Large jump in scores - Apply now or wait a few weeks?

[leo222]

I recently had a large jumps of almost 20 points in my FICO scores, as per CreditKarma - This brings me well above the 750 range, which is not much for some here, but is a personal high for me, and my previously bad/average credit profile. Transunion jumped yesterday, and Equi did the jump today. I assume it is the result of debt payoffs, credit line increases, increases in card history, time since last inquiry, etc. My question is, I'm interested in a certain card, and would like the strongest credit profile before applying to ensure approval, as well as a healthy starting limit.

Should I wait a few weeks (or a month) before applying, to make sure my score has updated for every credit bureau/bank/etc., or can I apply now? Like I stated before, I would hate to waste this jump in my score just because it might not have updated for the bank I would be applying to, possibly even updating a few days later.

Also, just a sidenote...The scores I got were from Vantage 3.0. Discover usually provides me with FICO 8, and they update their scores tomorrow (their scoring for me is usually higher than Vantage). I'm definitely excited to see that score tomorrow.

[pizzadude]

I wouldn't do anything until you have a FICO score, the vantage scores from CK are not FICO and are not reliable indicators of what's happening with your FICO scores.

[FinStar]

@leo222-- as mentioned above, I would wait until you have confirmation that your FICO scores updated accross the board including any balances, utilization, etc. Which particular card(s) were you thinking of applying?

[leo222]

I believe many credit card companies use VantageScore. So, if you want to rag on it, that's fine. But, I wouldn't say that it has no value. With that said, like I already mentioned above, my updated Fico 8 (from Discover Card) should be out tomorrow...And that particular score has always been higher than any of my VantageScores.

[leo222]

@FinStar I'm actually interested in Wells Fargo Reflect - I need to roll an existing balance transfer over to another card within 6 weeks, and I'm attracted to the 21 month period they are offering. I think I would have been approved anyway before my score jumped (from the consistent debt paydowns and CLI's), but the most important thing is to have a healthy starting limit, so I don't have to waste my time getting another BT card. I will need $4300-4400, and would prefer even more, so that my individual card utilization for that new card doesn't take too much of a hit.

[FinStar]

@leo222thanks for chiming in.

Are you currently a WF customer?  If not, you can also try their pre-selection tool to gauge the odds. But, I would definitely wait until all reports reflect the updated data for best results. WF can pull EX and/or TU in a variety of cases.

Below is the Wells Fargo DP from the SP Pre-approval mega thread (also listed further below):

46. Wells Fargo Pre-selected Offer - (Transunion and/or Experian) - https://web.secure.wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/yourinfo?sub_channel=WEB&vendor_code=IA&lang=en&produ...

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Soft-pull-PREAPPROVALs-Updated-4-20-21/td-p/5...

[pizzadude]

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@leo222 wrote:

I believe many credit card companies use VantageScore. So, if you want to rag on it, that's fine. But, I wouldn't say that it has no value. With that said, like I already mentioned above, my updated Fico 8 (from Discover Card) should be out tomorrow...And that particular score has always been higher than any of my VantageScores.

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You're correct, there are some creditors that do use VantageScores as part of their approval / underwriting process.  I didn't mean to imply that the scores are worthless but rather that it's difficult to correlate them to FICO scores.

[SouthJamaica]

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@leo222 wrote:

I believe many credit card companies use VantageScore. So, if you want to rag on it, that's fine. But, I wouldn't say that it has no value. With that said, like I already mentioned above, my updated Fico 8 (from Discover Card) should be out tomorrow...And that particular score has always been higher than any of my VantageScores.

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It's not a question of 'ragging' on it.

Your original post started with saying "I recently had a large jumps of almost 20 points in my FICO scores, as per CreditKarma"  This is simply an incorrect statement, since Credit Karma doesn't report FICO scores.

[leo222]

Yeah, I tried the prequal tool from WF about a month ago, and didn't receive any offers. Not currently a WF customer.

[Raisondetre]

I agree with waiting until you make sure everything updated. Usually I like waiting at least a month after the update but that's up to you. Also, you probably know this, but creditors don't just rely on score when making a decision. You could have a great score but the rest of your profile may not support an approval.

The risk is up to you but I'd definitely wait.