I don't know about you guys, but I get great satisfaction over improving my credit profile and scores. Watching the scores go up, and knowing I can do better makes me push and gives me something to work towards. It gives me a goal.
but I've often wondered... what happens when I hit 850? Or even 800+?
They say anything over 800 is basically pointless, it would just be for personal satisfaction at that point.
those of you with 850 scores, once you hit 850, and you found you hit the end of the road, there was nothing left to work for because you hit perfection. Did you find that you were suddenly missing something? Like a huge goal of yours got hit and now it's gone?
I'm sure the feeling of hitting 850 is probably amazing, but I'm sure it wears off pretty quickly and then you are left with no where to go. Have any of you ever thought to yourself, man I kinda want to miss a payment so my score drops and I can work towards perfection again ( I don't mean you were actually considering doing this, but just like a passing thought, like huh, it would be nice to have this piece of my life back?)
I'll also include anyone who's close to 850, say over 800, do you find yourself wondering what happens when you hit 850? Did you find that you started to lose some of your motivation as your score got higher? The kind of situation where you say to yourself, well I already have an 800, what's the point of going any further?
@Cblough93 wrote:I don't know about you guys, but I get great satisfaction over improving my credit profile and scores. Watching the scores go up, and knowing I can do better makes me push and gives me something to work towards. It gives me a goal.
but I've often wondered... what happens when I hit 850? Or even 800+?
They say anything over 800 is basically pointless, it would just be for personal satisfaction at that point.
those of you with 850 scores, once you hit 850, and you found you hit the end of the road, there was nothing left to work for because you hit perfection. Did you find that you were suddenly missing something? Like a huge goal of yours got hit and now it's gone?
I'm sure the feeling of hitting 850 is probably amazing, but I'm sure it wears off pretty quickly and then you are left with no where to go. Have any of you ever thought to yourself, man I kinda want to miss a payment so my score drops and I can work towards perfection again ( I don't mean you were actually considering doing this, but just like a passing thought, like huh, it would be nice to have this piece of my life back?)
I'll also include anyone who's close to 850, say over 800, do you find yourself wondering what happens when you hit 850? Did you find that you started to lose some of your motivation as your score got higher? The kind of situation where you say to yourself, well I already have an 800, what's the point of going any further?
Interesting question, @Cblough93. I've hit 850's multiple times on various credit score models and my scores have been hovering in the 800 to 850 range despite adding new cards and accounts the past several years. But no, I can say I don't give up or feel unmotivated. I do want to maintain what I worked towards, that's for sure! But my credit is to use, and using it means there will be continued ebbs and flows. The only way to get to 850 and stay there is to not ever add new cards or inquiries (See my friend - @Thomas_Thumb). The problem is that once you no longer have any installment debt (no car payment or mortgage), your FICO will tend to fall again to some extent. Of course, I would never keep an installment debt just for that reason, and scores won't fall to where I still don't have exceptional credit as long as I continue to use my credit cards. There's more to managing a credit file than the FICO score. I enjoy seeing how my scores react as I make changes to my lineup. I enjoy getting a new card or SUB, or learning about a new lender. I enjoy getting some awesome targeted rewards or offers. Continuing to optimize rewards, closing or consolidating old accounts, or asking for credit limit increases to increase individual or aggregate limits are all other parts of managing my credit that I also enjoy.
At one time, both my EQ and EX were at 850, while my TU was 848. I couldn't figure out what held my TU down, but it didn't bother me. It was a milestone and felt good. My scores were in the 680's when I started reading our forum.
Very interesting,
I have found that humans like instant gratification, we like to do things and see results, and I have also found that hitting goals can feels amazing, but that feeling doesn't always last. It fades and we are left with 1 less goal. And for people on this forum, achieving a great score is a huge goal for us. and so I've often wondered this.
when we get to 850 and we stop seeing results. Human nature would dictate that we would lose motivation. Gratitude helps, knowing that you are in a great position that most people would die for, but it takes a great deal of gratitude to never want more. That is something very few achieve and so it's natural that when we hit 850, we want more.
I believe it depends on if you are seeking a good profile and score.
.or.
Get addicted to the hobby of rewards, subs, new cards, and learning
scoring intricacies.
I found this forum and already had 850 Ficos.
Started getting cards for rewards and benefits.
Discovered that in my opinion is was a lot of work for
very little gain.
So I did burn out, but not with profile or scores,
just chasing cards, and rewards.
Scores and profile are almost automatic, easy to get bored.
Always new cards, gains in rewards to be had, new offers,
more Cl increases to ask for, new subs to chase.
If it becomes a hobby it might last for a while 
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:
@Cblough93 wrote:Very interesting,
when we get to 850 and we stop seeing results. Human nature would dictate that we would lose motivation. Gratitude helps, knowing that you are in a great position that most people would die for, but it takes a great deal of gratitude to never want more. That is something very few achieve and so it's natural that when we hit 850, we want more.
When credit score milestones are reached sometimes you invent new ones to keep things interesting.
One goal I set was getting a trifecta of bankcard Fico 8 scores of 900. Acquired 900 on TU and EX but only reached 892 on EQ.
Next objective was to see how low my scores would go after paying off and closing my mortgate. Spiked revolving utilization on a card and in aggregate to help drive down score. Good score movement with interesting differences in results among the Fico models.
A subsequent goal was to determine if 850 could be regained on Classic Fico 8/9 and how long it would take - with no open loan. Achieved 850 on EX but scores languish in the 844-845 range on EQ and TU
I have no motivation to take out a SSL in an effort to regain 850 on EQ or TU. My goal now is just to maintain clean, blemish free credit files. That will likely keep my scores in the 800s.
I would like to determine utilization levels necessary to take my scores below 700. I would also like to see impact of reporting +90 % UT on just 1 card for a month. Unfortunately, I can't afford that kind of spend.
Great points and examples, @Thomas_Thumb. In a similar vein, I've experimented to a degree with FICO variables and posted about the results. Keeping 850's across the board just isn't a goal any longer as I've come to realize that is likely unsustainable unless one never applies for new credit and never works themselves out of debt. Both are unrealistic assumptions and require putting FICO before Finances, something we don't suggest to our members on this forum. On the other hand, keeping FICOs in the exceptional 800 to 850 range while paying off debt and still applying for new credit is completely attainable.
@Aim_High wrote:
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:
@Cblough93 wrote:Very interesting,
when we get to 850 and we stop seeing results. Human nature would dictate that we would lose motivation. Gratitude helps, knowing that you are in a great position that most people would die for, but it takes a great deal of gratitude to never want more. That is something very few achieve and so it's natural that when we hit 850, we want more.
When credit score milestones are reached sometimes you invent new ones to keep things interesting.
One goal I set was getting a trifecta of bankcard Fico 8 scores of 900. Acquired 900 on TU and EX but only reached 892 on EQ.
Next objective was to see how low my scores would go after paying off and closing my mortgate. Spiked revolving utilization on a card and in aggregate to help drive down score. Good score movement with interesting differences in results among the Fico models.
A subsequent goal was to determine if 850 could be regained on Classic Fico 8/9 and how long it would take - with no open loan. Achieved 850 on EX but scores languish in the 844-845 range on EQ and TU
I have no motivation to take out a SSL in an effort to regain 850 on EQ or TU. My goal now is just to maintain clean, blemish free credit files. That will likely keep my scores in the 800s.
I would like to determine utilization levels necessary to take my scores below 700. I would also like to see impact of reporting +90 % UT on just 1 card for a month. Unfortunately, I can't afford that kind of spend.
Great points and examples, @Thomas_Thumb. In a similar vein, I've experimented to a degree with FICO variables and posted about the results. Keeping 850's across the board just isn't a goal any longer as I've come to realize that is likely unsustainable unless one never applies for new credit and never works themselves out of debt. Both are unrealistic assumptions and require putting FICO before Finances, something we don't suggest to our members on this forum. On the other hand, keeping FICOs in the exceptional 800 to 850 range while paying off debt and still applying for new credit is completely attainable.
Recently, I've contemplated adding a new installment loan to shore up my credit mix in anticipation of my last closed mortgage loan falling off my reports. With no open loans, FICO8 850s are already hard to come by unless I don't apply for any new accounts for over a year. With the prospect of no loans at all showing on my credit reports, I started becoming paranoid about needing to look for some type of loan to open. I now realize that this is clearly a case of FICOs over finances. I should just practice gratitude for not financially needing any installment loans at this point in my life. After so many years of chasing/reaching/losing 850s, it's time for me to enjoy retirement from work life as well as my pursuit of 850s.
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:I would like to determine utilization levels necessary to take my scores below 700. I would also like to see impact of reporting +90 % UT on just 1 card for a month. Unfortunately, I can't afford that kind of spend.
Sure you could if you did that evil thing : Lower a cards CL.
You just found that good reason and discovered the bad side of high CL's