BEST Card for Me...?

[Charmante]

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@KLEXH25 wrote:

Where are you getting your score? 675-680 sounds low for a clean file and low utilization. Is this Fico or Vantage (Credit Karma)? Do you have a mortgage?

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 No mortgages or auto loans. 100% only have 1 Account Total. The 4 Month old Macy's. I suppose that's why my score is low.

[KLEXH25]

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@Charmante wrote:

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@KLEXH25 wrote:

Where are you getting your score? 675-680 sounds low for a clean file and low utilization. Is this Fico or Vantage (Credit Karma)? Do you have a mortgage?

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 No mortgages or auto loans. 100% only have 1 Account Total. The 4 Month old Macy's. I suppose that's why my score is low.

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If you are that new to credit, how do you have a credit score? I thought it takes 6 months to generate a FICO score. 

[Charmante]

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@KLEXH25 wrote:

If you are that new to credit, how do you have a credit score? I thought it takes 6 months to generate a FICO score. 

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I'm glad you brought that up. Please advise me, too. Cause a user messaged me that SAME THING! And I am confused...

According to Credit Sesame, I have a score of 677... Are they lying?

Do I NOT have a FICO Score yet?

How does that work? PLEASE EXPLAIN... I have a TOTAL Credit History of 4 Months...

So, how does it work? What is it considered now? I mean, it's not 6 months old yet, but it IS reporting monthly to the 3 Credit Bureau's... So what DO I have?

So, once it hits 6 months, then what happens?

So, does FICO pretend I don't exist right now, or what?

I'm so very confused...

[VintageMel]

What you're getting from Credit Sesame is a Vantage score. Vantage is a separate scoring system from FICO, and you'll often see them referred to Fako scores. The vast majority of lenders only use FICO scores to make their decisions, so they are the scores that are actually useful to you.

You can get a free FICO Experian score from Experian.com, and sign up for a free trial to get scores from the other 2 bureaus. 

It's possible that you are building a credit history, and have a credit report without having a score yet. Your credit report is all the detailed information about your credit profile, how many accounts you have, when you opened them, utilization, payment history, etc. The credit reporting agencies take all of that information and compile it into a score. So it isn't as though you don't exist to them, it will just take a few months of that Macys card reporting before you have a score.

[Charmante]

@VintageMel 

Wow! That is very interesting!!!

Thank you for that important and intriguing information.

SO -- since I likely do NOT even HAVE a FICO score, is THAT probably why EVERY PreQual I apply for is saying DENIED? AMEX, Disco, Dell, Chase, Upgrade, etc...

After I reach 6 Months -- will I THEN receive a FICO score OR can it take longer?

After I receive a FICO score -- THEN should PreQuals start to show me some love?

[Anonymous]

Correct, lenders can't assess you yet - once you have a score after six months, then they have a basis to figure out how you fit their prequals.

[KLEXH25]

Ok, now this makes sense. Most people don't realize that there are different types of credit scores (FICO / Vantage), and that the ones they typically get for free (Vantage) are not the same score most lenders use for credit decisions. When you first get a credit card, it takes 6 months of usage for FICO to generate a score for you. That's why you're not getting anything through the prequals. I predict your score will be in the 700's if you keep utilization low and pay in full every month. Also, it'll be hard to get approvals for major cards. You'll need to work your way up, but you'll get there.

Keep reading the forums and learn as much as you can, and feel free to ask questions. This place is a great resource, and can help you from making some common mistakes when first starting out.

[dsotm76]

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@Gmood1 wrote:

Here's a link to that prequal thread.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/List-of-Soft-pull-PREAPPROVAL-Links-Updated-5...

Sky's the limit! Find the one that suits your spending habits.

Good luck!

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Well, that was fun.  I always love doing pre-quals.    Fortunately none inspire me to pull the trigger, though.