Great credit history. No loans. No debt. Yet, a crappy credit score. Help!

[Slabenstein]

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@kasniak wrote:

And, Slabenstein, you wrote:  

My wife has three credit cards on her report (one is AU), and her score increased each time one was added.

What is an AU??

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Authorized user.  Most credit card issuers let you add additional users to the card.  Those authroized users can make charges to the card but aren't responsible for them.   If an issuer 1) reports authorized user tradelines to the credit bureaus and 2) includes the credit history for the tradeline in that reporting (most do both, but not all do), then being added as an authorized user to a card with low utilization and clean payment history can give a score bump to a thin and/or young profile.

[kasniak]

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@Slabenstein wrote:

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@kasniak wrote:

And, Slabenstein, you wrote:  

My wife has three credit cards on her report (one is AU), and her score increased each time one was added.

What is an AU??

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Authorized user.  Most credit card issuers let you add additional users to the card.  Those authroized users can make charges to the card but aren't responsible for them.   If an issuer 1) reports authorized user tradelines to the credit bureaus and 2) includes the credit history for the tradeline in that reporting (most do both, but not all do), then being added as an authorized user to a card with low utilization and clean payment history can give a score bump to a thin and/or young profile.

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ok.  I actually have my son, whose 20 years old and away at college, on my credit card as an authorized user.

[kasniak]

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@FicoMike0 wrote:

P.P.S. If you have an experian 783 and the others are 660, I predict the former is fico8 the latter vantage 3.  When you get Equifax and transunion fico8 scores, they'll likely be mid 700 or better. The difference is that vantage doesn't count closed accounts in credit age, fico does. Like me, you probably have a closed account or two that have long history. Once you get all three fico8 scores, you'll probably be happy with them and forget this credit hacking nonsense.

Again, keep us posted, we love this stuff!

If you want another hobby, ask about churning.

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Hey there FICO Mike.  Does it matter that my experian score (which is actually 763), was produced through (or after I enrolled in) "Experian Boost"?  Is my Experian score and the Experian Boost score one and the same??

[kasniak]

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@FicoMike0 wrote:

Like Horseshoez said. You need three cards, don't need to use them, except to keep them alive. As far as utilization, look up azeo on myfico. If it's not clear post again and we'll explain it. I just did the ssl trick, I got from 30 to 40 points. Again, look up ssl. I used penfed, they do it at $25 x term in months. Since you're young (to me) you might go 10 years, 120 x $25 = $3000. You end up borrowing your own money back, at 2%. You immediately prepay it to $250. You then have a loan for $250 with no payments due for 9+ years. Total interest is ~$25. It boosts your score for 10 years.

If this all seems silly, it's no more silly than worrying above a credit score when you have no need for credit. Welcome to the club.

Btw, I'm older than you. About 18 months ago I decided to get a credit card and found I was unscorabble. I had no credit, so I had no score. The five mortgages, many car loans and countless credit cards I paid off in the past are all still there, in the past.  More than ten years past and not on my present credit report.

If you're looking at vantage 3 scores, most would advise ignoring them. The scores that most consider important are fico8. There are like 28 different fico scores, but version 8 seems to be most popular. If you want to get a look at them try credit.com. They have a 7 day free trial. Sign up, play with it a couple of days and then cancel before day 7. 

Good luck, keep us posted. Any questions, just ask. There are some real credit wizards on here, you couldn't buy better help.

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Ok.  I looked up AZEO.  I googled it.  Looks like I am AZEO where I only have one account with a balance and nothing else.  But, the account typically has had a new balance each month above 9% becuase I didn't realize I should keep it lower.  I just thought as long as I pay it off in full next month when the bill arrives in the mail, I'm good.

So, I'm seriously considering opening a new card, but want to wait first until I find out more information from the dispute letter I mailed out.  Then, upon opening a new card, I know my score will go down again because I will have opened a new line of credit.

In addition to opening a new card, should I ask my current bank of my current credit card to raise my credit limit?  Will that help at all?  That should then lower my utilization rate.  --Just a thought.

[Slabenstein]

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@kasniak wrote:

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In addition to opening a new card, should I ask my current bank of my current credit card to raise my credit limit?  Will that help at all?  That should then lower my utilization rate.  --Just a thought.

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If the issuer of your card does SP CLIs, then, yeah, I'd ask for a CLI.  No cost to you, and, if approved, it gives you more room for lower utilization with normal card usage reporting.  I don't know what Citi's policy is on SP vs HP for CLI, but I'm sure others here have that info.

[kasniak]

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@Slabenstein wrote:

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@kasniak wrote:

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In addition to opening a new card, should I ask my current bank of my current credit card to raise my credit limit?  Will that help at all?  That should then lower my utilization rate.  --Just a thought.

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If the issuer of your card does SP CLIs, then, yeah, I'd ask for a CLI.  No cost to you, and, if approved, it gives you more room for lower utilization with normal card usage reporting.  I don't know what Citi's policy is on SP vs HP for CLI, but I'm sure others here have that info.

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I'm really not a financial person.  What is a SP CLI?  What is SP/HP??

[Slabenstein]

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@kasniak wrote:

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@Slabenstein wrote:

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@kasniak wrote:

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In addition to opening a new card, should I ask my current bank of my current credit card to raise my credit limit?  Will that help at all?  That should then lower my utilization rate.  --Just a thought.

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If the issuer of your card does SP CLIs, then, yeah, I'd ask for a CLI.  No cost to you, and, if approved, it gives you more room for lower utilization with normal card usage reporting.  I don't know what Citi's policy is on SP vs HP for CLI, but I'm sure others here have that info.

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I'm really not a financial person.  What is a SP CLI?  What is SP/HP??

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SP = soft pull

HP = hard pull

CLI = credit limit increase

You want the credit limit increase application to be a soft pull so you don't incur an inquiry, as you would in a hard pull.

[FicoMike0]

@kasniak  wow a lot going on here. You must be overwhelmed. I identify with you, 18 months ago I was unscorable. As for myfico not scoring you, I have no idea, you seem scorable to me and experian agrees. Ex boost is a deal where they give scoring credit for noncredit things like utility bills. It's still a valid fico8 score, if the boost worked, it will be a little higher than Equifax and transunion, maybe. I've never tried it. Here's a site to look around,

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/

There's a lot there, he rates credit cards as " best for"... fill in the blank, anything you want one for. I think you'll qualify for just about any. Myself, I like sign up bonuses. No I don't really need the money either, is a hobby. I just collected $500 for a checking at us Bank and signed on for their altitude connect visa, for another $500. I dislike a hobby that costs money, I like this better. Why did I apply for a travel card when I travel seldom? Drumroll, for $500! Theyre going to pay for my global entry/tsa prepass too. When I do travel, I won't miss the lines. After I collect, I'll probably call them and ask to switch to another card. Another card I like is wells Fargo active cash visa. Pays 2% back on everything, $200 bonus for spending $500 in 3 months. And they give you a free fico score.

There is a possibly of losing a few points with a new card. Someone pointed out that you will be gaining a few from more accounts, might be a wash. 

I saw someone covered hp vs sp. Every hp hurts your score a little, but ages out over a year. Many banks only pull one bureau. Capone pulls all three, I just found that amex pulls ex and tu. In addition to the score drop, some banks will turn you down if you've had too many recent hps. If you find two cards you want, you might do a little spree, apply for both the same day. If they pull different bureaus, neither will know about the other. Oh always use the prequalification option if available. They do a soft pull, then tell you if you have a good chance of approval. No guarantee of you get the pre, but a no is a no, so don't wast a hp.

[FicoMike0]

so much to cover. Here's a link that tells you which bank pulls what.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/The-quot-Which-Banks-Pull-Which-Report-For-Ap...

You're right, with one account you are azeo. You want to control the balance that posts to be less than 9%. You do that by finding out when it posts and paying it down a day or two before. Of course pic before the due date. Special note, never let it post zero ( I know this sounds stupid) or you'll lose about 15 points.

[kasniak]

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@FicoMike0 wrote:

so much to cover. Here's a link that tells you which bank pulls what.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/The-quot-Which-Banks-Pull-Which-Report-For-Ap...

You're right, with one account you are azeo. You want to control the balance that posts to be less than 9%. You do that by finding out when it posts and paying it down a day or two before. Of course pic before the due date. Special note, never let it post zero ( I know this sounds stupid) or you'll lose about 15 points.

Thanks FICOMike!

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