Building my Credit

[Anonymous]

I am at a score of Eq-655, Trans 656, ex-662

Credit cards- Chase Freedom- 800 CL CAP ONE 1000 Credit limt, Authorized accts- Macys-800, Cap 800, ZALES 3400, .  I am trying to build my credit to 820.  I have been getting dinged on paying my balances in full,.  Credit score started out at 675- equifax- dropped to 655 due to paying off a car loan in full.  What true habits should I practice to get my score back up and beyond?  I also recently applied for AMEX and was denied.  Score for experian was 675 at the time.  The inquiry dropped me to 662. Asked them for recon and am waiting for a reply. 

[Jerry45]

Congrats on your approvals. I know t seems like an old cliche, but let the accounts and inquiries age.

[Anonymous]

It's amazing how much credit is a separate life project.  I am scared to pay down balances though because I get dinged for them.  How are you supposed to use the credit cards> Charge a little, a lot and pay it off in full (this is what I do now before my statements close) or Charge and keep 30% on the card?

[-NewGuy-]

Welcome to the forums. For maximum scoring you will want all cards to report a zero balance except for one which should report a balance somewhere between 1-9%. Don't pay that 1-9% until after the statement cuts, then pay it all.

FICO also values a mix of credit, including both installment loans and revolving accounts. When you paid off your auto loan in full, you no longer had an installment loan, hence the drop in score.

You are certainly right that credit is a weird beast, that's for sure.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for this.  This totally explains why I left a little bal on one of my cards and my score shot up 15 points!  I will try for this month.

[-NewGuy-]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you so much for this.  This totally explains why I left a little bal on one of my cards and my score shot up 15 points!  I will try for this month.

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Of course. It's kind of weird, but true nonetheless.

Also, if your scores are in the mid 600 range then you would gain more points on your score by addressing whatever is causing that (baddies, UTIL, etc) than the above we talked about.