Experian Boost ---- Thoughts

[Anonymous]

After doing a few months of research on this “Boost” product by Experian.  I came to the conclusion that I didn’t like it because the only way to enroll in it was to give them your checking account login credentials and account access.  Although they claim it’s “only” read-only status, that didn’t matter the me. They would still have access to an awful lot of your spending habits and other personal information. However, In spite all of that, I signed up for it anyway...with a slight twist though in my (I’m hoping) favor. 

First, I knew I needed a completely separate bank, and bank account for this mess.  Something sterile, and away from my real accoaunts. They weren’t going to jam ME up, I was thinking...lol.  

So, I waited until I saw a great sign-up bonus for opening a new bank checking account, which I did.  I got $300 for opening a TCF bank checking account.  The only condition for getting the $300 was to sign up for electronic bill pay (I believe it was for) 3 times. As required, I put my light, gas, and water bill all on electronic bill pay (not auto pay though). I made an initial deposit and started the account with a few hundred bucks, and within a week of opening it up I had received the additional bonus of $300 added to my initial deposit.

I only use this account to pay those three utilities and for absolutely nothing else.  I walk in to the bank and deposit approx 2 months worth of cash into the account to cover those same three utilities every so often now. And oh, the reason I hand deliver the deposit to this bank is because I don’t even want to electronically link this bank up to my other banks, just as an added quarantine measure.

Finally after three months of electronic payments, Experian Boost registered this self-report and I’ve gained 6 points on my EX FICO 8 score.  So basically I got $300 bucks for free, six extra pointo on my FICO, and all without exposing my main bank accounts to any added risk.  I know it may seem like a lot of hoops for a small return, but for me I didn’t (don’t) mind. 

[Anonymous]

I don't personally have any issues allowing the CRAs access to my banking information, they ought to be trustworthy enough (from a security standpoint) since they handle everyones credit reports anyways. I am a little perturbed that they use a 3rd party to conduct the scans. It would be much more beneficial for us consumers if existing utilities contracted directly with all 3 CRAs and reported which in all reality is how it should be. If you're paying rent for the roof over your head then whomever you pay rent to should also directly report (and in many situations they can/will if you ask). I also would not mind having my saving/spending habits analyzed in more detail by each CRA to help play a role in scoring.

All that being said, I tried it, wasn't able to find anything. Had a family member try it, unfortunately their bank was not supported..

[vic6string]

I don't really have any hang ups with Experian having access to my banking records...they already have everything they would need to do serious damage WITHOUT that. I filed for Chapter 13 a little less than 5 years ago so I am basically a pretty new thin file (3 cards and a car loan). My Exp. score is lower than the other 2 so when I heard about this I figured I'd give it a go. It also helps that I plan on dropping my current checking account soon and opening a new one (moving from BofA to Chase to start the banking relationship with them so I can grab some of those sweet blue visas when the BK drops) so them having my login info is only really an issue for another few weeks until I open my new account and drop that one. The boost found most of my Sprint cell phone bills, Comcast cable/internet bills, and FPL (power) bills, and instantly added 27 points to my EXP FICO 8 score. That should help me quite a bit when I hit the 5 year anniversary of my BK filing and make my move on the AMEX and Citi cards I am looking at.

[Superduper2014]

I am looking at getting a 2nd Amex card and since they use Experian I was wondering about their Fico Boost thing. 

Not fond of giving them access to my online banking, but if it will help my chances with Amex then it may be worth it.

I may not even need a boost as my Fico 8 is 754 right now and that may be enough for Amex?

Thanks for any insight.

[Anonymous]

I think boost is just fluff personally. 

On the surface your score sounds fine for Amex approval, but overall profile > score, so if you could describe your profile a bit that would help.  For example, Cornelius and Rupert may both possess 754 scores just like you.  Cornelius has a clean file with 1 year of credit history, 2 accounts on his CR, an AAoA of 7 months and $15k income.  Rupert has a dirty file (multiple 90+ day lates across several accounts) with 15 years of credit history, 20 accounts on his CR, an AAoA of 6 years and $95k income.  As you can see from the examples above, two dramatically different profiles can yield the same exact Fico score.   

[Fico82]

@ brutalbodyshots..
So a thick file high income wouldn't qualify Cause he dirty ? And thin low income would. Just wanted to clarify cause I would have thought both would just cause of scores.

Dont mean to hijack OP.

[Anonymous]

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@Fico82 wrote:
So a thick file high income wouldn't qualify Cause he dirty ? And thin low income would. Just wanted to clarify cause I would have thought both would just cause of scores.

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It's all lender-specific, so it's a best practice to do research about what any particular lender "likes" or "dislikes" regarding profiles before apping.  Certain lenders like Discover or Capital One for example may be more accepting of the thinner/younger/clean file example I gave than Chase or Citi would.  Some lenders are more forgiving when it comes to dirty files if they are thick/aged, etc.

[Fico82]

@BBS , thanks for the info appreciate it.

@superduper2014 , good luck on your 2nd amex card . Update us with your results !

[vic6string]

If you have a thin file, boost can really help. I had a thin file (due to everything closing a few years ago from a BK) that only included a couple of cards(both under a year), a car loan (2 years old), and a couple of old closed accounts. When I ran the boost, it found 3 different accounts (cell phone, cable, and power) that all showed monthly payments since at that time I was still paying those bills with a checking account (I now use credit cards to pay those bills so they wouldn't show anymore). That, in essence, doubled the number of on-time payments I had so my score shot up 27 points. If, however, you already have a bunch of older accounts showing, it has much less of an impact. Had I not done the BK and still had all those accounts showing on my report (20 years of multiple cards) I might have only gotten a point or two (if that). 

As far as giving them access to my bank account, they already know more than enough about me to do extensive damage, and you can always change your bank password as soon as you finish running the boost if you are worried about someone getting into your account through them later.

[Anonymous]

Just as an aside above, number of on-time payments is not a factor in Fico scoring.  Certain sites like Credit Karma have fluff front-end summary software that would leave one to believe this, though, so I understand where the confusion comes in.  All that matters is whether accounts are clean (on-time payments) or dirty (missed payments) where actual number of on-time payments doesn't impact scoring.  If you saw a score increase it wasn't from the number of on-time payments doubling, it was from the 3 additional accounts being factored in, which could impact file thickness, age of accounts factors, etc.