Calculating Average Account Age

[Anonymous]

so how do we work out the closed accounts?

[llecs]

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smo65d11 wrote:
so how do we work out the closed accounts?

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Closed OC accounts, good and bad, factor into AAoA. Like with open accounts, you calculate it from the date the account was opened up through today to determine the age.

[Anonymous]

so an account with a 2/08 age on it translates to 13 months because it is 3/09 now, correct?  Or do I need to find out the actual DAY?

[llecs]

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smo65d11 wrote:
so an account with a 2/08 age on it translates to 13 months because it is 3/09 now, correct?  Or do I need to find out the actual DAY?

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Goes off the month. You'll see the date opened expressed as Month, Year. You'd subtract that from this month if the TL in question reported already for this month. You are on the right track. If it is a TL that doesn't report monthly (like a few COs I had), then base it on this month.

[Anonymous]

My average account age is a negative factor on my report , though they all have different age, My mortgage account was open in 1997, EQ says that is a neg factor. TU has a old paid hospital bill that they say is my oldest account age and it was open in 1999, It is due to drop of in a few months. I guess that will make my oldest account on EQ. It is hard to understand, because when I first took out the mortgage loan, in 97, The Company sold out three years latter and even though it was the same loan, EQ counts the first one. the other counts the new on on 2001. It late I can not think clearly, However, If account age is such a factor. Than why do accounts drop off. I had a account open in 1988 in my name. I have a few accounts in the early 90's at that time I thought paying an account in full was a good thing, So even though I have had a credit history for 29 years. I am only showing 12, or 13. . My loan will be paid off in  29 months. is that going to drop of in 7 years as well. If it does, I will be in trouble, because My identity was stolen,I spent years with only two accounts open, Because I was paying off all of the bad accounts that are now gone, I opened new account to rebuild my credit, where is that going to leave me than with my oldest account age at four years, after three decades of history? I feel as though I am waisting my time, as well as money. I am getting nowhere.    I know, I m confused as well. try to help me please.

[Anonymous]

Hello. Sorry to revive an old forum here but I had a question about the topic. 

The general consensus among veterans here tends to be that a TL has its age calculated from the date of opening through to todays date REGARDLESS OF WHEN YOU CLOSED THE ACCOUNT. That sounds like good news to me, since it means it doesnt really matter if I close my travel hacking credit cards a month after I get the reward. Yes, I know then that means the max they can age to is 10 years, plus however long i had them open, and yes I know all about credit utilization, thats not in question here. 

My question is, is there any official statement/terms/conditions that state this is the way TL age is calculated (namely from date of opening to todays date VERSUS date of opening to date of closing)? The myFICO summary on age limit simply points to the forums but what people say here is not officially sanctioned. Is there some officially sanctioned literature that states this as the case? Not saying I dont believe you guys, but its hard to believe what you hear about credit now adays since everybody seems to have their own idea of what hurts your credit and what doesnt (and there is even disagreement within this thread itself)!

[Anonymous]

Nothing in this forum is sanctioned.

The opinions given are just that based on experiences.

If things were sanctioned you would know how to dicipher how things are scored and I doubt we will ever really know.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Nothing in this forum is sanctioned.

The opinions given are just that based on experiences.

If things were sanctioned you would know how to dicipher how things are scored and I doubt we will ever really know.

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So you're saying its intentionally ambigous and therefore theres no official documentation at this level of detail (namely detailing how age of a TL is calculated)? 

[Anonymous]

How age of a tradeline is calculated is fine its basic math and that is proven by doing the math and making the comparison to your AAOA on your reports.

If they dont align then something happened with your math fugures.

[bobebob]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hey guys, I have a question, If I had opened a new CC account My Average age is about three yrs & change, my oldest account opened 7 yrs ago,my Ex:698. Now, should I expect a score increase because of the 7k TL? "My credit to debt ratio" has increased, or will it Decrease because My age is going to be shorten?

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Unfortunately, there's not enough information to answer your question.  The short answer is that the new account will hurt your average age, but will help your utilization.  The effect on your score will depend on which effect is greater.

To know how much it will hurt your average age we would need to know how many accounts you have as well as the age of each individual account.  Just knowing your current average age doesn't help.

To know how much it will help your utilization, we'd have to know your current balances and CLs.  Just knowing the fact that the new CL is $7K doesn't help here, either.

Message Edited by cheddar on 03-23-2008 09:10 PM

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In my experience, the new TL will win out in the short-term and lower your FICO (the exact drop is complex and impossible to predict).

However as the account ages, the lower util will eventually win out (the increased CL's also help).   So increasing your FICO score by increasing your available credit with a new TL is something of a longer term proposition - say the better part of a year to make a significant improvement.  This also assumes that you won't be using that increased limit.  If you use it, all bets are off.

A more immediate improvement in your FICO would be achieved by paying down your CC's to less than 10% util.  Also, if you can obtain credit line increases on existing accounts without a hard pull inquiry that will improve your score right away.