I just want a loan to thicken my reports.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I think I asked this before but can't find it and the more I read the more confusing it gets. Is there a link or thread going on banks or CUS recommended for loans if you don't really need the loan and are willing to take a HP?  I am getting offers in the mail for personal loans from the banks I am already with for personal or consolidating although my utiilzation isn't even that high.

I'm not sure the SSL method is for me anymore.  If I  can get the docs I need then I will try the 1k for 1 year with NFCU. (working on it)

I just want my reports to look better. I think  my thin profile and some collections from 10 years ago are worse than my score which is in the mid 700s according to various websites.

I do not want a mortgage. I do not need a car loan. I might want a Care Credit type of card this year but that is another mess of confusion as it seems a personal loan or high limit credit card with a 0% offer could be more useful there. 

[Anonymous]

I was in the same situation before, where I needed an installment loan to strengthen my report.

SelfLender was something I tried but it reported as a secured tradeline and didn't have the effect that I wanted, so I withdrew my deposit and asked them to delete the tradeline, and they did. It wasn't worth the hassle. What I ended up doing was going to my bank, US Bank, and talking to a banker and explaining to them that I needed a bonafide installment loan on my record because it would help me secure better credit in the future. She asked what I had in mind and I asked her for a $300 loan over one year and she didn't hesitate to do it.

That's my advice. Ask your banker and explain why you want it and they usually will take care of you if they aren't taking much of a risk.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry, I think I asked this before but can't find it and the more I read the more confusing it gets. Is there a link or thread going on banks or CUS recommended for loans if you don't really need the loan and are willing to take a HP?  I am getting offers in the mail for personal loans from the banks I am already with for personal or consolidating although my utiilzation isn't even that high.

I'm not sure the SSL method is for me anymore.  If I  can get the docs I need then I will try the 1k for 1 year with NFCU. (working on it)

I just want my reports to look better. I think  my thin profile and some collections from 10 years ago are worse than my score which is in the mid 700s according to various websites.

I do not want a mortgage. I do not need a car loan. I might want a Care Credit type of card this year but that is another mess of confusion as it seems a personal loan or high limit credit card with a 0% offer could be more useful there. 

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Collections from ten years ago should not be appearing on your report.

I'd contact Alliant and ask them how much of a loan you need to get (size) in order to get a 60-month term.  That's what you want.  And then you want to turn pay off most of it off but keep it open the full term.

Even better would be a Navy Fed SSL.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry, I think I asked this before but can't find it and the more I read the more confusing it gets. Is there a link or thread going on banks or CUS recommended for loans if you don't really need the loan and are willing to take a HP?  I am getting offers in the mail for personal loans from the banks I am already with for personal or consolidating although my utiilzation isn't even that high.

I'm not sure the SSL method is for me anymore.  If I  can get the docs I need then I will try the 1k for 1 year with NFCU. (working on it)

I just want my reports to look better. I think  my thin profile and some collections from 10 years ago are worse than my score which is in the mid 700s according to various websites.

I do not want a mortgage. I do not need a car loan. I might want a Care Credit type of card this year but that is another mess of confusion as it seems a personal loan or high limit credit card with a 0% offer could be more useful there. 

---

I don't think you should get an installment loan for the purpose of improving your credit scores.

1. You'll get dinged with a new account

2. You'll get dinged with the inquiry

3. Your average age of accounts will be lowered

4. You can get a perfect score without an installment loan

5. The positive effect of adding a loan on FICO 8 and 9 is shortlived, and the mortgage scores won't give you anything for it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. You all did make some good points I didn't consider.

Taking up one of the offers from my local banks isn't worth the risk of it not even reporting correctly. I'll ask one of the people there that I know have been there forever and won't bs me.

NFCU is appealing because of the no hits but not sure the 1yr loan is appealing and the score dropping next summer when I might want my credit looking good. I thought the one year thing was more for a score boost when you are in the market for a car loan soon.

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

---

I don't think you should get an installment loan for the purpose of improving your credit scores.

1. You'll get dinged with a new accunt

2. You'll get dinged with the inquiry

3. Your average age of accounts will be lowered

4. You can get a perfect score without an installment loan

5. The positive effect of adding a loan on FICO 8 and 9 is shortlived, and the mortgage scores won't give you anything for it.

---

But isn't 1-3 going to happen anyway whenever I apply for any new credit in the future? Is a loan really worse than say getting in with Chase?

4 and 5. I can see how 4 is true.  I'm surprised I am in the mid 700s. I was thinking a loan would get me over 800. I was also thinking it could look  good for the future if I ever wanted a car loan.  I know when you go for a car loan that is one of the first things they ask you about..whether or not you've had any kind of loan before.

I'm always getting suggestions on various credit watching sites that a loan would help my scores.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks everyone. You all did make some good points I didn't consider.

Taking up one of the offers from my local banks isn't worth the risk of it not even reporting correctly. I'll ask one of the people there that I know have been there forever and won't bs me.

NFCU is appealing because of the no hits but not sure the 1yr loan is appealing and the score dropping next summer when I might want my credit looking good. I thought the one year thing was more for a score boost when you are in the market for a car loan soon.

---

@SouthJamaica wrote:

---

I don't think you should get an installment loan for the purpose of improving your credit scores.

1. You'll get dinged with a new accunt

2. You'll get dinged with the inquiry

3. Your average age of accounts will be lowered

4. You can get a perfect score without an installment loan

5. The positive effect of adding a loan on FICO 8 and 9 is shortlived, and the mortgage scores won't give you anything for it.

---

But isn't 1-3 going to happen anyway whenever I apply for any new credit in the future?

Yes except certain things don't trigger a hard pull inquiry.

"In the future" you will have an even higher score.

Is a loan really worse than say getting in with Chase?

Getting a credit card you can use is much better than getting a loan you don't need.

4 and 5. I can see how 4 is true.  I'm surprised I am in the mid 700s. I was thinking a loan would get me over 800. I was also thinking it could look  good for the future if I ever wanted a car loan.  I know when you go for a car loan that is one of the first things they ask you about..whether or not you've had any kind of loan before.

I wouldn't worry about that at all. If you have a great credit report you're going to get the lowest auto loan rate. You probably already qualify for that.

I'm always getting suggestions on various credit watching sites that a loan would help my scores.

Those are outright lies, meant to induce you to click on their advertisers' affiliate links.

Just remember this:  super high FICO scores come to people who have a long credit history. The less inquiries, the less new accounts, the older the average age of accounts.... the higher your score. The passage of time + no new credit = FICO score gold.

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 When you have  a real world reason to apply for something, go for it.

[Anonymous]

does alliant unsecured require proof of income, paystubs, all that?

[Anonymous]

It looks to me like you have all pretty new cards.  I started playing the credit card game 8-10 years ago.  It "only" took a few years but I was able to get my scores reliably into the 800s without too much effort.

I just set myself a reminder to ask for CLIs every 6 months for every card. 

In the early stages I would take a hard pull no problem.  I did them all at once hoping if they were all done within an hour of each other they would not notice the HP on the others but I don't know if that is a worthwhile strategy, but still easiest to get it all done at once and move on with life. 

Hard pulls don't hurt that much and the high credit line stays with you more or less permanently while the hard pulls age away.

Now I have a bunch of cards I use little or one or two for $2k per month and they all have lines in the $15-30k area.  I kind of hit a wall there, I do not earn enough for them to want to go any higher.

[Anonymous]

If you are really desperate to have a loan on your reports, get a personal loan to cover the expenses of a vacation. For those that don't save for one, if the rate of the loan is decent, it could be better than putting the vacation on a card.  I can tell you that you can have a decent credit report without having a loan.