AAOA help

[Anonymous]

July 1st my AAOA increased to 5 months. Is it possible to calculate when it will hit 12 months (I'm not going to app again until it does). Is it as simple as it increasing one month every month so that AAOA will be 12 months at the end of January? I'm trying to calcuate when I can leave the garden. Thanks.

[Blackswizz750]

Yep if your profile is that thin.

[Anonymous]

OP, profile May not be thin...recent app spree can cause big dip in AAOA...

[Anonymous]

I just use Excel for my AAoA.

I have one card on each line and use the formula "=DATEDIF(K3,K$2,"m")" to calculate the age in months where K3 is the approval date and K2 is "=TODAY()". I then use the formula "=AVERAGE(L3:L4)" to caluclate the, well, average. Just update your cell references and boom instant self-updating calculator. 

[Anonymous]

Yes, AAoA will grow by 1 month each month assuming no changes are made with respect to accounts... such as adding new accounts, old accounts dropping off, etc.

[Anonymous]

Thanks BrutalBodyShots

[Anonymous]

Any time.  Also keep in mind that in terms of FICO scoring, AAoA thresholds are believed to be at whole numbers... so if you are at 1.1 or 1.9 years you are scored the same.  A scoring increase would happen the month after you are at 1.9, as you'd reach 2.0 so instead of being scored as "1 year" you'd be scored as "2 years" in terms of AAoA.  Using this thought process, one can more or less determine when they'll cross the next whole number, which could result in a scoring gain.  I say "could" because no one knows for sure if thresholds exist at every year, or if some years are binned together like 3-4, 5-6, etc.  I believe the max in terms of scoring benefit is realized between 7-8 years, though.

[Anonymous]

To our OP:

It looks like you have no installment accounts (open or closed).  If so, you would be a great candidate for the Share Secure Loan Technique.  If it looks like something you might want to try, then it makes more sense to do it now than to wait till 2018.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Adding-an-installment-loan-the-Share-Secu...

PS.  Kudos to you for your discipline to enter the garden and stay they for at least 7 months.  If you were to add the SS loan, enter the garden and then wait there till the SS loan was 1 year old, your scores would be really high.  (All your inquiries would have dropped off FICO's radar, your Age of Youngesr account would be > 1 year, and a wonderful credit mix).

[Anonymous]

Hi CreditGuyInDixie, 

Thanks. I read your posts re: the SS loan technique with interest some time ago (thanks for posting this great info!) and have it scheduled in my 2 year credit building plan to start immediately after an app spree I have scheduled for April 2nd (Discover, Amex BC, Amazon Rewards Visa) when most of my inquires drop off ... I've read that Discover likes at least a 12 month AAOA so I don't want to set that back right now. I figure that scheduling the SS loan trick after my spree will help recover from the toll it will take on my scores. After the app spree I'll be in the garden for a year (preparing for a Chase app spree) ... during which time the SS will raise my score hopefully enough to snag a Sapphire Preferred. 

[Anonymous]

BrutalBodyShots, great info ... thanks.