In the past few years or so, I have opened the following as a way to build my credit.
Capital One Card (Date Opened: Jan 2010) ($750 limit) ($275 balance)
Macy's Card (Date Opened: Sept 2010) ($69 balance)
Home Depot Card (Date Opened: Dec 2010) ($1,600 limit) ($948 balance) (bought a washer and dryer)
AMEX Green (Date Opened: Dec 2010) (Largest past balance $3,049) ($3,049 balance)
My older accounts are:
Credit Acceptance Auto Loan (Date Opened: October 2007) ($15,564 largest balance) ($366 balance)
Conn's Credit (Date Opened: July 2008) ($2,231 largest balance) ($247 balance)
My one negative item is (Only shows on TU... I have no negatives in Equifax):
Chase Bank Usa Na (Date Opened: Apr 2003) (Date Closed: Nov 2004) ($500 limit) ($1,459) - Charged off as bad debt.
The results are a TU FICO of 690 and an Equifax FICO of 670
Equifax: Payment History: Great | Amount of Debt: Good | Length of Credit History: BAD | Amount of New Credit: Not Good
TransUnion: Payment History: Good | Amount of Debt: Not Good | Length of Credit History: Good | Amount of New Credit: Good
In regards to the negative item, I was young, dumb and got in trouble. I later tried to pay it, but could never find who actually owned the debt. I was wondering when that would fall off or how to get it off of there.
In regards to my AMEX card, we use it for reward points and put EVERYTHING we can on it. Gas bill, power bill, cable bill.... everything. I noticed that it showed up as a revolving balance. Will this hurt us when trying to buy a house?
When I did the MyFICO simulator, and proposed paying off $4,000 of the total of $4,300 of my debt which include my $3k AMEX, it showed an improvement on both TU and EQ to 710-750.
Since I saw what I considered HORRENDOUS scores, I have done the following.
PAID IN FULL - Capital One Card (Date Opened: Jan 2010) ($750 limit) ($275 balance)
PAID IN FULL Macy's Card (Date Opened: Sept 2010) ($69 balance)
PAID IN FULL - Credit Acceptance Auto Loan (Date Opened: October 2007) ($15,564 largest balance) ($366 balance)
PAID IN FULL - Conn's Credit (Date Opened: July 2008) ($2,231 largest balance) ($247 balance)
PAID IN FULL AS DONE EVERY MONTH - AMEX Green (Date Opened: Dec 2010) (Largest past balance $3,049) ($3,049 balance)
NEW BALANCE SHOULD BE $798 - Home Depot Card (Date Opened: Dec 2010) ($1600 limit) ($948 balance) (bought a washer and dryer)
NEGATIVE ITEM - Chase Bank Usa Na (Date Opened: Apr 2003) (Date Closed: Nov 2004) ($500 limit) ($1,459) - Charged off as bad debt.
My goal is to pay off the Home depot card in the next 2-3 months, if not sooner.
For now, we are ending our heavy usage of the AMEX card due to it showing up as a revolving account. Is this wise?
I just wanted to see if anyone could offer any perspective on getting my FICOs higher with the steps I've already taken. I regret opening new lines of credit so quickly, but I was eager to start establishing good credit.
Edit: Also, would it be worth pulling my Experian report from their site for $15?
