HOW DO I GET MY FICO ABOVE 700 AGAIN?

[Anonymous]

I'M at 667. My accounts are listed below. I also have some CO's falling off next year (6-7 depending on which report).

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'M at 667. My accounts are listed below. I also have some CO's falling off next year (6-7 depending on which report).

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Is that the entire list of charge offs and lates? All will be gone? If so, there's your solution. (if that is not the entire list of baddies, when all those are off, there's your likely answer)

Until then, and forever and always, pay on time, that's the best method. Utilization does play some role, but if you are borrowing for a reason, that's what debt is available for. Paying on time is the key.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

What's your total UTIL on all cards and what are the a balances of each individual card?

[Anonymous]

My UTL today is 12% but I just got plenty of increases that should bring that down to 5% or below next month if they all report.

I don't have any old debt that Is unpaid. All of the accounts listed below are my current credit limits. I have 1 card I am at 76% on but the rest are either paid off or at 35% or less.

[theonlyway]

all financial specialists I have conversed with suggest minimizing credit cards to under 5, and avoid all retail cards such as gap, Macy's, old navy, etc. I raised my score 200 points in a year from just keeping debt to credit under 20%, making payments on time if not early, keep oldest credit cards, dispute negatives over 7 years, never settle debts (always pay full amount). If those are all your charge cards, get rid of most of them. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you I am positive I'll see a big increase in July of next year when all of my old debt falls off I'm excited for that! I am going to close some store cards but I use some of them so I won't be closing them all. I enjoy the extra percentages off my purchase and the rewards I get for using them.

I think I have just been impatient and anxious to get my score above 700 again. Now I realize I just need to be patient and go with the flow. Although my Visas and MC limits are on the low side, I'll just leave them as is. I am planning to apply for an increase in each of them next July if I'm not automatically increased.

It has been 2 years and I've gone from 505 to 667 so i really can't complain. I know my inquiries are hurting me as well as having 12% as opposed to under 5% useage. Thank you for your input I will definitely be referring back to it in the future I'm sure

[Anonymous]

That card at 76% is suffocating your score. Strive to have any of your cards that have a balance under 10%

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

That card at 76% is suffocating your score. Strive to have any of your cards that have a balance under 10%

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Nah, 76% on one card when the total is only 12% is not going to drive the score that far below 700. It's the CO's that are going to be falling off that will result in the real score boost. I can say that because I've got no baddies, and in the last year have had several cards, not just one, at 80%+ utilization, significant dollars on three of those cards (at one time), and my total utilization in the 30%+ range, and still above 700.

[newkidontheblock]

I am trying to get to 700 but for some reason I am missing the mark.  I have 4 cards Credit Care - $1000/ Elan - secured $300 / HSN - $4000 / Capital One Quick Silver $3500 I ran up my Capital almost to the max with my husbands funeral in 2/2015, but I paid all of my cards off then my EQ shot up 17 pts.  Then I got a bill for $48 interest on the Capital One so I paid that off, now EQ droped 18 pts.  My report shows 11 collections With EX; 5 of these with TU and 4 with EQ but I have paid all of them off.  I have no inquires and  I pay all my bills ahead of time so there are no lates. As of today EQ 678  TU 648  EX 640. I need to buy a car (my baby is 16 yrs old with 234400 mi).  I am trying to do every thing that I know to do and my scores seem to be going in the wrong directions.  What am I missing ???   Also when can I ask ELAN to switch me over to unsecured?

[jamie123]

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@newkidontheblock wrote:

I am trying to get to 700 but for some reason I am missing the mark.  I have 4 cards Credit Care - $1000/ Elan - secured $300 / HSN - $4000 / Capital One Quick Silver $3500 I ran up my Capital almost to the max with my husbands funeral in 2/2015, but I paid all of my cards off then my EQ shot up 17 pts.  Then I got a bill for $48 interest on the Capital One so I paid that off, now EQ droped 18 pts.  My report shows 11 collections With EX; 5 of these with TU and 4 with EQ but I have paid all of them off.  I have no inquires and  I pay all my bills ahead of time so there are no lates. As of today EQ 678  TU 648  EX 640. I need to buy a car (my baby is 16 yrs old with 234400 mi).  I am trying to do every thing that I know to do and my scores seem to be going in the wrong directions.  What am I missing ???   Also when can I ask ELAN to switch me over to unsecured?

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You need to groom your scores to achieve the highest scores that you are capable of getting. You want 1 card reporting a small balance of less than 10% of its credit line and all the other cards reporting $0. If you pay all your cards to $0 your scores will actually drop.

In my case the difference of one card reporting a small balance versus all cards reporting $0 is 18 points!

Your scores won't truly rise above say 730 until your collections have dropped off no matter how good the rest of your report looks. Look at my scores in my siggy. My EX report is clean. My EQ and TU each have 1 baddie. You can see how much 1 baddie can keep your scores down.