All There is Left to Do is Age?

[TSlop]

I'm trying to raise all my scores up beyond 800. I understand that each model can vary wildly, but my by Experian one is bugging me (maybe it's just the model). Below are my scores and the model, if I can determine it. Note: they are all provided by my credit cards.

757 - PSECU - Ex FICO (6/3/2020)

826 - Amex (MyCredit Guide) - TU VantageScore 3.0 (6/5/2020)

776 - Amex (CC) - Ex FICO Score 8 (5/23/2020)

803 - BoA - TU FICO Score 8 (5/1/2020)

803 - Discover - TU FICO Score 8 (5/14/2020)

810 - Chase (Credit Journey) - Ex VantageScore 3.0 (6/3/2020)

798 - PNC - Ex FICO Score 9 (5/2/2020)

Some background:

• I've never carried over a balance on a credit card.
• I do carry balances on 0% financing accounts (currently only active one is on my Google Synchrony account) and pay them off before they expire.
• Quick history: First card 2006, second in 2011 and then 2014 was my third. The next was in 2017, and from then on, I've had 9 new accounts (6 credit cards and 3 financing accounts) over the past 3 years after discovering this website.
• I always let the statement cut and pay in full. Occasionally, if I make a large purchase, I might push a payment or 2 before the statement cuts, but I almost always let it cut with whatever purchases are on it and then pay.
• I am currently at less than 1% usage on my credit.
• I have a 30-year mortgage that started in October of 2017 and a 7-year car loan that was started in April 2019. I've had multiple car loans since 2006.
• No derogatories.

Maybe the first step is to obtain my real credit report and see what is in it. But is there anything really that I can do besides letting them age? I feel like I'm doing everything right and there is nothing left I can do. I don't lose sleep over this, but I just am hoping to confirm I'm doing everything I can to keep climbing upwards. My current plan is to app at most once every 6 months to stay under 5/24. I don't app willy nilly, and any card I get has to provide me some use beyond the SUB. If that might hinder my ambitions, please let me know.

[Anonymous]

Any installment loans?

[TSlop]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Any installment loans?

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Oops, I forgot to add loans. I have a 30 year mortage started on October 2017 and a new (used) car loan started in April 2019. I've only had car loans and a mortgage (never any personal loans or student debt). I'll add these to my post.

[Anonymous]

Toss out the VantageScores...for your purpose they have no relevance and it is only making the data you presented confusing.

I think it would be a good idea to spend $1 on a CreditCheckTotal membership  trial to get all three FICO 8 scores pulled at the same time.  As of now you don't have Equifax scores listed.

Why the large variance between TU and EX?  Do you have accounts reporting on one bureau that don't report on the other?  Any derogatories?

[VanderSnoot]

To maximize scores, you need to add an installment loan and then stop applying for any new credit for at least a year (maybe two). The installment loan will boost your credit mix and no apps means your AAoA will increase and you won't get dinged for inquiries and young accounts. Do this long enough and you'll reach 850s/900s.

That said, your goal is just to get over 800 (not sure why you want ALL scores over 800; it doesn't sound like you have a particular goal, you just want the security of knowing that all scores are in the excellent range, perhaps so that you have the flexibility to apply for a car or home loan and know you'll get a good rate).

With that it mind, here's my advice:

1) Installment loan - don't get one unless you were already looking for one. I might be in the minority on this, but I'm uncomfortable applying for credit I don't need just to pursue a credit score which I also don't have an immediate need for. An exception: if I were planning to buy a house in 13+ months, I would go ahead and get an SSL (cheaper) or car loan (only if needed). 13 months ensures the inquiry isn't scorable, the AoYA is over 1 year, and I've regained the loss in points that occurs immediately after opening a new account.

2) Stop applying for new credit. Some models are very sensitive to new accounts, such that even timing your applications 6 months apart will depress scores. Unless you have an immediate use for a new account, let your accounts age to at least 1 year.

3) Remember that scores aren't everything. The score is an indicator, but it is not determinitive. Lenders do not make decisions based on these scores, they make decisions based on your whole profile and their internal algorythms. The scores you see indicate probability, but they do not provide guarantees. This board is filled with stories from people with > 800 scores who are denied and stories from people with < 700 who are accepted. The high scores who are denied always ask "Why me?" Now you know: because a score > 800 doesn't mean you automatically meet a lender's underwriting criteria.

EDIT: just saw your response after I posted and am adding this post script. Ignore 1 and focus on 2 and 3.

[TSlop]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Toss out the VantageScores...for your purpose they have no relevance and it is only making the data you presented confusing.

I think it would be a good idea to spend $1 on a CreditCheckTotal membership  trial to get all three FICO 8 scores pulled at the same time.  As of now you don't have Equifax scores listed.

Why the large variance between TU and EX?  Do you have accounts reporting on one bureau that don't report on the other?  Any derogatories?

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I do not know why there is a large variance between the scores; that is part of the reason I posted this. I faintly recall that I have made a thread in the past about it and I believe people mentioned it was just the model(s). I suppose I need to research VantageScore.

No derogatories. I was 2 or 3 days late once on a PNC payment somewhere around 2008. I sent my payment in the mail one or 2 days before it was due and signed up for auto-payment with it.... and they billed me a late fee... and then auto paid it. I forget if I called to get it taken off.

I do need to get my actual reports so that is on the agenda. I'll update/reply to this post when I get my 3 credit reports.

[Anonymous]

Other than letting them age, I think the only thing would be to decrease UT on the two installment loans. Passing a certain threshold would net a few points possibly pushing all 3 CB's just over 800.

In all honestly though you're so close that I wouldn't agonize over it, it will happen naturally before you know it. Not big difference between 790 and 810 anyways, for the most part. 

[Anonymous]

You need your three FICO 8 credit scores, not reports.  You don't have an Equifax score so you're missung a significant bit of data.

[SouthJamaica]

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@TSlop wrote:

I'm trying to raise all my scores up beyond 800. I understand that each model can vary wildly, but my by Experian one is bugging me (maybe it's just the model). Below are my scores and the model, if I can determine it. Note: they are all provided by my credit cards.

757 - PSECU - Ex FICO (6/3/2020)

826 - Amex (MyCredit Guide) - TU VantageScore 3.0 (6/5/2020)

776 - Amex (CC) - Ex FICO Score 8 (5/23/2020)

803 - BoA - TU FICO Score 8 (5/1/2020)

803 - Discover - TU FICO Score 8 (5/14/2020)

810 - Chase (Credit Journey) - Ex VantageScore 3.0 (6/3/2020)

798 - PNC - Ex FICO Score 9 (5/2/2020)

Some background:

• I've never carried over a balance on a credit card.
• I do carry balances on 0% financing accounts (currently only active one is on my Google Synchrony account) and pay them off before they expire.
• Quick history: First card 2006, second in 2011 and then 2014 was my third. The next was in 2017, and from then on, I've had 9 new accounts (6 credit cards and 3 financing accounts) over the past 3 years after discovering this website.
• I always let the statement cut and pay in full. Occasionally, if I make a large purchase, I might push a payment or 2 before the statement cuts, but I almost always let it cut with whatever purchases are on it and then pay.
• I am currently at less than 1% usage on my credit.
• I have a 30-year mortgage that started in October of 2017 and a 7-year car loan that was started in April 2019.

Maybe the first step is to obtain my real credit report and see what is in it. But is there anything really that I can do besides letting them age? I feel like I'm doing everything right and there is nothing left I can do. I don't lose sleep over this, but I just am hoping to confirm I'm doing everything I can to keep climbing upwards. My current plan is to app at most once every 6 months to stay under 5/24. I don't app willy nilly, and any card I get has to provide me some use beyond the SUB. If that might hinder my ambitions, please let me know.

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1. Stop looking at Vantage scores, they are not meaningful.

2. You won't maximize your revolving utilization by letting statements cut and then paying them off. The statement balance is usually the reported balance. Certainly that is so for Amex, BOA, Discover, and Chase, except that Chase also reports mid-cycle when  you pay the account down to zero.

3. I don't know what you mean by a "0% financing account" but if you mean a consumer financing type of thing, it is  -- from a purely scoring perspective -- best to avoid those.

4. You say you are at "1% usage" but FICO "utilization" isn't really usage, it's based only on the reported balances, which might or might not reflect your actual usage.

5. Your installment loans are fine.

6. Aging is the way to go.

7. If you really want your scores to keep going up, then forget about applying for anything new until your scores have reached perfect scores.  Every time you apply for something, you get one or more inquiries, reset  your age of newest account, and lower your average age of accounts. 

8.  Of course, if you want to take a less radical view of scores, and just be happy to have good scores so that you can get good credit offerings, that's up to you. We each have our own personal priorities.

9. And as to where to get your scores, the gold standard is the full 3-bureau report on this site. I use the term "gold standard" advisedly; it's the best, but it's also the most expensive.

[TSlop]

@SouthJamaica What I meant by 0% financing account is things like my Wolf Furniture, Google, and Dell accounts. I use those to pay off larger purchases that I don't feel like shelling out lump sums. As you mentioned, from a purely scoring standpoint, these will hurt me since they are new accounts at each new business.

Thank you all for the replies. I will have to get my 3 credit reports to see what is going on and update my post, if need be, but I think I have enough information to know what I plan to do. I probably should have had them in hand before this post, but I previously was relying on all these free credit card ones.