@GettingUnStuck wrote:AmEx: found it in the app. FICO 599 as of April 23rd, when all my cards were maxed out. They told me to wait for a week for the update. They also told me that they report on the 23rd themselves.
Further, I was able to get a free FICO score from Discover. It is sobering, but I will check back in a month and hopefully the lower balances will cause at least some improvement.
As of May 31st, 2021 based on Experian® dataYour FICO® Score 8 based on Experian data
606 FairKey factors affecting your score
What's helpingLong credit historyWhat's hurtingNegative itemsHigh credit usageThe FICO® Score evaluates balances in relation to available credit on revolving accounts. The extent of a person's credit usage is one of the most important factors considered by a FICO® Score. People who keep their ratio of balances to credit limits lower are generally considered less risky to lenders than those with higher ratios. Note, consolidating or moving debt from one account to another will usually not change the total amount owed.Your FICO® Score compared to U.S.
average by age
Exceptional 850 Poor 300 18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56+
90% and above utilization on a single CC is considered maxed out. Once you reach 89% or less on all your CCs, you'll see a few FICO points improvement. Other thresholds where you'll see further improvement in your FICO scores are at 69%, 49%, 29%, and 9% aggregate revolving utilization and when the highest single revolving utilization drops further down to 69%, 49%, and 29%.
Are you or your son eligible for Navy Federal Credit Union membership? If you or your spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, child (including step-child or adopted), grandchild, or household member currently serves or has served in the U.S. armed forces or is currently a member of Navy Fed, you qualify. Current Dept. of Defense (DoD) employees and contractors at DoD facilities and DoD retirees also qualify. If so, that would be your best bet for qualifying for your next CC to replace your Cap. 1 CC with a good rewards card the soonest and your son establishing his own credit history. While you might get approved for a Navy Fed CC when your overall revolving utilization is at 49% or less, you'd have a much better chance at getting approved if your overall revolving utilization is at 29% or less.
You want to help your son establish his own credit. You've already done a great job by adding him as an AU on CCs with perfect payment histories. However, co-signing on an auto loan isn't your and his best next step. If your son still has his student email address and he is part of your household and has access to some of that income (such as for any of his housing, groceries, and utilities expenses plus his CC expenses), he can claim your household income (or his portion of your household income that covers his expenses) on his CC application, so he can probably qualify for a Discover IT Student CC, even without an income history. Once he has 3 months of employment history and income, he can start applying for the two best secure CCs: Discover IT secured and Navy Fed secured nRewards cards, if he's eligible for Navy Fed membership.
Co-signing on a CC for someone who is not your spouse is rarely a good idea, but if you decide to go that route for your son, then US Bank allows co-signers for CCs. You should probably skip the other two banks that allow co-signers for CCs, B of A and Wells Fargo. They'll remember you for a long, long time.
@GettingUnStuck wrote:thanks so much, guys! I will start looking. This rate is for Honda Civic. For Honda Fit, the rates are even lower (witn the same 4K down payment). I need to make a decision on which car to buy - I guess will head over the auto forum to discuss. I am clueless atm, but do want to be able to drive uphill and have heard that Honda Fit might not be powerful enough for that.
And then next year I will refinance. Very glad to have found you as advisors.
Thanks,
trying to get unstuck
My friends have a Fit, and it can definitely go uphill, lol.
