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Advice for upping credit score - I have limited options

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Advice for upping credit score - I have limited options

my BK will be 7yrs old in August and I cant seem to get our mid scores over 600 I give up.
Message 11 of 16
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Advice for upping credit score - I have limited options



oleurud wrote:
 
   I would have to respectfully disagree........without going into my personal finances I can say without a doubt that holding down your balances over the long haul will have a positive effect on your score..abet not substanial but an impact just the same.......example :  I carried 5 % balances on my cards for 10 months and my score rocketed and not only that my card company tripled my CL and lowered and fixed my APR to a very low rate.  I then proceeded to use 90% of my card balances and my score plummeted....I then paid my cards off down to 15% UT and low and behold a small increase in score not close to what it was before.  Also when appling for a morgage most loanees will physically look into your CR.....keep UT's low for optimal scores


This interest me.  In theory, the computer calculating your score has no memory, but the CCC does.  So keeping low util and PIFing will be known by the CCC, but IN THEORY the FICO score should be a snapshot of that day only.  So past history should not matter.
 
In Theory.
 
Any FICO experts or employees out there like to chime in on that one?  Barry?  Tusker?
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 12 of 16
MercyMe
Frequent Contributor

Re: Advice for upping credit score - I have limited options

Surely the pros will chime in here, but I might suggest asking your creditors for CLI, and keeping the balances low --1-9%.  The CRAS are always telling me that my score isn't higher because my credit limits are low, and regardless of what my utilization is.  Smiley Happy
Message 13 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Advice for upping credit score - I have limited options



oleurud wrote:
If you are not applying for a mortgage until early next year, it doesn't matter how much of your CLs you use in July, August, Sept, etc. (provided you pay on time, of course).  You don't get any points for low "historical" utilization -- it only counts at the time your score is pulled. 
 
 
   I would have to respectfully disagree........without going into my personal finances I can say without a doubt that holding down your balances over the long haul will have a positive effect on your score..abet not substanial but an impact just the same.......example :  I carried 5 % balances on my cards for 10 months and my score rocketed and not only that my card company tripled my CL and lowered and fixed my APR to a very low rate.  I then proceeded to use 90% of my card balances and my score plummeted....I then paid my cards off down to 15% UT and low and behold a small increase in score not close to what it was before.  Also when appling for a morgage most loanees will physically look into your CR.....keep UT's low for optimal scores


This is exactly my point.  When you had 5% util, whenever you checked your scores during that 10-month period, your score was high.  When you maxed the cards, every time your checked your scores they were low.  It didn't matter that you had 5% util before.  You paid it down, and now they've gone up.  The scores will always reflect the current util.
Message 14 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Advice for upping credit score - I have limited options

oleurud wrote:
If you are not applying for a mortgage until early next year, it doesn't matter how much of your CLs you use in July, August, Sept, etc. (provided you pay on time, of course).  You don't get any points for low "historical" utilization -- it only counts at the time your score is pulled. 
 
 
   I would have to respectfully disagree........without going into my personal finances I can say without a doubt that holding down your balances over the long haul will have a positive effect on your score..abet not substanial but an impact just the same.......example :  I carried 5 % balances on my cards for 10 months and my score rocketed and not only that my card company tripled my CL and lowered and fixed my APR to a very low rate.  I then proceeded to use 90% of my card balances and my score plummeted....I then paid my cards off down to 15% UT and low and behold a small increase in score not close to what it was before.  Also when appling for a morgage most loanees will physically look into your CR.....keep UT's low for optimal scores


This is exactly my point.  When you had 5% util, whenever you checked your scores during that 10-month period, your score was high.  When you maxed the cards, every time your checked your scores they were low.  It didn't matter that you had 5% util before.  You paid it down, and now they've gone up.  The scores will always reflect the current util.
  I think you missed the point, again no offense intended.  I pif my cards "suddenly" and my score went up 14 points in a day  I continued pif for almost a year and my score went up another 30 points slowly over the year.  In other words it was painfully slow yet rewarding at years's end.  I think time is a huge factor in the scoring model regardly of what a CR says on any given day.
Message 15 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Advice for upping credit score - I have limited options

The scoring model can only process the data presented by the credit report, which contains only dates, amounts and coded categories and status. The credit report does not contain additional snapshots of account balances as of 1 month ago, 2 months ago, etc., or any payment trending data. The only incremental data contained on the report is the record of whether you were late in paying any account(s) and when those late payments occurred.

In addition, each credit report does not reflect whether you PIF or not - it only shows what the account balance was at the time the CCC reported, generally on the statement closing date. If you charge $500 on a particular CC every month, and then PIF normally by the due date, the CR will display a $500 balance for that account each month and the score will reflect that $500 balance.

I am fairly certain the additional 30 point gain was the result of other changes - such as accounts aging - not a delayed bonus awarded for consistent payments several months earlier.
Message 16 of 16
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