Credit age and Fico

[Grigs34]

I've had car loans, CCs, GSLs etc since I was in my late teens/early 20s. I'm currently in my 50s and my credit history is only showing the last 5 years. Why would that be and how important is it? 

[Varsity_Lu]

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@Grigs34 wrote:

I've had car loans, CCs, GSLs etc since I was in my late teens/early 20s. I'm currently in my 50s and my credit history is only showing the last 5 years. Why would that be and how important is it? 

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Closed accounts don't stay on your report forever, they drop off 7-10 years after they close.  For example, I had a mortgage from 2003-2007.  It no longer shows up on my credit report.  I also have an old Lowe's credit card that was opened in 2003.  It closed in 2015, but it still shows up on two of my credit reports and helps me with the age metrics of my credit score.  That same closed account doesn't show up on one of my reports which changes my average age and age of oldest account metrics.  If you look at my signature, you can probably guess which reports have that account and which one doesn't.  There is a 20-30 point difference in my score due to this one factor.  Since it's coming up on 10 years since it closed, I am expecting that old account to drop off my other two reports in the next 6 months which will drop them down to the 770-780 range. Might need to get a fake loan like @FicoMike0 to boost my score.

[Grigs34]

First of all, thank you I really appreciate the response. I've closed out cards as I've gotten better rates but it sounds like I should keep any existing cards whether I need them or not if I want my history to age. That makes sense. I've always been taught that credit history follows you forever, so the lack of my older accounts was somewhat confusing.

Thank you so much for the info.

[FlaDude]

Is this for all three bureaus? Where are you getting your reports? If they are not from annualcreditreport.com, I would suggest pulling all three from there.

[FlaDude]

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@Grigs34 wrote:

First of all, thank you I really appreciate the response. I've closed out cards as I've gotten better rates but it sounds like I should keep any existing cards whether I need them or not if I want my history to age. That makes sense. I've always been taught that credit history follows you forever, so the lack of my older accounts was somewhat confusing.

Thank you so much for the info.

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Closed cards (and loans) typically stay on your reports for 10 years. Age of oldest account and average age of accounts are two metrics used in FICO scoring, so many people keep credit cards (as long as they don't have an annual fee) even though they aren't their go to cards any more. As long as you pay in full every month, the interest rate really doesn't matter.

[Varsity_Lu]

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@FlaDude wrote:

Is this for all three bureaus? Where are you getting your reports? If they are not from annualcreditreport.com, I would suggest pulling all three from there.

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I think you are asking about my situation. It was weird because I had like 3 or 4 old Synchrony cards (Lowe's, Lumber Liquidators, Trek, Amazon) that were like one time used things just for one purchase. All of them are still reporting on Equifax and Experian, but a few months ago they all disappeared from TransUnion. Like, all in one day. My score took a hit that day, my friend. I dont use annual credit report.com. I get my reports directly from the bureau or from MF, AmEx, CreditWise, etc.

[Patient957]

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@Varsity_Lu wrote:

I dont use annual credit report.com. I get my reports directly from the bureau or from MF, AmEx, CreditWise, etc.

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Reports from annualcreditreport.com do come directly from the bureaus.  Except the ACR dot com reports are more complete than the ones you can get elsewhere, even more complete than what you can get if you start from the bureau's own website.

What you get if you go to experian.com, for example, is what Expirian chooses to give you.  What you get from ACR dot com is what the bureaus are required by law to give you.

[marillion]

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@Patient957 wrote:

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@Varsity_Lu wrote:

I dont use annual credit report.com. I get my reports directly from the bureau or from MF, AmEx, CreditWise, etc.

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Reports from annualcreditreport.com do come directly from the bureaus.  Except the ACR dot com reports are more complete than the ones you can get elsewhere, even more complete than what you can get if you start from the bureau's own website.

What you get if you go to experian.com, for example, is what Expirian chooses to give you.  What you get from ACR dot com is what the bureaus are required by law to give you.

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What about the report from myFICO?

[marillion]

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@Varsity_Lu wrote:

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@Grigs34 wrote:

I've had car loans, CCs, GSLs etc since I was in my late teens/early 20s. I'm currently in my 50s and my credit history is only showing the last 5 years. Why would that be and how important is it? 

---

Closed accounts don't stay on your report forever, they drop off 7-10 years after they close.  For example, I had a mortgage from 2003-2007.  It no longer shows up on my credit report.  I also have an old Lowe's credit card that was opened in 2003.  It closed in 2015, but it still shows up on two of my credit reports and helps me with the age metrics of my credit score.  That same closed account doesn't show up on one of my reports which changes my average age and age of oldest account metrics.  If you look at my signature, you can probably guess which reports have that account and which one doesn't.  There is a 20-30 point difference in my score due to this one factor.  Since it's coming up on 10 years since it closed, I am expecting that old account to drop off my other two reports in the next 6 months which will drop them down to the 770-780 range. Might need to get a fake loan like @FicoMike0 to boost my score.

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Can you please explain the "fake loan" comment?

[Kforce]

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@marillion wrote:

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Can you please explain the "fake loan" comment?

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I believe he is talking about what they call a "SSL" (Shared Secured loan).

You put money is a savings or checking and take a loan against that, then next week pay back 90+%.

That frees up the savings and then you make super small payments for years.

A loan that reports with low utilization and cost you almost nothing.

Only a couple of institutions have this type of loan.

Search SSL or Secured Loan for post.