What would you pay for 800's; what's it worth to you?

[Anonymous]

I thought this would be a fun thread just to see how opinions differ on this.  We all know something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.  So, my question quite simply is what would having 800 scores be worth to YOU? 

Of course those that are already in the "excellent" range and already there this question doesn't apply.  Certainly answers will differ based on profiles, how far away from excellent scores you currently stand, your income, your savings, etc.

So, if you could walk into a mythical credit boost hut where some guy hits a magic button that would propel you scores to all 800's, what would you be willing to pay for him for that instant result?

I'm thinking that after this thread gets some replies and we look at some of the numbers the moral of the story will simply be "don't mess up" to begin with as it really is the best policy and best tip you can give.

So, I'll start this off.  My current FICO 08's are all in the 730's, and to get them to the 800's I would need a 90 day baddie and a 120 day baddie removed from my account.  They will naturally age off in 4 years and 5.5 years, respectively.  For me, it would be worth $2000 ($1000 per baddie) from my savings to have them eliminated.  Of course if they were going to naturally fall off in a year or so it wouldn't be worth as much to me, but considering their impact and for the amount of time they'll continue to impact me I'd be willing to drop $2000 from my savings account to get rid of them.

Anyone else care to share what it would be worth to them to go from where they currently stand to excellent FICO scores across the board?

[Thomas_Thumb]

It's $55 per year for me. 

[Anonymous]

I will wait it out.  Have no baddies, just newer accts.  As they age to the 6 month mark, I think my chances of getting to 800 are very real.  I gues what I'm trying to say is I would not pay anyone.  I would wait it out as I have done for 18 months now.  It's just slow and steady.  

[Anonymous]

I think there are 2 camps
1) people with good income and good cards that are waiting for past errors to fall off. BBS
2) Othere like sandibeach that are starting from scratch
I am in the 2nd group. Each month there is positive gains..slow but sure. It is easy to wait this way!

The 1st group has an agonizing wait. Nothing can be done but wait.

[Anonymous]

I think these fantasy ideas do not belong in this realm.

[Anonymous]

It's not a fantasy idea, just trying to determine much a great score is worth to some that don't have a great score.  Trying to quantify it to me is interesting.

This thread was more targeted at those like me that have established profiles, no so much someone just starting out where a little time and good credit decisions will reap healthy and relatively quick rewards.

The amount that it's "worth" to have great scores increases greatly when one sees the need to apply for credit in the future.  Take a mortgage for example.  If someone is strongly looking to apply for a mortgage in say 1-2 years, it would certainly be "worth it" far more to them to have excellent credit scores than it would for someone that has no immediate desire to apply for credit.  That's what I was getting at when I said the answer could be very different for everyone.

[RonM21]

OP as you stated "fun thread." And it does have substance because those 800 scores are a dream for a lot of people, and some are held back for various reasons where they must wait it out. During that time you imagine where you could be and wish you could do something to fix it now.

I'm in the same boat as you. I got scores in the same range, but have a Santander auto loan that they bought out in the last year. Suddenly I got several 30 day lates before I paid it off. They do not delete. This is from 2010. So next year....

Even still, I'd pay something to get it off. Maybe less then when I first started rebuilding a couple years ago, now that has aged and my profile improved.

[Anonymous]

My current experience highlights the value of a higher score, so I thought I would share it as part of my response to your hypothetical:

I've recently purchased a new (used) car, and received dramatically different rates during my preapproval canvas of area credit unions. I attribute the difference to credit score.

Some background on my credit file

 3 satisfied judgments set to begin coming off in the next 18 months or so - TU shows 0 of them, EQ shows 3, EX shows 1

 1 30 day late, on an auto loan, from 2011, shows on all three reports

FICO 8s pulled the morning before I started apping

TU - 732

EQ - 697

EX - 700

The best and the worst preapprovals for 25k, 60 months

Best - Kellogg CCU, pulled TU. Note: just FYI, the score they reported to me was 738, so it seems Kellogg uses FICO score 4 for their UW.

2.24%, meaning $1450 in interest, if I financed the whole 25k

Their advertised rate at time of app - 1.99%

Worst - American 1 CU, pulled EX. I never asked their internal score, given that . . .

4.5%, meaning $2965 in interest, if I financed the whole 25k

Their advertised rate at time of app - 1.59%

So . . . What's a higher score worth? To me, given my very specific situation?  About fifteen hundred dollars!

While I would never throw (away) money on a credit repair scheme company, I'm acutely feeling the benefit of a higher score.

[Anonymous]

For the longest time I never could understand why they don't charge to be in a certain "score bracket" instead of taking 5-20 years to get to say 850.

[surferchris]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My current experience highlights the value of a higher score, so I thought I would share it as part of my response to your hypothetical:

I've recently purchased a new (used) car, and received dramatically different rates during my preapproval canvas of area credit unions. I attribute the difference to credit score.

Some background on my credit file

 3 satisfied judgments set to begin coming off in the next 18 months or so - TU shows 0 of them, EQ shows 3, EX shows 1

 1 30 day late, on an auto loan, from 2011, shows on all three reports

FICO 8s pulled the morning before I started apping

TU - 732

EQ - 697

EX - 700

The best and the worst preapprovals for 25k, 60 months

Best - Kellogg CCU, pulled TU. Note: just FYI, the score they reported to me was 738, so it seems Kellogg uses FICO score 4 for their UW.

2.24%, meaning $1450 in interest, if I financed the whole 25k

Their advertised rate at time of app - 1.99%

Worst - American 1 CU, pulled EX. I never asked their internal score, given that . . .

4.5%, meaning $2965 in interest, if I financed the whole 25k

Their advertised rate at time of app - 1.59%

So . . . What's a higher score worth? To me, given my very specific situation?  About fifteen hundred dollars!

While I would never throw (away) money on a credit repair scheme company, I'm acutely feeling the benefit of a higher score.

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Thanks for the good information.

Brutal, I would probably agree with Hapgood in that the value would be a discounted amount of the interest I would save by going from my current scores into the 800's.