@SouthJamaica wrote:
@FicoMike0 wrote:
I myself have been wondering if a new installment loan resets the "Age of Youngest Account" metric.
It seems to. When I did my ssl, I got the "new account" reason code.
Yes but the real thing we need to know is whether it resets AoYA for purposes of scoreboard assignment. If so, it would likely cost me 26 points in EX FICO 8.
It will.
Unless you actually need your credit for something (mortgage or whatever) it doesn't matter. If you are talking serious credit app then just sit on your hands.
@Patient957 wrote:
@Revelate wrote:
Unless you actually need your credit for something (mortgage or whatever) it doesn't matter. If you are talking serious credit app then just sit on your hands.
But I think SJ's dilemma is their only open installment loan is running out soon, which is certain to cause a 30ish point drop. It's a catch 22.
If it were me, I'd just open the SSL, because at least after 12 months any damage would be over. Letting the installment loan expire would cause a point loss for an indefinite period of time.
Thank you @Patient957 you've hit it right on the head.
To sum up for those who might not realize my situation:
I'm between a rock and a hard place right now. My scores are very depressed because my utilization is obscenely high. And my only open installment loan is just a couple of months away from ending.
My experience has been that being on the scorecard for no new accounts within the past 12 months has actually pumped up my scores quite a bit. E.g., in EX FICO 8 it appears that being on that scorecard is worth 26 points. So if I get knocked off of that, I lose 26 points.
And my experience has been that having a mostly paid down open installment loan pumps up my scores a lot as well. E.g., in EX FICO 8 it appears that having that paid down loan is worth 32 points.
So I'm about to lose 32 points for losing the open loan, if I don't replace it. But if I do replace it I will lose 26 points for getting kicked off the no new accounts scorecard IF a new installment loan has the same bad effect as a new credit card.
Thing is, I'm not so sure a new installment loan does have the same bad effect as a new credit card. But as someone in a weakened position, I'm not anxious to be the one to find out through personal experience. I wish someone else had tested it for me 
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:When faced with uncertainty one must soldier on. Your above numbers still point to adding a replacement SSL. If the new installment account does less damage than a new revolving account, so much the better.
Any progress on the utilization front? Hopefully the CLDs have stopped.
No progress. And the CLD's have not stopped. Now Amex has gotten into the act, reducing limits on 4 of my 5 cards. The other day they indicated that they would not reduce my limit on the 5th card if I made a payment of a certain amount before a certain date. I made the payment, but I don't really trust them to keep their word.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:When faced with uncertainty one must soldier on. Your above numbers still point to adding a replacement SSL. If the new installment account does less damage than a new revolving account, so much the better.
Any progress on the utilization front? Hopefully the CLDs have stopped.
No progress. And the CLD's have not stopped. Now Amex has gotten into the act, reducing limits on 4 of my 5 cards. The other day they indicated that they would not reduce my limit on the 5th card if I made a payment of a certain amount before a certain date. I made the payment, but I don't really trust them to keep their word.
I know this is a credit forum, and I agree with Patient and Thomas: if we're just talking pure scoring open up the new SSL right now.
But your situation is different: you need to stabilize your finances / report and the score doesn't matter right now. Opening up another account of any type may spook your creditors even more and that's the biggest risk, not damage to the score.
Ultimately the creditors have already flagged you as a financial risk, they're long past worrying about the score they want to stop the bleeding... and that's what is in your best interest too. FWIW I'm having to tighten up on my finances too, looks like my income is basically cut in half this year, and as a result I'm battening down the hatches financially and prettying up the report; nothing to see here lenders.
@Revelate wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Thomas_Thumb wrote:When faced with uncertainty one must soldier on. Your above numbers still point to adding a replacement SSL. If the new installment account does less damage than a new revolving account, so much the better.
Any progress on the utilization front? Hopefully the CLDs have stopped.
No progress. And the CLD's have not stopped. Now Amex has gotten into the act, reducing limits on 4 of my 5 cards. The other day they indicated that they would not reduce my limit on the 5th card if I made a payment of a certain amount before a certain date. I made the payment, but I don't really trust them to keep their word.
I know this is a credit forum, and I agree with Patient and Thomas: if we're just talking pure scoring open up the new SSL right now.
But your situation is different: you need to stabilize your finances / report and the score doesn't matter right now. Opening up another account of any type may spook your creditors even more and that's the biggest risk, not damage to the score.
Ultimately the creditors have already flagged you as a financial risk, they're long past worrying about the score they want to stop the bleeding... and that's what is in your best interest too. FWIW I'm having to tighten up on my finances too, looks like my income is basically cut in half this year, and as a result I'm battening down the hatches financially and prettying up the report; nothing to see here lenders.
Yeah well that's a separate issue, and it's got a pretty obvious solution.
The topic of this thread is the "pure scoring" aspect of replacing one paid-down loan with another when one is on the > 12 month scorecard. So let's stick to that topic. You've opined that it will count as a new account to knock me off the good scorecard. I'm not so sure. And I haven't seen any substantiation one way or the other yet.
Unfortunately I may have to supply the test case.
I can absolutely tell you that it resets AOYA on FICO 04 models. I'm 99.99% sure it does on FICO 8 but I don't have my old credit tracking data for proof.
Experian changed their interface and it may be impossible to get old reports and I wasn't really tracking my scores that much, but I actually get reason codes for their FICO 3 (their FICO 04 model), and I know EQ FICO 5 segments on 2 years for new account.
A mortgage from May 2023 is the only account I have opened since 2020, and check out the reason codes:
The fact that it's called a "new account" in the user interface doesn't necessarily mean it knocks you off the > 12 month scorecard.
