AMAZED but CONFUSED!!

[Anonymous]

ok...so i started working on my credit last june. All scores around 500 via CK...I got a Cap1 secured and over the past 9 months have used it very wisely, never missed a payment and the $500 CLI back in Jan. In Feb my scores were good enough that I figured I could apply for a QS1 and was approved. NOW, I know CK is a guess at best. As of last week they had my TU score as 588 and EQ at 653. They have always been close with my EQ score but my fico8 from CCT was 624 (altho I was denied a card and the denial letter had my TU score at 660)...but anyhow, CK is always way off on my TU....SOOOOO, Iv been waiting to see if adding my QS1 card was gonna help me as much as the Secured card did...it hasnt yet reported anywhere but I just checked my scores on CK and my score went up 85 pts on TU & 75 on EQ!!!! the only change that they are reporting this month is my utiz went down from 30% to 24% and i have I new inq.....HOW IN THE HECK DID MY SCORE JUMP SO MUCH?????!!!!   Like i said, I know they can be off on their accuracy...but every time they have said my score went up or down it has.....I an so confused!!! but happy!!  please  help!!

[Grafton88]

I believe Credit Karma likes to see more lines of credit but since your new card hasn't reported I can't explain the jump.  Don't be surprised if your score goes down when it reports if it changes you AAoA too much.  That is what happened to me.  I had 1 secured card from March 2015.  I added 3 new cards in December.  My scores really dropped.  Now each month my AAoA goes up and my scores follow.

Look closely at the Credit Factors in your CK report.  You might want to set up a chart to follow your progress.  You can see what factors change your scores and maybe make some sense to your rises and falls.

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

NOW, I know CK is a guess at best.

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CK is not a guess.  CK's scores are TU and EQ VantageScore 3.0.  They are accuarate if you're wondering what your TU and EQ VantageScore 3.0's are.

However, you cannot use those scores to determine what your scores are with any other scoring model.  Different models evaluate report data differently and can have different scoring ranges.  If you want to know your score is with a particular model & CRA then you need to pull that specific score.

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@Anonymous wrote:

CK is always way off on my TU....

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CK isn't way off.  It's dead on.  Again, you cannot use a score generated by one model to determine a score generated by a different model.  Even FICO models differ in how they evaluate report data and can have different ranges.  If you want to know your TU FICO 8 then you need to pull your TU FICO 8.  VantageScore 3.0 is not designed to mimic FICO 8 or any FICO model or any other scoring model for that matter.  Always make sure you understand your tools and how to use them.