How long does it take to get to 760+

[bichonmom]

My current FICOs are in the high 600s, though with 3 new accts., they have probably dropped a bit. I would like to be in a position to finance a house and may also possibly be needing a new car in the next couple of years. (My car is '97.)

Aside from one collection which will drop off at the beginning of next year, my CR is clean. (I'm also concerned that when it does drop off, I'll be "rebucketed" and end up with an even lower score.)

The problem is I don't have a long history. Two of the CRAs are reporting an old CC as positive, so that's helping my AAoA a bit on those two.

My credit goals are to have a visa, m/c and amex, with $5000+ limits each, and a credit score in the high 700s; though 800 would be *really* nice.

Right now, I have dead weight: 2 Cap Ones (500 CL from 3/11 and 300 CL from 4/11) and Old Navy (200 CL from 3/11), plus a local CU CC w/$500 CL that I haven't taken yet, because I'm afraid it will drop my scores even lower. (I spoke w/them and they wouldn't budge on the CL.)

There are also 2 1-year loans that were PIF (from 12/09 through 12/10)

I am only showing a balance on ONE card and I'm sure it's under 9% of that card's CL. I have no other debt.

So, I was hoping to benefit from some of the experience here as to the quickest way for me to achieve my goals. Also, I was wondering what is a reasonable period of time to expect to go from high 600s to over 760.

Thank you!

P.S. Pls forgive the re-post. I posted under "rebuild" thread, but am really looking for info re how long it takes to get from my current score to high 700s. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

probably to become an AU on someone's account that has a lot of age.

[bichonmom]

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@Anonymous wrote:

probably to become an AU on someone's account that has a lot of age.

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I wish that were possible, but it isn't. I need to do this on my own.

[Anonymous]

is this your first Amex?  Or did you have one in The Time Before?

[bichonmom]

I'm not looking for app for an amex now, as I doubt with my low AAoA and thin file, that they would approve me. Once I can app for amex, I am hoping for backdating, but from what I've read here, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I would like to figure out what I can do now to increase my scores sooner rather than later. I'd also like to get an idea of how long it has taken people to go from high 600s to high 700s, and what they did (or didn't do) to get there.

Thanks!

[Walt_K]

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@bichonmom wrote:

My current FICOs are in the high 600s, though with 3 new accts., they have probably dropped a bit. I would like to be in a position to finance a house and may also possibly be needing a new car in the next couple of years. (My car is '97.)

Aside from one collection which will drop off at the beginning of next year, my CR is clean. (I'm also concerned that when it does drop off, I'll be "rebucketed" and end up with an even lower score.)

The problem is I don't have a long history. Two of the CRAs are reporting an old CC as positive, so that's helping my AAoA a bit on those two.

My credit goals are to have a visa, m/c and amex, with $5000+ limits each, and a credit score in the high 700s; though 800 would be *really* nice.

Right now, I have dead weight: 2 Cap Ones (500 CL from 3/11 and 300 CL from 4/11) and Old Navy (200 CL from 3/11), plus a local CU CC w/$500 CL that I haven't taken yet, because I'm afraid it will drop my scores even lower. (I spoke w/them and they wouldn't budge on the CL.)

There are also 2 1-year loans that were PIF (from 12/09 through 12/10)

I am only showing a balance on ONE card and I'm sure it's under 9% of that card's CL. I have no other debt.

So, I was hoping to benefit from some of the experience here as to the quickest way for me to achieve my goals. Also, I was wondering what is a reasonable period of time to expect to go from high 600s to over 760.

Thank you!

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Wait until next year and keep paying your bills on time.  If your reports are clean except for that one major derog, you're probably going to see a nice bump when that drops off.

[edited for typo]

[llecs]

If 760 is the goal, then time might be the biggest hurdle. Give it a year after the last opened account at the least. With three new account, you might need some more time if your AAoA took a beating.

IME, after being rebucketed, my scores shot back up fairly quickly (6 months or so). Of course YMMV on your credit. You can be rebucketed and actually gain too. For example the gain from the dropped baddie might outweigh the loss from the rebucketing (if any were to ever occur).

BTW, there's no way to accurately predict. Only guessing here.

[GregB]

I would think the quickest way to get comfortably over 760 EQ FICO would be:

1. have no negatives of any kind.

2. Accumulate a couple of prime CC with decent limits, preferably $10K+ each.

3. Finance the car and have only a few payments left.

4. Make sure you util on revolving is zero except on 1 account which has a small balance.

Still seems difficult without waiting for total age and average age of accounts to become reasonable. Could this be accomplished in 5 years? Maybe. Getting into mid 700s would be MUCH easier.

[Anonymous]

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@GregB wrote:

I would think the quickest way to get comfortably over 760 EQ FICO would be:

1. have no negatives of any kind. (I've got to agree with this, although I think High Achievers sometimes have older baddies--oh, yeah, here's the stat (Just to cheer folks up!):  "About 93% of FICO High Achievers have no missed payments at all.  Of those who do, it happened nearly 4 years ago, on average" and "About 1% of FICO High Achievers have a 60 days late or worse".  So folks reading this post don't have to totally throw in the towel if they have a late that is aging off into the sunset, they're still potentially in the running)

2. Accumulate a couple of prime CC with decent limits, preferably $10K+ each.(I like this goal, but it doesn't affect your FICO.  FICO does look to see that you have at least one bank/national CC account and it doesn't care what the CL is.  DH had an EQ FICO over 800 with only one CC - an Orchard with a $500 CL; however he did not have a thin file).

3. Finance the car and have only a few payments left.  Hard to call on this one.  We've watched our auto loans get paid down and off without seeing a score impact.  We recently opened an auto loan (currently his only non-mortgage installment).  DH took a 16 point hit for that new account, and I took a zero point hit.  Hard to predict exactly, and paydown on revolving doesn't have the same impact (none discernible for us) as paydown on installments.

4. Make sure you util on revolving is zero except on 1 account which has a small balance.  (I love this advice - it consistently works well for us).

Still seems difficult without waiting for total age and average age of accounts to become reasonable. Could this be accomplished in 5 years? Maybe. Getting into mid 700s would be MUCH easier.

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bichonmom - have you pulled your credit report here?  Through our rebuilding, I have found the Simulator that is individualized to the myFICO report pretty helpful.  It also tells what is hurting your FICO score (helps you know what to correct); what is helping your FICO score (pats on the back) and what your best steps going forward are.  It looks forward - what is it?  2 years, I think? and can really help you know what to focus on to grow your scores.   And it's personalized to your specific history.

[bichonmom]

Thank you for the replies. One thing I'm wondering is re CC usage. Being that my CC limits are SO low, it's kind of a pain to use them and be sure the bal is low and pay online before stmt cuts, and don't use between due date and stmt date, etc. It's a lot to keep track of. As they are Cap One, from what I've read here, I shouldn't really expect more of a CLI than the step program. So, what I'm wondering is if there is any benefit to my FICO score for me to use the cards? Or can I just use 1 card for a small amt each month and PIF each month. Does FICO really know/care about how much I'm running through the CC if it repts. with a low to zero balance anyway? (I'm not sure how CCs report info to the CRAs regarding monthly activity, and if it reflects on the CR when you're not using the CC.)

I'm trying to get my score high enough so I can finance a car with a decent rate. What is usually considered the score for a good car loan rate?

Thank you!