New here...need FICO score & credit advice please...

[marillion]

One thing I'm curious about. When I log in to the myFICO site and I see my scores have all hit, say 750...is that a real-time thing? Can I immediately apply for a "regular" card? In other words, do the banks and card companies see those same scores the exact same time I see them update here? Just wondering if when my scores update to where I want them if I still have to wait additional time.

[Thomas_Thumb]

They should see your updated scores the same as you. However, they have to pull a new score to see the update. A score of 720 or even 700 is usually sufficient for BCE.

Looking forward to seeing the results from your paydowns.

[marillion]

Thanks much for your help.

My Equifax score just updated today to 666. Now I have the power of the Netherworld! Lol.

[Thomas_Thumb]

Well, that's a disappointing increase IF all your paydowns are reflected in the score. Most CC issuers only submit monthly data as reflected on statements. So, I'm still confident your scores will surpass 700 - but do get AG UT under 9% which should happen when the remaining 3 cards are all paid down to under 29% UT each.

[SouthJamaica]

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@marillion wrote:

Hi everyone. I'll try and keep this as short as possible as walls of text arean't pleasant. ;-)

My credit history in a nutshell...

-Screwed up my credit right from college and am now 53 years old.

- Score was always sub-500 and I could never really rise above it as I was pretty lazy in life (paycheck-to-paycheck).

- I now have had my own business for many years, life is great overall and for the last few years I've been trying to finally fix my credit for good.

Some general facts before I get to specifics about my credit score...

- I have no mortgage and will never have/need one from this point on.

- I have no car payment/auto loan and will never have/need one from this point on.

- I make great enough money to fix whatever issues I need to going forward, though those have been whittled down to pretty much nothing.

The current specifics...

- EQ 655, TU 678, EX 687

- 21 accounts with balances, $14,702 total owed, 75% utilization

- The above numbers will change soon as I paid down a ton of stuff last month. Only 3 accounts currently have balances at $2,900 total.

- No late payments or delinquent accounts at all, active or closed.

I have lots of credit cards with over half of them having limits of less than $1,000. As you'd expect, they are high interest. Other than getting my score as high as possible, a current endgame is to only have 3-4 credit cards with higher limits and lower interest rates. I'd also like to get a business card and line of credit for my small business. Any advice on how to do this effectively will be welcomed. I'll provide updates in this thread as I get them. I'm a Premier FICO member and my new credit reports are available every month on the 13th.

Thanks for reading this far!

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Here's my advice.

1.  Your scores are going to increase significantly soon when your new reports hit.

2. Do NOT be in a rush to close credit card accounts, except for those which (a) have an annual fee and (b) you don't make good use of.

3. If you don't have use for a card,  just "sock drawer" it.

4. Once your scores are up, it will be easy to get a business credit card. They rely on your personal credit profile for that. Do NOT get your business card from Capital One, Discover, or TD Bank, as those banks stupidly report your account to personal credit reports. A good place to get your first card will be Amex. My favorite there is the Amex Business Cash card.

5. Pay all your existing cards down to zero, but let at least one card report a small balance each month before you pay it off.

[SouthJamaica]

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@marillion wrote:

Thanks for the replies, folks.

A few answers...

- All my cards have annual fees and none have 0% interest. They are the types of higher-interest cards that low-credit people get. I wouldn't want to keep any of them, I don't think.

- All my cards have my current income on file. It hasn't changed much in a couple years but is much higher than the limits I get would suggest.

- My main expenses every month are normal things like car insurance, cell phone, food (I eat out a lot), streaming services, etc. Nothing huge.

- I'm also a collector of memorabilia so if something strikes my eye I purchase it but that is a case-by-case thing. 

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OK I hadn't read this when I posted my first response. Yes it sounds like all of those cards are losers.  Nevertheless you need to proceed slowly.  Once your scores are up and everything's paid down in the reports, you could apply for a business card and a regular personal credit card. Once you've added those, I would suggest dropping one of your lowest credit limit cards.

Once you've done those things, then I would suggest your reporting back, and we'll have ideas for your next steps. 

Your best bet for the personal card would be a Visa or Mastercard that has cash back, no annual fee, and a sign up bonus.

[FicoMike0]

@marillion 

Pay close attention to @SouthJamaica  and @Thomas_Thumb  they really know this stuff. 

One point I'll make, it's reported balance that counts for utilization. That's your balance on the day the account posts. Paying before due date is of course important, but to affect utilization, you have to pay before it posts. It's a nusiance, but helps scores.

I also like the amex bce. They'll give good CL, their app works well too.

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[marillion]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

Get those under 29% UT and keep whatever you need open to ensure AG UT is below 9% and can be maintained under that threshold.

I advise reporting balances on 2 cards ( not just 1) each month to avoid the AZ penalty with a margin of safety. Keep 5-7 cards open to stay at or below 50% with balances. If you feel that 3 cards may report small balances from time to time that's ok. 

By my count you have 19 cards - all with AF - yes?  After further paydowns, can you close 12 cards - or close 10 plus PC CapOne cards to no AF versions without exceeding 9% AG UT?

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All the cards have annual fees and higher interest rates, yes. That's why my initial plan would be to replace them with a few no AF and low APR that would possibly equal the total credit limit. I believe my total credit limit for all cards plus Paypal credit and CreditFresh draw is right near $23,000. I would need to keep them all open at the current time to bring my AG UT down to 9% and then do the "open new/close old" thing to maintain that percentage.

[marillion]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@marillion wrote:

Hi everyone. I'll try and keep this as short as possible as walls of text arean't pleasant. ;-)

My credit history in a nutshell...

-Screwed up my credit right from college and am now 53 years old.

- Score was always sub-500 and I could never really rise above it as I was pretty lazy in life (paycheck-to-paycheck).

- I now have had my own business for many years, life is great overall and for the last few years I've been trying to finally fix my credit for good.

Some general facts before I get to specifics about my credit score...

- I have no mortgage and will never have/need one from this point on.

- I have no car payment/auto loan and will never have/need one from this point on.

- I make great enough money to fix whatever issues I need to going forward, though those have been whittled down to pretty much nothing.

The current specifics...

- EQ 655, TU 678, EX 687

- 21 accounts with balances, $14,702 total owed, 75% utilization

- The above numbers will change soon as I paid down a ton of stuff last month. Only 3 accounts currently have balances at $2,900 total.

- No late payments or delinquent accounts at all, active or closed.

I have lots of credit cards with over half of them having limits of less than $1,000. As you'd expect, they are high interest. Other than getting my score as high as possible, a current endgame is to only have 3-4 credit cards with higher limits and lower interest rates. I'd also like to get a business card and line of credit for my small business. Any advice on how to do this effectively will be welcomed. I'll provide updates in this thread as I get them. I'm a Premier FICO member and my new credit reports are available every month on the 13th.

Thanks for reading this far!

---

Here's my advice.

1.  Your scores are going to increase significantly soon when your new reports hit.

2. Do NOT be in a rush to close credit card accounts, except for those which (a) have an annual fee and (b) you don't make good use of.

3. If you don't have use for a card,  just "sock drawer" it.

4. Once your scores are up, it will be easy to get a business credit card. They rely on your personal credit profile for that. Do NOT get your business card from Capital One, Discover, or TD Bank, as those banks stupidly report your account to personal credit reports. A good place to get your first card will be Amex. My favorite there is the Amex Business Cash card.

5. Pay all your existing cards down to zero, but let at least one card report a small balance each month before you pay it off.

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I'm definitely not in a rush to do anything at the moment. This thread has been VERY illuminating as far as what I need to do but I'm going to take my time and do it right, preferably running each step by the thread so y'all can say GO or STOP. I want this to work, period.

Right now it's going to be the three I previously stated with remaining balances that will be the cards reporting any balance at all each month. Mercury, Fortiva and Prosper. I'm not sure if they have the largest annual fees or APRs but at the moment I don't care. I've been doing this for years now so what's a few more months to take care of it completely?

[marillion]

Now that I know about the monthly reporting cutoffs I'll be paying more attention to that for sure. Thank you.

Amex BCE is definitely one of the personal cards I'll be applying for when it's time.

The other thing I'll try to do is call Capital One and see if they can combine/consolidate my Quicksilver and Platinum cards into a Savor with a low APR. Again, when it's time.