How many CCs is considered Optimal for FICO Scoring?

[OptimalFICO]

In a past post, you wrote:

Once you have good cards with decent CL's, I'd say that you should have three bank cards anyway (CU's are great, if you also have one or two from a "national bank" like Citi, BofA, etc), plus one retail or gas card that does not have Visa, MC, etc on it. The majors should be from different lenders, in case one loses their mind, or goes bankrupt, or is invaded by Martians or something.

MY QUESTION:

Do you have to have one or two cards from a "national bank?" I don't care for Nat'l Banks. I have AmEx Blue Cash Card CL $20K, Simmons First Visa Fixed Rte CL $7,500, First National Bank of Omaha Bucks Back Visa CL $15K, Pentagon Fed CU Cash Rewards Visa CL $15,700. I was planning on opening a MasterCard -- should I go with a Nat'l Bank? Do you have a preference? I heard Capital One doesn't report to all credit bureaus. I also heard Nat'l Banks would likely soon begin charging annual fees. (note, I pay my balances in full every month and have FICO over 800). I want a card that I can keep forever and never close due to unfavorable change in terms such as implementing annual fee for the card. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[haulingthescoreup]

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OptimalFICO wrote:

MY QUESTION:

Do you have to have one or two cards from a "national bank?" I don't care for Nat'l Banks. I have AmEx Blue Cash Card CL $20K, Simmons First Visa Fixed Rte CL $7,500, First National Bank of Omaha Bucks Back Visa CL $15K, Pentagon Fed CU Cash Rewards Visa CL $15,700. I was planning on opening a MasterCard -- should I go with a Nat'l Bank? Do you have a preference? I heard Capital One doesn't report to all credit bureaus. I also heard Nat'l Banks would likely soon begin charging annual fees. (note, I pay my balances in full every month and have FICO over 800). I want a card that I can keep forever and never close due to unfavorable change in terms such as implementing annual fee for the card. Any suggestions? Thanks!

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AmEx is considered a national bank. Don't know about Simmons.

"National" bank just means a bank with nationwide or near-nationwide market penetration. So Cap One vs. First Hometown Bank, Chase vs. Friendly Corner Bank, and so forth. This is strictly for scoring considerations! Do you get any negative comments on your FICO EQ or FICO TU reports regarding no active credit with major banks or some such? (Please, FICO comments only; not comments from TrueCredit, CreditSecure, and other FAKO score reports.) If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

Don't open an account simply in hopes of pleasing the FICO gods. They are mysterious and fickle.

As for Cap One, they have been reporting to all three for almost 2 years now. Every now and again we get a post about them not doing so, but it usually turns out to be because some of the demographic info was incorrect, so the bureaus couldn't/ wouldn't post the updates from Cap One.

Before applying for any card, research here on the forums using the search function above on the left. Many things have changed in credit land over the last 6 - 12 months.

btw, there is no magic in having a MasterCard over a Visa. Unless you're heading to the Olympics or something, I've never seen a creditor that takes one and not the other. You have a nice collection of cards and limits now, and since you already have four open revolving accounts, your scores will most likely take a hit initially for adding another. At this point, the only reason you should be thinking about adding a card is if you find one that specifically fits a purpose in your credit and financial goals: excellent rewards program, etc. Getting a card for the sake of getting a card can set you back, unless you have specific issues like lots of bad credit history that needs to be diluted with "good" (clean) new credit.

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

As for Cap One, they have been reporting to all three for almost 2 years now. Every now and again we get a post about them not doing so, but it usually turns out to be because some of the demographic info was incorrect, so the bureaus couldn't/ wouldn't post the updates from Cap One.

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CapOne isn't reporting to EX for me.... guess I should call them and see what's up (and why they aren't).

[haulingthescoreup]

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writemikep wrote:

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
As for Cap One, they have been reporting to all three for almost 2 years now. Every now and again we get a post about them not doing so, but it usually turns out to be because some of the demographic info was incorrect, so the bureaus couldn't/ wouldn't post the updates from Cap One.

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CapOne isn't reporting to EX for me.... guess I should call them and see what's up (and why they aren't).

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Do you have a copy of a full Experian report? (i.e., not just one from a credit monitoring service.) Start by checking all the variants of your name and address on the Experian report, and confirm your social. Then ask Cap One for your name, address, and SSN as they report them. EX can be really persnickety about requiring exact matches before reporting a tradeline.

(And of course, like the other two CRA's, they can also let the most absurd errors on as well.)

[Anonymous]

I have a recent EX credit report at home.  I'll look over it tonight and see if there are discrepancies before I call CapOne.  Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Sitting at 825EX/830EQ/824TU

I have 2 CCs.

Big brand CC with a $12K limit

Big brand Home lumber store with a $2500 limit

use 10% a month and pay in full using auto-pay.

cheers.

Sub

[smallfry]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sitting at 825EX/830EQ/824TU

I have 2 CCs.

Big brand CC with a $12K limit

Big brand Home lumber store with a $2500 limit

use 10% a month and pay in full using auto-pay.

cheers.

Sub

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How long have you had those cards? Paid off mortgages car loans? Oldest account on reports closed or open? TIA.

[Anonymous]

I currently have a FICO of 813. I only have two cards. One with a 28 year perfect History from Chase and the other a 9 year BA card with a flawless history. Combined they have lines of $60,000.00. I have another Equity Line unused of $200,000.00 I pay all off every month. I am trying to get to the Holy Grail of an 850 and once I had an 817 about 18 months ago. Any suggestions??

[marty56]

Welcome to the forum.  IMHO you cant get an 850 due to score buckets and there would always be some risk of defaulting on a loan.

Scores above 800 are the holy grail so enjoy the scores and dont wrorry about 850.

[Anonymous]

Ive had the CC for 9 years and the LOC for two years. Oldest credit closed. Two paid off car loans. Current car is a lease. Current mortgage is 350k. No lates,no negatives. Took me five years to get here, but well worth it.

Cheers,

Sub

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@smallfry wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sitting at 825EX/830EQ/824TU

I have 2 CCs.

Big brand CC with a $12K limit

Big brand Home lumber store with a $2500 limit

use 10% a month and pay in full using auto-pay.

cheers.

Sub

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How long have you had those cards? Paid off mortgages car loans? Oldest account on reports closed or open? TIA.

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Message Edited by sublime on 07-26-2009 08:23 PM