofd for collections range April-June 2019. Yes collections are showing balances.

Re: Need Help with Score

FicoMike0 — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 15:43:01 GMT

You're in a schedule bind for the end of the year, just a little short of 7 years. You might search ex early exclusion, but I think end of the year is too soon.

The problem with paying down utilization is that the balances on collections will still count against util.

You should list full details, all accounts, balances, limits, etc, to get expert advice. There are experts who really know this stuff here, but they need all the ugly details.

You don't need a lot of points, but you don't have a lot of time before end of year.

I suppose you have considered that borrowing more with collections hanging over your head might be just digging a deeper hole.

Re: Need Help with Score

1lifeisworthit — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 16:43:57 GMT

Your collections are almost certainly counting on your utilization. So I'd pay everything I can as fast as I can to lower my utilization as much as I can. Utilization is what we can manipulate quickly.

Creditors don't like seeing a balance left unpaid after 6 years. They know this means if you run into trouble you are willing to stiff them as well. They want to see that it is paid, even though it doesn't affect a score (aside from utilization)

I'd also consider not being an AU any longer, as I already have my own credit life now. No reason to borrow someone else's. Many lenders don't pay any attention to that anyway as you have no responsibility to repay, and creditors are all about repayment (understandably!)

This is the end of October. Whatever you decide to do, do it quickly. You have to leave time for reporting and updating. This indicates paying everything you can tomorrow (Monday, October 27) for any kind of rise in time to order new equipment before the end of the year.

Have you asked them which version? Most will tell you if you ask, but not everyone.

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 13:02:35 GMT

I paid the LOC down to 29% and the credit card to 29% Utilization. I got a whole 6 points increase. That was disappointing. Now Fico is saying overall Utilization is 32%. Looks like i won't be getting that 675 this year.

Re: Need Help with Score

FicoMike0 — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 14:54:57 GMT

Getting the 32% under 29% would help. Getting it under 9% would help more. You didn't give all your details, are you eligible for the ssl trick? That's usually good for +30 points.

Re: Need Help with Score

Thomas_Thumb — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:24:51 GMT

Gotta get that overall utilization down. Below 9% is key. Can you paydown both the CC and LOC to under 9% or payoff the LOC and drop the CC balance enough to get aggregate revolving UT under 9%?

Sometimes, with older Fico models, AU account balances count toward aggregate utilization. With newer models, Fico 8 and later, they tryically don't. Either way, I'd see if the account holder can reduce the account balance to under 29% UT.

Bold moves are required if you want to reach 675.

Btw - scores in the 740-760 range have been reported on multiple occassions by posters with 1 or 2 older collections on file.

Collections typically cost 60-90 points in aggregate. The big point gain only happens when the last one is removed.

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:34:29 GMT

The Navy card is my wifes. It updates November 19th. It is currently at 48%. If I come off as an AU I think my overall Utilization will be 9%.

Thats probably the only thing I can do at this point to change the scores in time.

Re: Need Help with Score

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 06:11:24 GMT

If your LOC and credit card remain at 29%, how does removing the AU drop aggregate UT to below 9%?

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 12:25:52 GMT

According to my reports on myfico their utilization is not calculating in the two AU accounts at all. Each report has the exact same accounts but Equifax has Utilization at 32% and TU & EX 23%.

Fico 8

EQ 641

TU 669

EX 661

Re: Need Help with Score

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:07:27 GMT

Yes, that is as it should be for Fico 8 and Fico 9. AU accounts are not factored into aggregate revolving utilization for those models.

AU accounts are included in Fico 5/4/2 and VS3/VS4.

Side note: EQ penalizes score more harshly than TU or EX for multiple accounts with balances. Ideal situation is only 1 revolving account reporting a balance under 9% UT. This excludes AU accounts. Charge cards, like npsl AMEX green/gold/platinum, are not considered revolving accounts. They don't count toward utilization but do count toward amount owed.

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 02:51:17 GMT

EQ is counting $45,700 for overall accounts and $14624 as Utilization for 32%

EX & TU is counting $45,350 for overall and $10,425 as Utilization for 23%.

I just got approved for 4 cards totaling and addtional $17,500.

Will see what happens when the new cards report with $0 balances.

Re: Need Help with Score

Thomas_Thumb — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 05:17:41 GMT

It will be interesting to see if those new accounts drop score more than the reduction in aggregate utilization would boost score.

Regardless, should get all individual reported account balances under 29% utilization.

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:34:35 GMT

Yes it will be interesting to see. I will watch how the scores go over the next few months and hopefully a big jump by May 2026 when all Collections and chargeoffs will be gone.

I got 3 synchrony Mastercard. Walmart One Pay, PayPal, and synchrony premiere card. I have heavy expenses ill run through and pay off over the next six months to hopefully get larger limits. I really don't need credit cards to carry balances.

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:04:00 GMT

3 New cards reported which brought utilization done to 22% and score only went up 3 pts for Equifax. Average age of accounts is now 8 years.

EQ FICO 8 644

Re: Need Help with Score

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 17:09:09 GMT

FYI - Fico does have penalties for: "too many accounts recently opened" and age of newest revolving account being under 12 months.

The new accounts will hold down score until they age up. Might see some boost at 6 months but a bigger gain comes when youngest revolver reaches 12 months age.

Re: Need Help with Score

Jessie — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:15:48 GMT

You should definitely try reducing your credit utilization. After that, you can see if paying the collections accounts is worthwhile. Have you tried using a credit score simulator? That could help give you some intel.

Re: Need Help with Score

Fixcredit2020 — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 14:54:29 GMT

Synchrony closed my 3 new accounts for high risk. Guess it's just waiting another 6 months for reports to be free of all collections and charge-offs as they will all age off by May 2026.