Most Accurate Credit Simulator

[Anonymous]

Today I played around with quite a few credit simulators.  I input the same basic parameters, as they applied to me, (one car loan, three credit cards, oldest account being 8 months old, Utilization of less than 9%, 721 credit score), and then input the changes I've recently made to my credit profile to see how they affected my score, (CLI on one card by $500, approved for CSP with $5,000 limit).  The results were all over the place.

Several resulted in a lower credit score.  Including Chase's own simulator that lowered my score to 716, and no amount of alterations to the simulator (3, 6, 12 months of on time payments, increasing or decreasing credit utilization, etc.) changed that number at all.

Several simulators increased my score, including Credit-Land.com that raised my score to 813.

Obviously, all simulators provide ballpark guesses at best, but is there one simulator that generally provides the most accurate predictions of how changes to one's credit fare in reality?

[avp99]

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@Anonymouswrote:

Today I played around with quite a few credit simulators.  I input the same basic parameters, as they applied to me, (one car loan, three credit cards, oldest account being 8 months old, Utilization of less than 9%, 721 credit score), and then input the changes I've recently made to my credit profile to see how they affected my score, (CLI on one card by $500, approved for CSP with $5,000 limit).  The results were all over the place.

Several resulted in a lower credit score.  Including Chase's own simulator that lowered my score to 716, and no amount of alterations to the simulator (3, 6, 12 months of on time payments, increasing or decreasing credit utilization, etc.) changed that number at all.

Several simulators increased my score, including Credit-Land.com that raised my score to 813.

Obviously, all simulators provide ballpark guesses at best, but is there one simulator that generally provides the most accurate predictions of how changes to one's credit fare in reality?

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Very much interested in seeing what others have to say about this,,, also interested.

[Anonymous]

The best credit simulator is the well-versed, knowledgeable members of this forum.  If you list out as much data about your profile as possible, then ask a question like if you do X what would happen to your score, you'll get answers from forum members here that will make the answers that a simulator gives you go cry in the corner.

[Anonymous]

BrutalBodyShots, you're probably very right about that.  So, here is my situation for your input:

I was not a user of credit for many years.  Instead, I paid with a debit card, or cash for most everything.

In July, 2017, I decided to purchase a new car.  I paid $15,000, and financed just over $14,000 through my credit union.  My EX credit score at that time was 701.

In Aug., 2017 I applied, and was approved, for a Visa through my credit union, with a $3,000 limit (I neglected to list this card in my original post).  Since I had just financed my car loan, they didn't hard pull credit report.

In Nov., 2017, I was approved for a Macy's card with initial limit of $600.  In Feb., 2018, I asked for a CLI, and it was raised to $5,600.

In Dec., 2017, I had two pre-approved card offers pop-up when purchasing items from stores' web sites.  They were J. Crew ($1,250 limit), and Barney's ($2,000 limit).

As of March, 2018 my score across the board was 721, and my credit utilization is hovering around 4%.  I have no negatives on my reports, and not even any inquiries (which confuses me, considering my auto loan).

This past weekend, I applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and was approved for $5,000.

The various FAKO sites, (Credit Karma, NerdWallet, Credit Sesame, etc), all indicate my short history as holding me back.  I have one closed account from 10+ years ago showing a car loan with no missed, or late payments, but that doesn't seem to have had any affect on the age of my current score.

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned this situation to my mum, (who has an 840 score), and she offered to add me as an AU to one of her older accounts with a high limit, and low utilization.  Today, she mentioned that she went ahead and added me to that account yesterday, a day after I was approved for the Sapphire Preferred card.

Now, how do you think these latest actions have affected my score?  And what other actions can I take to improve my score?  I'm anxiously awaiting next month's updates to see where I stand.

[sarge12]

The credit simulator that is used by mortgage brokers is the only one I have ever known to be close to accurate.