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Thinking about file thickness

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Wrigley2172
Frequent Contributor

Thinking about file thickness

Hi all
I made a post just about a month ago for some advice on if I should open a second line. Members here said i should seek a CLI with disco and if thats enough no need ans thats what happened. My DP's are as follows

22 year old college student graduating with a BS in 2020
Dico gas/food card 3k line after a cli in March UTI is 5-10% month to month account is 2.5 years old
AU on dads Cap1 rewards card "i think this became the platinum card"
12k a year income with a TU score of 754 from Disco, im unsure of my other scores at the moment but would purchase a report before applying for anything.

My question for you all today is after reading so many posts about ideal scoring being 3 revolvers and 1 installment ive got to thinking if May/June would be a good time to open a line or two before I take out my 20K student loan for my final year of college. My purpose would mostly be file thickness for later in life and scoring so SL isnt a huge issue. Ive been looking at AMEX but I also bank with chase and there are branches everywhere in Illinois around me so I could also go inbranch and ask for offers when the time came. Any thought are very much appreciated
Affinity Cash Rewards: 15,000
Amex BCP: 30,000
Amex Platinum
BCU Cash Rewards: 18,000
Discover it: 14,700
TJX Mastercard: 2,500
Venmo: 10,000
>>23k student loan-payed off
Ficos 8's ~790
Inq: EX:1 EQ:1 TU:1
Message 1 of 11
10 REPLIES 10
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Thinking about file thickness

I can't see any reason not to do it.

 

I think true optimal scoring the 3 revolvers + 1 installment line may not hold weight anymore, really even for EQ FICO 8 it's 4 revolvers and 1 installment line to say nothing of the mortgage scores.

 

Ultimately in any credit building exercise you want to establish a few accounts quickly and then just them all age; sure you can do it more slowly but time is the only constraint really when it comes to credit building, so may as well make the best use of it as you can... mathematically more accounts sooner get you into the higher scoring tiers sooner.




        
Message 2 of 11
Wrigley2172
Frequent Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness

@Revelate
Alrighty makes sense then, what would you recommend, should i try for chase freedom and get a 5%-er? Or go for a more thin profile friendly lender like amex or cap 1
Also how would you think the CLI from Discover would take to report? Id like to wait until that shows up on reports before opening anything new
Affinity Cash Rewards: 15,000
Amex BCP: 30,000
Amex Platinum
BCU Cash Rewards: 18,000
Discover it: 14,700
TJX Mastercard: 2,500
Venmo: 10,000
>>23k student loan-payed off
Ficos 8's ~790
Inq: EX:1 EQ:1 TU:1
Message 3 of 11
Gmood1
Super Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness

If in your shoes I'd consider Amex,
BofA and Citi.
For sure, start now and build your profile. Down the road, you'll be glad you did.
Message 4 of 11
Wrigley2172
Frequent Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness @Gmood1


Will do then I appreciate the response. Any advice on how to make myself look pretty before applying? My payment is due on the 19th every month and my statement closes on the 24th. Should I zero out the account since its my only one? Or have something small $50 or so report
Affinity Cash Rewards: 15,000
Amex BCP: 30,000
Amex Platinum
BCU Cash Rewards: 18,000
Discover it: 14,700
TJX Mastercard: 2,500
Venmo: 10,000
>>23k student loan-payed off
Ficos 8's ~790
Inq: EX:1 EQ:1 TU:1
Message 5 of 11
thornback
Senior Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness @Gmood1


@Wrigley2172 wrote:

Will do then I appreciate the response. Any advice on how to make myself look pretty before applying? My payment is due on the 19th every month and my statement closes on the 24th. Should I zero out the account since its my only one? Or have something small $50 or so report

Let something small report.  All cards (or, in your case, your only card) reporting a $0 balance will result in a FICO score ding to the tune of 10-20 points (profile dependent) for 'no revolving credit usage'.     Always have at least one card reporting a balance.   

 

Also -- your Disco CLI (congrats!) should report along with your statement balance on the 24th. 

Personal Aphorism:"Forget What You Feel, Remember What You Deserve"
Starting FICO 8s | 09/2017: EX 641 ✦ EQ 634 ✦ TU 647
Current FICO 8s | 04/2022: EX 796 ✦ EQ 793 ✦ TU 790
Current FICO 9s | 04/2022: EX 790 ✦ EQ 788 ✦ TU 782
2022 Goal Score | 800s

My AAoA:
4.6 years not incl. AU / 4.9 years incl. AU
My AoOA: 9.2 years not incl. AU / 11.2 years incl. AU
Inquiries: EX 0/12 ✦ EQ 0/12 ✦ TU 0/12
Report Status: Clean
Garden Status:  


Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.
Message 6 of 11
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness @Gmood1

I try not to think of thickness but on how best to use what i gotSmiley Wink
Message 7 of 11
Wrigley2172
Frequent Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness

Thats a fair enough statement hahah I suppose I should also add Im considering adding the RIGHT card not just ANY card😝 its hard to think of everything when starting a new post eh? Luckily for me 2% on gas/food and 1% on everything else isnt a whole lot so im also considering which card from amex/citi with pre quals ect
Affinity Cash Rewards: 15,000
Amex BCP: 30,000
Amex Platinum
BCU Cash Rewards: 18,000
Discover it: 14,700
TJX Mastercard: 2,500
Venmo: 10,000
>>23k student loan-payed off
Ficos 8's ~790
Inq: EX:1 EQ:1 TU:1
Message 8 of 11
Wrigley2172
Frequent Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness

Also I just wanna say this while I have the chance....
*ahem* WINNER! AVERAGE JOES!👉👉
Affinity Cash Rewards: 15,000
Amex BCP: 30,000
Amex Platinum
BCU Cash Rewards: 18,000
Discover it: 14,700
TJX Mastercard: 2,500
Venmo: 10,000
>>23k student loan-payed off
Ficos 8's ~790
Inq: EX:1 EQ:1 TU:1
Message 9 of 11
SouthJamaica
Mega Contributor

Re: Thinking about file thickness


@Wrigley2172 wrote:
Hi all
I made a post just about a month ago for some advice on if I should open a second line. Members here said i should seek a CLI with disco and if thats enough no need ans thats what happened. My DP's are as follows

22 year old college student graduating with a BS in 2020
Dico gas/food card 3k line after a cli in March UTI is 5-10% month to month account is 2.5 years old
AU on dads Cap1 rewards card "i think this became the platinum card"
12k a year income with a TU score of 754 from Disco, im unsure of my other scores at the moment but would purchase a report before applying for anything.

My question for you all today is after reading so many posts about ideal scoring being 3 revolvers and 1 installment ive got to thinking if May/June would be a good time to open a line or two before I take out my 20K student loan for my final year of college. My purpose would mostly be file thickness for later in life and scoring so SL isnt a huge issue. Ive been looking at AMEX but I also bank with chase and there are branches everywhere in Illinois around me so I could also go inbranch and ask for offers when the time came. Any thought are very much appreciated

If you've had your Discover card a year, I would check at your Chase branch for a Chase preapproval for Freedom or Freedom Ultimate, and if you're preapproved, go for it. You don't need more than 2 cards.


Total revolving limits 586020 (520820 reporting) FICO 8: EQ 710 TU 707 EX 708




Message 10 of 11
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