Hi TF2217
There are many things you said here and some could hurt you; but to answer your question quickly, keep doing what you are doing positively and wait for the negatives to dissipate. I'll explain below.
You said, “What can I do to get my other 2 oldest and most reliable cards moving?...If they aren't willing to show some love I'm debating closing them.” It seems like you have a fairly young aged profile “…I started out with credit over 2 years ago….” Aging your file will help your score, but if these oldest accounts have no late payment history they will remain on your credit report for 10 years from the date closed. As long as the positive information remains, it contributes to strengthening your credit history; but eventually closing those accounts early (now) will be harmful to your credit scores. Right about the time those accounts are aging nicely (12+ years and helping your scores) they will disappear from your report and lower your AAoA and AoOA. If those accounts don’t cost you an annual fee, then keep them open and use them every few months on something small just to keep them “active” until you get many accounts over the 10 to 15-year level. Furthermore, closing those accounts will lower your overall available credit limit and could increase negatively your total utilization ratio.
You said, “…I ran 1800 through the cap 1 last month and high usage before then and always report less than 10% on it.” I assume the over limit amounts always went through, but you paid the balance down below the card utilization of 10% before (or on) the monthly due date. If that is true, then your “high balance, over limit” will not hurt you because it should not have reported. If your account did report over limit, then that may hurt you in the long run.
Since your question is about getting your old cards “moving,” the best way is to improve your score. Remember, your monthly utilization hit (both individual and total card utilization) changes when your balances change to the next threshold. So since your utilization is under 10% (should be below 8.99%) your score should be higher than it was before when you kept the high balances.
THE NEGATIVES:
- It seems to be that you “…have a bunch of inquiries.” While the total impact on your scores is small, it could be significant in your case. Less than 2 in 12 months is ideal.
- You said you have a car loan and it sounds like this is relatively new account (less than 1-2 years old). Depending on the length of your loan you may still have a relatively high remaining balance to your original balance. That would hurt your score as well.
- As I stated earlier it seems that you have a young profile (AAoA) and the inquiries led to several new accounts thus lowering your AoYA as well. This history can account for as much as 15% of your score and needs to age.
THE POSITIVES:
- You have a good payment history (no late payments, charge offs, collections, liens, etc.). This is the most significant part of your scores, accounting for 35%.
- You have lowered you total (and apparently individual) card utilization to the best category (below 8.99% for both). This is 30% of your score.
- You are diversifying your portfolio (revolvers and installments).
So to get your old cards moving, keep doing what you are doing positively and stop requesting CL increases that cause hard pulls. Also you want to stop applying for new loans. Not only do they cause new inquiries; but also they lower your AAoA, AoYA histories. Keep your CC utilization low and pay down your car loan too (if able) and you will see your score go up nicely. After a while, you will be in a position where these lenders will come to you offering CL increases. As we say on the forum; garden for a while.
Y
