Ok Amex i'll give it to you

[Gollum]

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@UncleB wrote:

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@Gollum wrote:

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If I understand correctly, Rudy1 has 26 inquiries on his/her credit reports. I'm a little confused by "Nobody here should judge you for the inquiries." Inquiries are part of FICO scores. It is possible that I misunderstood what Rudy1's "26/24" regarding inquiries means.

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I think you misunderstood my reply.  The latter part of the sentence you highlighted mentions "this discussion," as in this thread.

Overall I was referring to Rudy's "I know, I know" comment which implied they were expecting to be criticized (i.e. "judged") for having that number of HPs.  I was simply stating that while the HPs might have prompted the adverse action, there shouldn't be anyone here, as in this community, being judgemental because of it.

To further clarify, yes, HPs are definitely part of FICO scores - no one is denying that, certainly not me.

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Uhh... OK

[NRB525]

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@Gollum wrote:

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@UncleB wrote:

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@Gollum wrote:

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If I understand correctly, Rudy1 has 26 inquiries on his/her credit reports. I'm a little confused by "Nobody here should judge you for the inquiries." Inquiries are part of FICO scores. It is possible that I misunderstood what Rudy1's "26/24" regarding inquiries means.

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I think you misunderstood my reply.  The latter part of the sentence you highlighted mentions "this discussion," as in this thread.

Overall I was referring to Rudy's "I know, I know" comment which implied they were expecting to be criticized (i.e. "judged") for having that number of HPs.  I was simply stating that while the HPs might have prompted the adverse action, there shouldn't be anyone here, as in this community, being judgemental because of it.

To further clarify, yes, HPs are definitely part of FICO scores - no one is denying that, certainly not me.

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Uhh... OK

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HP age off. OP acknowledged it's time to garden.  Nothing can be done about the past except to learn from it.  

OP also shows that providing additional documents to a lender was able to mitigate an adverse action.  

The only absolute in credit is: Always make the minimum payment on time. Everything else about credit is a choice of how to use credit. Some people choose to apply for a lot of cards in a two year period. Not the choice I would make, but still a legit choice. Other people might make sure they have a perfect 850 credit score, which is achievable with a long history of making the minimum payment on time, and taking extra steps to avoid applying for any new cards, to pay all cards but one prior to statement cut, never carry a significant balance on a card because of the effect of utilization, and other than a mortgage, effectively not really using credit at all. That too is a legit choice about how to use credit. Not the choice I would make, as the effort for a perfect credit score that has no intrinsic value beyond what a Good Score is worth makes no sense to me, but a valid choice for someone else.  

[Gollum]

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@NRB525 wrote:

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Always make the minimum payment on time. 

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I agree with the advice to always pay your bills on time.

Second edit (09-07-2021): BTW, @NRB525 I don't do "all zero except one." I pay my credit cards' in full New Balance by their due dates. I always have three credit cards reporting a balance. For two months each year I have four credit cards reporting a balance.

[Gollum]

Here are some "data points."  Nobody asked, but I felt like sharing:

My regular monthly spend on my BECU rewards credit card is $1400 - $1700 (credit limit is $10,000 so utilization every month ranges from 14% - 17%).

My regular monthly spend on my American Express rewards credit card is $300 or so (credit limit is $3000, so utilization every month is 10% or so).

My regular monthly spend on my NFCU and Simmons non-rewards credit cards (I alternate between those two every month) is $100 or so. My utilization on those cards is insignificant. I use those cards at local, independent busineses that don't have a preference between cash or credit. I haven't researched this for quite a while, but I think busineses pay less for non-rewards credit card transactions than they pay for rewards credit cards transactions.

I use my Capital One card twice a year just to keep it active.

I have recently considered raising my credit limit for my BECU card to $20,000 to decrease its reported utilization. So far, I have resisted that temptation because I already have excellent FICO scores. It would be nice/fun to have 850 FICO scores across all three credit bureaus. It would not make a practical difference, though, and I would have to commit to a $10,000 credit limit increase that I don't need and am not sure that I want.

There is no "trick"/whatever to my excellent FICO scores. I just pay my bills on time.

[NRB525]

There is a bit of a trick: You don't apply for a lot of new credit. What is your AAoA? There is probably a factor benefiting you of relatively low dollar balances, along with the low utilization.  

I'm not trying to dismiss your strategy, because it's a healthy approach to using credit. I apologize for presuming you might be using AZEO. Your approach is a set of choices that work for you. The OP, and others, have made choices that include a lot more applications for credit.