MyFico score of 643, couple of questions

[JMills]

Also How do you know when your creditors report to Fico? Is your due date on your card?

[JMills]

What are prime banks? I just disputed my car loan which is paid off. It is showing 90 days past due. I did paid the loan off but it is not reflecting I paid as agree, is this because I was 90 days late? I am also paying off all my credit cards, I have 7, but many members are saying a zero balance is not good. Please help. I had a great credit score years ago and will like to get up to the 700 bracket again. Thanks

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Starting Score: EQ 499, TU 516, EX 501,
Current Score: EQ 499, TU 516, EX 501
Goal Score: 700 for all three (08-31-2014)

Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

[credit_wise]

JMill I have seen a lot of people recommend 30%, but have also seen a trend toward 10% to 20% these days.

[jamie123]

To JMills,

This is what you want your credit profile to look like and the way you want to keep it once you get there:

1. You want just 1 of your credit cards to report a balance every month. The balance it reports should be between 1% and 9% of the total of all your credit card credit lines added together. The date that a lender reports your balance to the CRAs varies but it will fall anywhere from "the payment due date" to "the payment due date plus 3 to 4 days". You need to determine which card is going to be your reporting card and all the others should report zero. You need to pay your reporting card down to the 1% to 9% a few days before the payment due date and then not use it until it reports. You need to pay off to zero all your other cards a few days before their payment due dates and then not use them until they report to the CRAs. I know it sounds like a game and it really is but it works.

2. Do not ever close any of your credit cards even if you don't use them much. You should try and use all your credit cards at least a little every three months or so to keep them active. This builds your history and will give you a broad base for when new credit is required.

Okay...A bit about your scores. Your scores are way to low to just have 1 ninety day late affecting them. You probably have several other negative items on your report that need to be removed. You can find out how to do this by visiting the "Credit Rebuilding" part of this forum. You need to do whatever it takes to have those negative items removed! It is really not that difficult to do and once you do one it becomes easy.

The prime banks that you should only have credit with are:

American Express (AMEX)

CitiBank

Chase

Bank of America

Discover

Wells Fargo

I'm here to help if you have any other questions JMills.

You need to tell me a bit more about your situation so I can give you accurate advise.

[JMills]

I have a first premier card, should I close that? because in the near future I would like to get a prime card. Thank you so much!!

[Anonymous]

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@jamie123 wrote:

Yes, some people have reached over 800 without credit cards but the great majority of people that have scores in the 800s have 6 to 8 credit cards.

The OP is 21 years old. If he follows my advice he will have 6 to 8 credit cards with PRIME banks by the time he is 25 years old. By the time of his 30th birthday he will be golden. He will have 6 to 8 credit cards with prime banks and they will all have at least 5 years of history. His AAoA will be high for the rest of his life. I think that would be an awesome foundation to build the rest of his credit requirements around.

Anybody have better ideas?

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 It does not matter the number of cards you have but how you manage them.  You can have 2 cards with CL of $20,000 each and get the same results as more cards.  As long as they are used wisely.

[JMills]

I have a collection on my account too, which will be remove next year (7 year mark). This has been paid off since 2007 but the towing company still reported it to collection. I was the authorize user on my friend account and that really ding my score. But I am going to do what I got to do to get it better. I paid off four credit cards this month, and now they are at a zero balance.

[JMills]

I just paid off my car loan in December. I didn't have the funds to pay some of the cards because of situation that came in my life so on four cards I was late 60 days and I was late on my car payment several times, but I paid the car loan in December, is that enough info. I did have great credit years ago, and I guess not paying attention and having family want to use my card all the time added to where I am now, but I am confident with persistent and dedication I will get there to my destination : ) Thats why I am here

[JMills]

I have no bankruptcy. I have Student loans but I am not set to pay them until 2015. I had a car loan that I just paid off in Decemeber. I was the authorize user on a friends account and she had a high utilization rate.

[jamie123]

Yes, you want to close the First Premier card. When lenders see that card on your report they think you are willing to do business with loan sharks! That you will do anything to get credit.

All those lates, and that they are recent, are killing your scores. You have 2 options to get rid of them. One, wait seven years for them to drop off your report or the smart option of learning how to do GWs (Good Will) letters in the "Credit Rebuilding" forum. You need those lates gone or your scores won't recover. They will affect your scores, and not in a good way, for the full seven years. Time to get working on getting them removed! It really isn't that hard to do! Give it a shot!