IMO, 3 CCs are the minimim that I have found for better scoring. However the reason I say more is % of balances and UTL. Since I have found it best to show at least minimum revolving credit for most people if you have 3 CCs and use 1 you have no room for anything else should you need to carry another balance and stay below 50%. Yes if you get another account it also will be counted in total number of accounts but how many new accounts you get compared to your current nuber or history I believe is counted too. Therefor I like to see at least 4 CCs. More CCs can definitely help in the long run if you ever go credit happy later to hold up age and keep % of reported balances lower.
As for installment loans, 2 are better than 1. They are counted more for older credit profiles. The newer profiles under 4 years I don't think are factored in so much. However eventually you will get pasted the newbie bucket and what then, you will need those installment loans. So best to get them out of the way now.
Don't worry so much about a long term loan. They are for keeping an installment "open" for a few more points. Once you close them in a few years you give back the "open" points. I think you are pretty much scored the same if you have it for 2 years or 5 years ect... I'd recommend 2 or 3 different types of loans.
I don't think CL on loans or CCs are too important as long as you stay in a target UTL. Higher CLs do help get you other higher CLs later under manual review. If you have a $300 CL it is more likely your next lender will give you a lower CL compared to if you have a $5k CL to start with.
So I'd say 4 or more CCs, 4 being fine. Use 1 each month switching to another. Check all 4 to be sure there are $0 balances just in case of a late posting transaction or fraud charge. I would get 2 installment loans.
Here's the catch. Too many new accounts can hurt too. But I think it all goes away after 12 months. You might see a lower score for the moment when you get things going.
Hey if you can do 6 CCs and 3 installments you might do even better in the "long run". Remember being in the newbie bucket may not reflect these mix advantages for a few years. But they definitely matter later!!! If you plan to have an avg age over 6 years in 6 years you pretty much need to get most of your applying out of the way as fast as possible to let everything start to age. Get in to the NO ANNUAL FEE credit cards as soon as possible to keep them.
Once you have 4-6 CCs and 2-3 installments and an avg age of 4+ years your fine. Most of what I know about rasing scores are for older profiles where specific mixes are more important. The newbie bucket doesn't care so much.
hmm. So thinking about what really matters is payment history. Yea, so more credit cards = more payment history faster...! I'd still get loans for later, 2-3.
So here would be my plan.
3 secured credit cards now.
2 installment loans.
Wait for all this to report in your CR.
Then wait 6 months before doing anything else from that date.
in 6 months (after your newest account is reported) try to get 1 CC with no annual fee.
in 9 months try to get another cc with no annual fee.
in 12 months try to upgrade all 3 secured CCs to no annual fee cards.
(Once you have 3+ no annual fee cards close the remaining secured cards if any)
Keep trying to add 1 new CC every 3 months after this until you reach 4 NAFee cards.
After 4 no annual fee cards the rest is up to you if you want to keep getting more cards. You will have a very nice score at this point either way.
* For the first 6 months I'd let every account show activity or balances since it won't matter yet.
* After the first 6 months limit to 50% or less reported balances.
Stay away from consumer finance.
As far as adding 1 retail card.... I don't know. Still haven't found proof that people adding a retail card added points. They might have gained points by adding a bankcard too? I'm still looking for someone who has added more bankcard CCs with no point gain then added a retail CC and gained points. As of now I havn't seen it. Retail might gain, just I personally haven't had the chance to see it. I'm still working on it. However I don't think 1 retail card will have a negative affect as long as the bal is $0. Activity on retail is fine if you PIF before the due date. Not so sure about carrying a bal on retail. Havn't tested it yet.
So if you want to get a retail card you can, can't see the harm in just one. Don't really know if it will help more than a bankcard CC. Cards will go dormant after 6 months so only apply for something that you can use at least every 6 months.
That's pretty much it.
And in the end keep UTL under 4%.
and get my util back under control.
Starting Score: 469