Can someone please help explain why my wife's score dropped here?

[Anonymous]

My wife has no credit score at the beginning of the year. I added her onto a credit card of mine at the end of February . They backdated her to the opening date of the original account. I checked her on creditchecktotal March 25th. I was ecstatic. She had excellent credit of 743. Those results you can see here.

Here are the accounts she had open at that time 

O inquiries, 0 collections, 0 Public Records, 0 Late Payments. Nada. 

A few weeks later I checked again and now she was low. 668. Where she still stands to day. Image for the record. 

And list of accounts currently. 

Once again she stands currently at 0 inquiries, 0 collections, 0 late payments, it's all 0.

What exactly is the reason for this low score? And how can I get it back to that 743 number she was at first. Several of her secondary, non Fico-8 scores are in the 700s. But the Fico 8 here is specifically low. Despite having more available revolving credit to her.

Also does anyone know exactly why this would happen?

[KLEXH25]

So her only account is the AU? What are the stats of that account and has anything changed on that? Has she considered opening any new accounts in her own name?

[thornback]

Hi Elmaji,  welcome to the forums!

So, if I'm understanding correctly,  she currently has 2 AU accounts and no primary account?  And both AUs are showing 0% usage?   

So she's being penalized for having no primary accounts and for no revolving credit usage.  

She needs an account in her name.  Her first card will boost her score.   Letting a small balance report on her primary card to show usage will further boost her score.   

Your AU accounts served their purpose -- to give her enough history to generate a score immediately as opposed to waiting for a primary account to report for 6 months to generate a score.  But, apparently, the AUs -- with no activity -- are not enough to maintain the initial score that was calculated.    Now it's time for her to build her own credit file & history.  

[dragontears]

1. AU accounts can be ignored by FICO8 due to a anti abuse algorithm (to my knowledge no one has figured out what triggers it)
2. Having $0 balance on all cards is a scoring penalty
3. Having no open loans is a scoring penalty

My guess is that the anti abuse algorithm kicked in and reason 1 is why her score dropped.

[Vu]

Go do a prequalify for a Discover Card. Her file is thin but have no baddies. She should be able to get a nice SL with Discover.

[Anonymous]

If she applies for a card under her own name would the score they pull be the Fico 8? 

[thornback]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If she applies for a card under her own name would the score they pull be the Fico 8? 

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Depends on the creditor.   Some use FICO 8, others may use one of the FICO Bankcard score models,  or FICO 9,  or even an older model often used for mortgages.     When she narrows down her choices for apping,  you can either call the lender and ask which score / bureau they pull (and hope the CSR has a clue), or you can come back here and search the forums (the credit approval section) for data points on specific creditors -- we try to note which bureau and score was pulled each time we post about an approval (or denial).    

[Anonymous]

Go do a prequalify for a Discover Card. Her file is thin but have no baddies. She should be able to get a nice SL with Discover.

We did this and she only got pre-qualified for the Secured card. 

[thornback]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Go do a prequalify for a Discover Card. Her file is thin but have no baddies. She should be able to get a nice SL with Discover.

I did this and she only got pre-qualified for the Secured card. 

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First - there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a secured card as your first card -- so change that embarressed smily to a happy smily because everyone has to start somewhere. 

Disco will grow with her since it graduates to unsecured after 7-18 months (everyone is different when it comes to graduating -- but because she has a clean file, she'll probably graduate at the 7 month mark)... and it's really a great secured card -- she'll still be able to take advantage of some cash rewards and they treat their cardholders very well.    And you don't need a high limit,  FICO doesn't care about limits -- it cares about how you use that limit (utilization).    You can start with a low $200 limit and just charge $10 a month on it...   if she wants a higher limit down the line, then increase the deposit.   

[Anonymous]

I actually put her through several pre-qualifier checkers and AMEX prequalified her for a gold delta skymiles card, and cardmatch for the Capital One® QuicksilverOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One® Platinum Credit Card. 

Maybe I should get her one of these instead of a secured discover card?