How long does it take before your profile hits 800+ FICO 8 without an active installment loan?

[crystal626]

I have been floating between 760s and 780s for years now. Just curious what metric I'm missing to cross 800.

AoOA: 12y3m

AAoA: 5y8m

Aggregate UTI: <1%

Highest individual UTI: 14%

Cards with a balance: 9 of 19 on EX, 9 of 18 on the other two (PNC never reported my card closed to EX) - if all revolvers count I have two CLOCs

Scoreable inquiries: 1 on TU, 0 on EQ, 1 on EX

Current scores: 786 TU, 787 EQ, 783 EX

Credit mix: Credit cards, lines of credit, closed personal loan, closed SSL

No derogs obviously.

On an average month I usually have 6-8 cards reporting a balance.

[JoeRockhead]

You should be able to see 800+ scores without an open loan.  There is a score penalty for 50% of accounts with balances and although you said you've dipped down to 6 accounts with balances reporting,  since your scores have gone 780+ have you ever experimented and had your highest individual card report under 9% and greatly reduced the number of reported balances to just 1, 2 or maybe a max of 3 of your revolvers?   

What's your usage of the CLOCs?

Do you still have any paid/closed loans on your reports?

[FicoMike0]

looks like 800 metrics to me. The ssl trick would put you over.

[Thomas_Thumb]

There are total reported balance thresholds in addition to aggregate utilization. One is believed to be around $2k, another around $5k and BBS says there is a 3rd around $10k. I've seen a 3-5 point loss crossing above the $4.5k to 5.5k range. Always stay below $10k so I can't speak to that.

* LOCs are lumped in with revolving credit and count toward total revolving balance in $. What are your LOC account balances?

What are your 4 reason codes in rank order? I suspect the top one is no open/active installment loan. Another is likely too many accounts with balances. There are penalties for too many accounts independent of % of cards. Curious what gain you might see dropping to 5 or less reporting including lines of credit.

Do you see any time related ones such as: you opened an account relatively recently or lack of sufficient installment account history? 

[crystal626]

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

You should be able to see 800+ scores without an open loan.  There is a score penalty for 50% of accounts with balances and although you said you've dipped down to 6 accounts with balances reporting,  since your scores have gone 780+ have you ever experimented and had your highest individual card report under 9% and greatly reduced the number of reported balances to just 1, 2 or maybe a max of 3 of your revolvers?   

What's your usage of the CLOCs?

Do you still have any paid/closed loans on your reports?

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I can try dropping down to less cards. Right now I have more balances than normal due to higher expenses and 0% promos as well as 5% category cards that fit my spending.

CLOCs are all $0.

I have a closed personal loan from 2014 and a closed SSL from a couple years ago for installments.

[crystal626]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

There are total reported balance thresholds in addition to aggregate utilization. One is believed to be around $2k, another around $5k and BBS says there is a 3rd around $10k. I've seen a 3-5 point loss crossing above the $4.5k to 5.5k range. Always stay below $10k so I can't speak to that.

* LOCs are lumped in with revolving credit and count toward total revolving balance in $. What are your LOC account balances?

What are your 4 reason codes in rank order? I suspect the top one is no open/active installment loan. Another is likely too many accounts with balances. There are penalties for too many accounts independent of % of cards. Curious what gain you might see dropping to 5 or less reporting including lines of credit.

Do you see any time related ones such as: you opened an account relatively recently or lack of sufficient installment account history? 

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My balances are at ~$2800 right now so that could be part of it but I doubt it would have that much impact.

Nothing on the LOCs. They're strictly for emergencies.

Experian (from Experian.com) only has one reason code: Lack of non-mortgage loan info.

TransUnion (from Discover) says: Credit mix lacks different types of credit (I checked and it does show 2 closed installment loans so it must be mortgage as well)

Equifax (from myFICO) says: lack of recent non-mortgage loan information, new account, short account history, and consumer finance accounts

Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.

[Thomas_Thumb]

Not having an open "optimized" installment loan is leaving 25-35 points on the table. Having a revolving account under 12 months age typically costs 15 points on a clean file, sometimes 20.

Some other file deficiencies are: too many accounts with balances, too high a % of cards with balances, AAoA below 7 years, AoOA under 15 years, seeking new credit (HPs) and limited closed installment loan payment history.

Fico 8/9 have about 30 points worth of buffer. That allows files with some sub optimal categories to still reach 850. I can still get there on EX from time to time with no open loan.

In your case aging youngest revolver past 12 months might be sufficient for 800 particularly if number of accounts reporting balances is 5 or less (3 reporting may be better still) but may not make a difference.

[Realist]

Lots of ways to capture the installment loan opportunity if that was ever an option.  But, that would only matter if you're chasing a score that pushes you into 800.  If you don't need the cash for anything, or there isn't an efficiency upgrade by use of the loan, then it's probably not worth it - unless you have a few bucks to blow.

[GZG]

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@crystal626 wrote:

Newest account is from October. I might make it to November without a new one but I make no promises lol.

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not being 0/12 are the points you're missing

[AndySoCal]

You can recieve 800 FICO scores without an installment or Morgage loan.  My credit utilation on all cards combined is 1 to 2 percent. I have a couple cards individually are at 2 to 3 percent due to auto pays and a 5K Walmart One pay limit and spending. All cards are paid in full each month. FICO scores prefer accounts with a  long credit history.

This year I gardening to allow my new accounts to age a bit. Maybe an app in 2027 not sure if I will or not