The 800 Club

[Anonymous]

The legendary 800 and above credit score.
Teach me your ways!
How long did it take? (Your credit profile)
How many credit cards did it take you?
Or is it a random occurance of naturally paying on time with a clean credit report?
Is their a difference in having 765 vs 850 score?
Just a student trying to learn! What's your story?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
The legendary 800 and above credit score.
Teach me your ways!
How long did it take? (Your credit profile)
How many credit cards did it take you?
Or is it a random occurance of naturally paying on time with a clean credit report?
Is their a difference in having 765 vs 850 score?
Just a student trying to learn! What's your story?

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See bold.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
The legendary 800 and above credit score.
Teach me your ways!
How long did it take? (Your credit profile)
How many credit cards did it take you?
Or is it a random occurance of naturally paying on time with a clean credit report?
Is their a difference in having 765 vs 850 score?
Just a student trying to learn! What's your story?

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I do not have an 800 score. It is not a random occurance, in that you can get one through targetted methods, but it does take time. You do not necessarily need different types of credit, but it helps. However, I haven't heard of any difference between 765 and 850. Both are excellent credit that get max rates on mortgages and car loans. 

[ksantangelo23]

I managed my way through AU accounts, and benefiting significantly from AMEX backdating (R.I.P.) to the same date as an AU, limiting my new accounts, and of course perfect payment history of my own.

Ill fully admit that without outside help, and unconventional ways such as backdating, I'd probably be sitting around 720-740.

[ecxpa]

The 800 club use to be the 700 club ......it is purely subjective in most cases......there are definite benefits to a higher credit score but in the end as long as your credit serves its purpose it is sufficient.....at least for me.  

Having a good credit score and most important a good credit file is essential for success.  My highest FICO score is  EX 750 right now, it went up to 755 for about a week.  FICO score simulator says if I continue to pay bills on time it will be up to 811 in a little over a year.  Other FICO's are EQ 732 and TU 734, these hopefully will bump 740 by the

Definitely time is a major requirement as well as maintaining your credit.   There are many algorithms around for maximizing credit score, there is no "trick" to it.  Personally

[vanillabean]

Don't be late. Ever.

When that is said, I'm curious how low you can go being clean.

[aav]

It happened when I started paying attention. Marriage was falling apart and hubby wanted to do the finances, so I let him. My fault was in fear.. Fear of never having what we may need, so I only paid bills grudgingly and sometimes not the whole amount due.

We were in the 500's with late payments that happened while we were separated. that was the killer. This was abt 8 years ago. We'd had a few credit cards that we didn't take care of that went into collections. Also shortly after, we tried to refinance our hone and the mortgage company pulled about 10 inquiries. That didn't help either.

We got ourselves on a very tight budget paid everyone on time every time and worked on our marriage.

Two years ago I applied for 2 credit cards and we were on our way. We had student loans and 2 car loans as well that added to the mix in 2010 Currently I have more cards and credit than I need - 11 cards with abt 120k total credit limit. Hubby has fewer cards and pays more of the bills so his utilization is higher and his scores are in the 750 range. He reached 800 but scores don't really matter that much to him.

Basically, spend moderately with a plan to pay back without adding to the debt, and never miss a payment. If we have a big expense like a vacation or new roof, we pull back from regular spending (we go into tight budget mode) until we pay it down. Hope this helps.

We could have reached 800 sooner, but there was a long period where we had no interest in cards and paid cash for everything.

[Tonya-E]

Coming to the forum I have learned that it can be kind of random. I do think that regardless though you must have some length to your history. There are some that have made it into the 800s without a credit mix just good history. For me I have a mix of mortgage, loans and credit cards. I have an AAOA of a little over 6.5 years. now fully clean reports. I just recently had a 30 day late removed from EQ. I was stuck at 790 on EQ til  that fell off. I think 760 or above still gets you qualified fro excellent rates, at least to my understanding. 

[Anonymous]

I started "gaming" my score about 2 years ago. This year I joined the 800 club. I achieved it through low utilization (<10%), transacting instead of revolving, and applying for CLIs once a year. I was able to do this with credit cards alone, I don't have any installment loans.

[takeshi74]

Nothing random about it.  Any score is genrated based on the data in a report.  Instead of looking for a "recipe" or series of steps to get good scores you should work to understand how the factors are weighed relative to each other and what other behaviors impact scoring.  Then use that info along with your needs/wants to take actions that suit you.

Start here:

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Revolving utilization falls under amounts owed.  Do not exceed 30%.  When applying for new credit you may want to optimize by allowing only one balance to report at 10% or less.

Keep in mind that building credit is a long, slow process and there are no shortcuts.  Be prepeared to put in the time and effort.

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@Anonymous wrote:
How many credit cards did it take you?

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 It's not about X cards aside from the "at least 2-3 cards for scoring purposes" recommendation.

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@Anonymous wrote:
Is their a difference in having 765 vs 850 score?

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Best terms are generally offered at 740-760+.  Having a higher score just offers more leeway in case one does apply for credit (i.e. so one can remain above 740-760 even after adding new account[s]).