How do I get in??

[adavis425]

Hi all!

I love these forums and read them every day.  I have read some really good advice here and really have one burning question. HOW do I break the 700 mark?? My scores are all in the 670 range. I am aiming for 750.  I have been with AMEX for 11 years now and just upgraded from Green to Gold. I have never missed a payment, never had a late payment. I also have had a Visa card ($2000 cl) for the past four years with no lates, no missed payments.  I have a JCPenney card that I haven't used sinced 2004. My util is somewhere around 10%.  I have two collection accounts (from 2006). Do they still matter in the sense that they are not recent? Should I PFD? Are they keeping me out of the 700 club?  How does the fact that I have no installment accounts factor in?  What kinds of things should I be doing to boost my score??  Any thoughts please?  Thanks!!

[AndySoCal]

I would DV and then PFD the collection accounts. I would also use the JC Penney account nothing big.. Try to use the your credit card about twice a year if not more. This will help to make sure the accounts are fully factored into your score.

[Guava]

Not having a loan isn't keeping you from 700, many have scores in the 700s with just credit cards. I think the gist here is the unpaid collection accounts; collections are major derogatives and they hurt you as long as they remain on your report. If the collection agencies allow, definitely PFD

[pizzadude]

+1 to the comments above. Collections are going to keep your score down until they are removed from your report. Even if they are marked as paid, they won't boost your FICO score. Try the PFD option as suggested.

Also, I agree that your JCP card is likely being ignored because it hasn't been used. Idle cards are dropped from scoring at the 6 month mark maybe ?? I could be wrong about the exact time, but using it two or three times a year should suffice.

[Anonymous]

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@pizzadude wrote:
+1 to the comments above. Collections are going to keep your score down until they are removed from your report. Even if they are marked as paid, they won't boost your FICO score. Try the PFD option as suggested.

Also, I agree that your JCP card is likely being ignored because it hasn't been used. Idle cards are dropped from scoring at the 6 month mark maybe ?? I could be wrong about the exact time, but using it two or three times a year should suffice.

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+1 to the comments about the CA's.

If you have been with AmEx for 11 years, you could apply for another AmEx and it will be backdated to (2001, you said 11 years ago, so I'm just assuming the AmEx was opened in 2001) either way, if you were to apply and get approved for another AmEx, the backdating of 11 years will raise your AAoA's, and could potentially, give you a bump in points.

I have 3 AmEx cards all backdated to 91, and each time I applied and was approved, once the AmEx was listed on my reports as opened in 1991 (backdating) my scores all went up a little each time.

Just a thought for you.

Best of Luck!

[Anonymous]

I have a score in the mid 700's with just two credit cards.

So it is possible. I've never had a mortgage nor an auto loan nor any other reportable installment loan.

You say your Util is 10% but is that split between the two cards?

Get it to less than 9% on ONE card and that might help.

But to be honest, the biggest thing is those collections.

I had one "collection" that buried me in mid 600's. Getting that dealt with and having my util go from 36% to 28% got me into the mid 700's.

So it IS possible with just credit cards.

[guydiver]

The collections are the big culprit, although it is still possible to break 700 with them, I did it at the five year mark with a Cap1 CO on all reports.  I agree to use the JCP account, and to get your utilization <9% overall should give you a boost.  Make sure only one of the cards reports a small balance to get max. Fico score boost also. PFD is the absolute best option for the collections, and as you have probably read, make sure you get everything in writing BEFORE you pay up.  Good luck, and keep us posted.

[adavis425]

Thank you all so much for the words of wisdom. Have I mentioned how much I love these forums? I'll do those PFDs and let you know what happens.

Wish me luck!

[adavis425]

Ok. So I was afraid to even check my CS for fear of disappointment, but needed to know exactly what I had to do by way of repair.  Well, I bit the bullet and got my EQ FICO

and...it was 671! A good bit higher than the FAKO scores I had been going by.  EQ is reporting one collection so I'll work on that for now, but how do I go

about obtaining my other two scores??  This site is so addictive, but I feel like I am on a roll.  I really want to accomplish my credit goal. 

[Anonymous]

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@adavis425 wrote:

Ok. So I was afraid to even check my CS for fear of disappointment, but needed to know exactly what I had to do by way of repair.  Well, I bit the bullet and got my EQ FICO

and...it was 671! A good bit higher than the FAKO scores I had been going by.  EQ is reporting one collection so I'll work on that for now, but how do I go about obtaining my other two scores??  This site is so addictive, but I feel like I am on a roll.  I really want to accomplish my credit goal. 

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First off Congratulations on the nice EQ FICO, 671 is not bad at all.

As far as obtaining your TU FICO and Report, you can purchase it here at myFICO as well (if you want to spend an additional 19.95) Click this link FICO Standard and choose the TransUnion. Just be sure to change the EQ drop box to 0 and the TU drop box to 1, then add to cart, and you're on your way.

As for your Experian FICO, you can not purchase that anywhere, EX stopped selling their FICO scores to Consumers back in Feb of 2009, there is a CU in PA. named PSECU, if you had a membership with them they provide an EX FICO every month in their statements, but other than that the only way to obtain your EX FICO is to apply for a CC with a lender who pulls EX (like AmEx or BoA) and if you're not approved for the card, or if you are not given their best terms, thanks to the Dodd-Frank act, the creditor is required by law to send you a letter stating the reasons for denial, or the reasons for them not giving you their best terms, and in that letter they must provide a credit score, some lenders will provide an EX FICO score (like AmEx or BoA) and other lenders will provide a score of some sort.

The best way to determine if the score in the letter is in fact a FICO, is if it says FICO (obviously) or if in the letter it says the score that was used is (XXX) and is based on a scale of 300-850, that is a FICO scoring model, if it says your score of (XXX) and is based on a scale of 200-950 (not a FICO scoring model) you'll know it's not a real EX FICO.

But those are the only two ways to obtain your EX FICO that I'm aware of.

Best of Luck!!