Quickest way to boost scores

[Anonymous]

Okay, so for reasons unknwon to me (because I handle all finances), hubby's scores are 20+ points lower, even though we essentially  have the same credit!

We both have 1-2 cards that the other does not. ALL have been always been paid on time and usually above the minimum. We've got a mortgage that has always been paid on time (3 years and previous ones before that all good). What's killing us is revolving credit usage. We went through a rough patch where I was out of work and had to suplement some income with those. We also took an extravagent vacation which cost us big time. 

Current Fico 8 scores for me are EQ 711, TU 715, EX 704. For hubby EQ 685, TU 694, EX 690. 

He's the major breadwinner in the family, so when we go to apply for a loan (looking at a HELOC or HEL to consolidate debt and buy an rv, which we now can afford payments on), they look at HIS scores, not mine. 

If we've got $35,000 in CC debt and limits over $70k, how much does he need to pay down to really bump those scores up over 700?

[gdale6]

Welcome to the board

The members would need some more information to give you answers on what you desire. Please list out the individual accounts with CL and current reporting balances.

[coreysw12]

Since there isn't really such a thing as a joint credit card account, perhaps the score difference is caused by him only being an authorized user on some accounts, while you're the primary user. I think some scoring models don't treat authorized users the same as being a primary account holder (and some scoring models ignore authorized user accounts entirely).

20 points really isn't that big of a difference - while your credit accounts are "almost" the same as each other, they aren't exactly the same, and those little differences can result in a 20 point differential for sure. Maybe your oldest account is older than his oldest account, maybe you have one account that he doesn't, or vice versa. It would be VERY unusual for any two people to have identical credit reports and scores.

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Okay, so for reasons unknwon to me (because I handle all finances), hubby's scores are 20+ points lower, even though we essentially  have the same credit!

We both have 1-2 cards that the other does not. ALL have been always been paid on time and usually above the minimum. We've got a mortgage that has always been paid on time (3 years and previous ones before that all good). What's killing us is revolving credit usage. We went through a rough patch where I was out of work and had to suplement some income with those. We also took an extravagent vacation which cost us big time. 

Current Fico 8 scores for me are EQ 711, TU 715, EX 704. For hubby EQ 685, TU 694, EX 690. 

He's the major breadwinner in the family, so when we go to apply for a loan (looking at a HELOC or HEL to consolidate debt and buy an rv, which we now can afford payments on), they look at HIS scores, not mine. 

If we've got $35,000 in CC debt and limits over $70k, how much does he need to pay down to really bump those scores up over 700?

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Hello and welcome to the forum

The quickest way to raise DHs scores is to reduce UT. As gdale6 said, we really need stats to give you a better overview on what you need to do. From the small amount of info you have provided, your UT exceeds 48.9% across the board. That is across 3 threshholds (8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%). And, we don't know what his individual card UT look like. 

So, if you provide us with the stats, we can provide you with additional information. Also, keep in mind that scores is only one factor in getting approved for a loan. DTI and overall credit profile are taken into consideration too.