Need Help to Raise FICO Score

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone, I am in dire need of some advice to raise my score by 27-47 points to get my EQ score to either 620 or 640 by December.  My score is currently 593.  I have been repairing my credit for the past four months and was able to raise my score 110 points since June by paying down all of delinquent debt.

Now that I have everything cleaned up as far as lates and delinquencies go, I am wondering what else I could do to raise my score to my goal stated above.  I currently only have one credit card with a balance of 5,654 (it was never delinquent) and a credit limit of 6,200.  When I use the fico simulator and plug in paying off this credit card it tells me my score will stay the same or move up 40 points giving the following range - 593-633.....but I don't think it is taking into consideration the utilization of this card.  Right now the utilization is at 90%.....what will happen if I pay it down to less than 10%.  Will I get the points I'm looking for?

My other option is to pay off my student loans that total to 3,600.  The only other installment loan I have is my car loan.

Your help is greatly appreciated!!

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello everyone, I am in dire need of some advice to raise my score by 27-47 points to get my EQ score to either 620 or 640 by December. My score is currently 593. I have been repairing my credit for the past four months and was able to raise my score 110 points since June by paying down all of delinquent debt.

Now that I have everything cleaned up as far as lates and delinquencies go, I am wondering what else I could do to raise my score to my goal stated above. I currently only have one credit card with a balance of 5,654 (it was never delinquent) and a credit limit of 6,200. When I use the fico simulator and plug in paying off this credit card it tells me my score will stay the same or move up 40 points giving the following range - 593-633.....but I don't think it is taking into consideration the utilization of this card. Right now the utilization is at 90%.....what will happen if I pay it down to less than 10%. Will I get the points I'm looking for?

My other option is to pay off my student loans that total to 3,600. The only other installment loan I have is my car loan.

Your help is greatly appreciated!!

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Absolutely, yes--throw every spare buck you have at that credit card. Reducing revolving debt is huge. Paying down installment loans doesn't have as dramatic an effect on your scores. In fact, they actually want you to have different types of credit, like revolving plus installment. But when they see that you've got access to $6200, but you're only bothering to use $20 bucks on it, that tells FICO that you've got some self-discipline and won't go ape if you get more credit.

I would have thought that the simulator is taking your utilization into effect. A lot of times one option is "see what happens if you pay 90% of your balances in 24 months." That's where it's saying that it likes util under 10%. Is that one of the options the simulator gives you? Forum vets--the sim considers util, right?

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 09-26-2007 08:51 PM

[Anonymous]

Oh ok haulingthescoreup, I see what you're saying with the paying 90% off in 24 months deal in the simulator.  That's the "best case scerio," and for me the simulator gives me between 80-140 more points.  SInce this range includes the passage of time (i.e. 24 months), what will happen if I pay 90%-100% this month?  How many points can I expect to receive being that I will pay down my credit card about 80-90%?  Will it get me to my score goal of 620-640 from 593?  Remember, I'm trying to raise my score in the next two months.....not in 24.

Your help is appreciated....thanks!

[haulingthescoreup]

If I'm remembering right, the "pay down balances" option should be repeated somewhere below the best scenario box. There should be a text box where you type in a monthly $$$ and then a drop-down box where you can pick different time frames. I found that I have to be careful then to click the right simulate button, which is BELOW that place. On my laptop, the one for that particular scenario tends to be off the bottom of the screen. Once I kept changing the parameters and then mindlessly clicking the "best scenario" button each time. Couldn't figure out why the same scores kept coming up! duh

Just looked at the scenario, and there's a second box you can type in a percentage of your balance that you would pay off. That's fun to play with too, if you have pretty low standards for fun.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 09-27-2007 03:01 PM

[fused]

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najerme wrote:

Oh ok haulingthescoreup, I see what you're saying with the paying 90% off in 24 months deal in the simulator.  That's the "best case scerio," and for me the simulator gives me between 80-140 more points.  SInce this range includes the passage of time (i.e. 24 months), what will happen if I pay 90%-100% this month?  How many points can I expect to receive being that I will pay down my credit card about 80-90%?  Will it get me to my score goal of 620-640 from 593?  Remember, I'm trying to raise my score in the next two months.....not in 24.

Your help is appreciated....thanks!

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The score simulator is a guide and it's hardly accurate. If you can pay down the CC balance to 1-9% util, you should see a substantial increase in your scores once it reports. My guess, you should be well over 640. I would do this now so you will have enough time for the CRAs to update your reports and scores before December hits.

Don't worry about the loan just never be late with your payments. CC (and all other revolving accounts) util% carries considerably more weight in FICO scoring than installment util%.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@fused wrote:

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The score simulator is a guide and it's hardly accurate.

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Meant to mention that--thanks! I was trying to type with one hand while on the phone with 19 y.o. daughter talking about (yep) her credit card.

[fused]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

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@fused wrote:

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The score simulator is a guide and it's hardly accurate.

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Meant to mention that--thanks! I was trying to type with one hand while on the phone with 19 y.o. daughter talking about (yep) her credit card.

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19 years old eh? A prime age to learn about responsible CC usage and money management.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@fused wrote:

19 years old eh? A prime age to learn about responsible CC usage and money management.

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Yep, she got a Gap card because her BF worked there and got a 30-day on her very first payment due to the bizarre online payment site. Now she has an honest-to-God, in-her-own-name, no-co-signer USAA MC with a $1000 CL, and she's scared witless. She'll figure it out, though.

The way things are going, you might have to start on this soon with your two-year-old! Truly a cutie, by the way.

[fused]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:

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fused wrote:

19 years old eh? A prime age to learn about responsible CC usage and money management.

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Yep, she got a Gap card because her BF worked there and got a 30-day on her very first payment due to the bizarre online payment site. Now she has an honest-to-God, in-her-own-name, no-co-signer USAA MC with a $1000 CL, and she's scared witless. She'll figure it out, though.

The way things are going, you might have to start on this soon with your two-year-old! Truly a cutie, by the way.

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Thanks! I never thought you could take two ugly coots (DW and I) and end up with a cutie pie. I will teach her on saving and budgeting her money well before she enters H.S. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much fused.  That is a big help.  As I put more thought to it, however, I do have a follow up question......I do have four dept store cards (i.e. 2 Best buy (one should be closed??), roomstore, and Dell)  and two HSBC credit cards with a $300 balance showing up in my OPEN accounts.  They all have a zero balance, and none of  the dept store credit cards are no longer updating to the CRAs...only my small credit cards and Discover card are. 

With that said, I am wondering if all of these dept store cards are being included in the utilization ratio?  I have done some research and found that after dept store accounts become inactive for so long, they are no longer included in the utilization calc, but they are listed in my OPEN accounts.  I am assuming that all OPEN accounts are included in the utilization calc.  Which is correct?

Also, my two little $300 balance credit cards are turning 2 yrs old in September.  Will I see a jump in my score for their 2 yr anniversary?

Sorry for so many questions.  I am trying to understand how the system works.

Thanks so much for you help!