What are Buckets? And What are Tradelines?

[Anonymous]

I hear alot about different buckets, Can I tell what bucket I am in?  Can I get in a better bucket?

As for tradeline's not sure what this is?

Thanks for the help!

[Anonymous]

A bucket is the group of people your scored with, there's not a lot of solid for sure info about how to figure out what bucket your in, at least not as far as I know. 

A tradeline would be a CC or Loan or something along those lines that reports on your CR.

[llecs]

---

andycap wrote:

I hear alot about different buckets, Can I tell what bucket I am in?  Can I get in a better bucket?

---

Buckets are similar to our days in college or university. We all had that one tough professor who graded on a scale. Let's say that during test time, he/she issues a test that is extremely difficult. So difficult that out of the 20 or so students in class the best grade is at 80%. Well if that professor graded on a weighted scale, and you got that highest grade, then you got an "A".

Buckets, like that professor, also weigh everyone's score on a scale. You are compared to those in your credit class. While specifics aren't likely to be released ever, we can only assume what classes or buckets are out there. People with a long perfect credit are compared to one another and their score is weighted against each other. Those with a poor and short history and copared to each other. And those with a poor rating are never compared to those with a great rating. I've read that there's up to 20 buckets, but I don't know if that is true.

[Anonymous]

The way I understand buckets is........your credit report is put in a stack with other people's credit reports who are similar........then you are all scored against one another........

So, if you have a public record(judgment or lien)........the people you are compared to more than likely has a public record on their credit report.

After they group you with others like you........the score you all..........the ones of you with a public record but no other baddies....will get the higher score of the group......the ones with a few lates payments to go with that public record will get a mid score for the group.........the ones with more than a few lates and/or collections will get the bottom scores for the group.

The nice part is if you screw up, you might get re-grouped, but you can recover and you aren't going to be compared with someone with perfect credit and get the lowest score b/c you messed up and missed a payment or whatever the case is.

Now, this is just how I understand it........could be right, could be wrong.

[haulingthescoreup]

That's basically it. I think that there are nine ten current buckets, moving to 12 with FICO 08, although I wouldn't swear to it.

Off the top of my head, the categories vary by age, by presence or absence of a major baddie, presence or absence of a public record, thin file vs thick file, I'm forgetting something...

But buckets are not driven by scores. It's more that scores are partially influenced by buckets. I jumped from 12 years to 18+ by adding on as AU on one of DH's CC's. I lost 15 points, just like that, which was an enormous amount at the time. (I'm more battle-scarred now, lol.) But I'm looking at my old scores, and it looks like EQ fully recovered after 6-7 weeks, and until my recent app frenzy, ultimately wound up about 75 points higher than when I got re-assigned. Moving into this new bucket it allowed the scores to rise higher and faster. And even after my drastic re-aging by adding 7 new tradelines (yup, TL's are credit accounts that report, such as loans, mortgages and CC's), my current EQ is 51 points higher than it was before the re-bucketing, which was 6 months, less 3 days, ago.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 09-13-2008 11:33 AM

[marty56]

Because we can get our scores after a few seconds, it seems that if there is a bucket system, it is figured into the FICO forumula much like a cure on a test.  If this is true then which parts of the formula are curved and which have priority over others.

For example is a person with a short history scored differently on a 30 day late then someone who has a 30 years history?

In my case, does my almost 3 years old 120 day late count less then someone who has lates since then? or is it my low credit utilization that makes it count less?  Or does it count the same and time is the only factor?

I would not get wrapped up on buckets since the things that you do to improve your credit is independant of what bucket you are in.  Pay on time, low util, not too much new credit, and pay on time (again) is where we should focus.

[Anonymous]

10 current buckets/scorecards, 12 in FICO 08.

[Anonymous]

Well known Buckets:

New to credit

Public record

Has new account/applying for new credit (i need to get out of this bucket)

It has been published that there are 2 negative and 8 positive buckets in the current FICO formula.  In FICO 08 4 negative and 8 positive.

[haulingthescoreup]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Well known Buckets:

New to credit
Public record
Has new account/applying for new credit (i need to get out of this bucket)

It has been published that there are 2 negative and 8 positive buckets in the current FICO formula. In FICO 08 4 negative and 8 positive.

---

Thanks, now I know my new address! (emphasis mine)

I knew it was bad when my latest TU report has 19% util (which is incorrect) in the positives column.

Do we live in this new bucket for one year after the last new account, or next to last, or what? I sort of miss my old bucket, even if they were a bunch of stuck-up snobs with no lates.

[MidnightVoice]

---

haulingthescoreup wrote:
 I sort of miss my old bucket, even if they were a bunch of stuck-up snobs with no lates.

---

HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is not fault I am fiscally sensible and use on line bill paying!