I got this graph from this site.
So FICO max is 850. Breaking down the score in each category gave me an idea of the points per section.
Payment history : 297.5 points (35% of Max FICO)
Amounts Owed : 255 points (30% of Max FICO)
Length of credit history : 127.5 points (15% of Max FICO)
New Credit : 85 points (10% of Max FICO)
Types of credit used : 85 points (10% of Max FICO)
Does it really work this way(i ignored the 850 -300)
Do tell.
I'm sure our scores are a variations of those percentages and each of these percentages are boken down in their own sections which when combined gives us our FICO score.
@llecs wrote:Ditto. Let's say it did work (and I'll explain why it can't in a sec), the scale for a Classic FICO score is 300-850. If you calculated it that way, you can't assume there's 850 available points. There are only 550 available points to gain or lose (850-300=550), because you can't drop below 300, and you can't reach 0.
FICO scoring is extremely complex. I too did the same but doing that would only work if the formula was simple and linear. But it's not like that. It's complex because of scoring buckets and the diminishing returns/gains via various credit aspects.
Your score is dependent on everyone else's score and vice-versa (we are in the Matrix). You are compared directly to everyone else based on your scoring bucket. As a result of your bucket, the impact of baddies, inquiries, added TLs, utilization, etc. will always vary. For example, someone in a dirty bucket (as RobertEG calls it) will feel the impact of an added CA less than someone with a long and pristine history. In my bad credit days I had CAs get added and saw only a 10-20 loss. When my scores were in the mid-700s, I had a CA get added and lost just over 100 points. It will always vary from person to person. You and I can have the same exact baddie to drop tomorrow and we will see different results.
When you look at your credit report from myFICO, it will list what is hurts the most/least in order. That list will always vary from person to person based on their bucket. As an example, amounts owed factors 30% of your score, roughly. There are some stories in here (present company included) where util has dropped 90% down to less than 5% and have seen gains of 100+ (IME on EQ at least). There are others who do the same and only see 10-20, even with a great mix of credit. That 30% will slide up and down based on the scoring bucket and how well others are doing within that bucket. It'll never be a one-size fits all. Or as we say YMMV. Likewise, someone with only one CC will not see the same gains in points as util drops as someone with multiple CCs, due to the bucket but also a lack of a mix of credit.
Finally, there is the simple law of diminishing returns. I'm sure there is a mathmatical term, but I studied Econ so I'll use that. If you have 100 CAs reporting and lose one, you likely won't see any points gained. Why? Because 99 more still report. Let's say payment history represented 35% and all you have is 100 CAs reporting (plus one open TL just to keep the plausibility of a FICO score). If 35% of 550 is equal to 192.5 pts and 100CAs reporting would be 1.93 points each. If you dropped one CA, you won't gain 1 or 2 points. You'd likely gain no points. If you dropped 90 CAs tomorrow leaving 10 left, you still wouldn't gain 173-174 points. YOu'd likely gain zero points. In fact, you really wouldn't see any movement until the last 1-2-3-4 CAs are removed. This is one reason why the fixed percentage per category won't work. It'll always slide based on what is reporting in relation to everyone else.
llecs: that was a great expanation. If it was a easy as I thought, we would have figured out the formula eh 
This posting in my books is a sticky
@CS800 wrote:llecs: that was a great expanation. If it was a easy as I thought, we would have figured out the formula eh
This posting in my books is a sticky
Yep - another great post from llecs!
