how many accounts ideally for max score

[Anonymous]

have 2 cred cards---------1 dept card(macys)------car loan------home loan------i would like to add another cred card and maybe another dept card   but im on the bubble  640ish score and i know the hard inq and the new young age of the card will hurt the score-----but my concern is that i dont have enough creedit/exposure to get to 720 and higher score       comments greatly appreciated    ty in advance

[llecs]

That's always a good topic for debate. I saw here or elsewhere a gentleman's posting of his CR. His scores were around 835 and he had over 12 active CC accts with CLs all over $10k, except for a Target at $200. I also saw an account of a woman who only had 2 CCs, both below $500 cl, yet had a score over 800. Go figure. In both cases, they each had a long credit history and had a solid mix of credit (mortgage, car note, store card, cc, etc)

Message Edited by llecs on 12-16-2007 05:13 AM

[Anonymous]

What is your UTL?
and
How many many out of 3 do you leave a balance?

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@Anonymous wrote:

have 2 cred cards---------1 dept card(macys)------car loan------home loan------i would like to add another cred card and maybe another dept card but im on the bubble 640ish score and i know the hard inq and the new young age of the card will hurt the score-----but my concern is that i dont have enough creedit/exposure to get to 720 and higher score comments greatly appreciated ty in advance

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[Anonymous]

i never use the macy card-(dont like to shop)   so that balance is always 0----am i assuming that this isnt helping me    ----should i have a constant $20 t-shirt on it ---dont understand   thought keeping it at 0 gets me full credit each month------thanks

[SmartCookie]

Try to use all cards a few times a year to keep them reporting.  You don't need to carry a balance and you don't need a large charge.  Matter of fact, best FICO bonus will be gotten if you keep your overall UTI under 10% and also keep each card under 10% of total CL.  Let it report (usually the new statement date but not always) and PIF or return the product if you don't like it.

Carry balances on no more than 50% of your cards if you need to carry a balance.  I prefer suggesting no more than 2 cards carrying a balance.  Again, there is no need to carry a balance unless you need to, you won't get extra points for it.

[Anonymous]

A lot has to do with your hx.......when you get a new CC it lowers your total hx.  I have 20 years of hx...I opened 4 new cards, whish lowered my UTIL and my scores went up  they will continue to climb as they get older.

DH had 4 cards which had high UTIL...no lates or derogs. I took out 4 more cards which doubled his CL and scores went from 119 to 667 within 3 months. He lowered his hx also and now has to let it mature.