Our Forums' FICO High Achievers: Who has at least one FICO Score of 760 or above?

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@TLinFargo wrote:

Thanks Lily!

Brutal, really it was all due to killing of some big balances. There were some small gains here and there, but I got a couple big chunks. Paid a $2200 card to zero (+12), a $2400 card to zero (+15), paid a $13,500 card to zero (+51).

The small dips recently were - having no revolving balance at all, then opening an installment loan (camper). Putting a small balance back on a card bumped it back up to 850.

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TL,

Would you mind sharing what your each of the cards CLs are or each card's UT% prior to pay down. It would also be helpful to know what your aggregate utilization (total balances/total CL) was prior to pay down. Also, what was the order of the pay down?

The amount of point gain you realized suggest that at least a couple cards were over 50% utilized and the aggregate may also have been over 50% prior to initiating paydown.The detail is always insightful in helping gain a better understanding of breakpoints % and how they may impact score.

Illustrative example: (balance/CL)

1) $13,500/$15,000 => 90%

2) $2400/$3000 => 80%

3) $2200/$5000 => 44%

4) $0/$6000 => 0%

5) $0/$1500 => 0%

Aggregate before pay down = (13500+2400+2200)/(15000+3000+5000+6000+1500) = 18,100/30,500 = 59.3%

1) 1st pay = $13,500 => Ag UT drops to $4600/$30,500 = 15.1%

2) 2nd pay = $2200 => Ag UT drops to $2400/$30,500 = 7.0%

3) $500 balance reports on card #4 & card #2 is paid off => Ag UT = $500/$30,500 = 1.6%

[TLinFargo]

The utilization was a bit higher.

2200/2700 = 81%, paid 5/14, reported 5/28
2400/3000 = 80%, paid 7/1, reported 7/6

13,500/13,900 = 97%, paid 7/1, reported 7/29
0/1500 = 0%

0/5200 = 0%

Overall, 69% utilization. Currently 0.6%.

Currently 5 years into a 15-year mortgage, balance is about half the property's value. No installment loans at the time. No negatives on anything.

[IncrsCreditScore1]

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@LilyBee wrote:

Mitch and Incrs:

Isn't it great how a little more knowledge can help in financial matters?  Understanding the impact of credit scores on everyday spending habits would be very beneficial for most folks, especially young people.  It should be included in courses at a very young school age.  As quickly as kids learn about the use of technology, it should be a no-brainer to learn about spending their allowances or earnings in elementary school.  I think.  My folks didn't have credit scores back in the 'olden days,' but they taught me to always pay any bills on time or pay them off as soon as possible.  I did so, and have the scores to show for it.  The only drawback is when my scores go below 850, I go ballistic!  ::smileyfrustrated

Cheers to both of you for the progress you've made.  Teach your kids, if any.

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Totally agree with you, LilyBee.  Classes should start at least in junior high and continue through graduation.  I am trying to teach two of my granddaughters and they seem to understand.  Unfortunately, the other grandchildren live in other states and I don't have regular communication with them or I would be teaching them, too.  Also, trying to teach my daughter.

[LilyBee]

Good to hear, IncrsCS. 

I mentioned to my grandson and my sons, when they first started working (at 18), to get a Roth IRA and keep funding it.  If they did that, by the time they would be ready to retire, they would be millionaires!  My daughter is a 'spend it when you get it' type, so that's probably a losing cause. 

I'm sure there are many 'too soon old; too late smart' folks when it comes to money and wise decisions.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@TLinFargo wrote:

The utilization was a bit higher.

2200/2700 = 81%, paid 5/14, reported 5/28
2400/3000 = 80%, paid 7/1, reported 7/6

13,500/13,900 = 97%, paid 7/1, reported 7/29
0/1500 = 0%

0/5200 = 0%

Overall, 69% utilization. Currently 0.6%.

Currently 5 years into a 15-year mortgage, balance is about half the property's value. No installment loans at the time. No negatives on anything.

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Thanks for the detail.

I think it's useful to see just how changes in utilization influence score. This is one factor that has immediate impact for those with relatively high UT% that may want to improve score in preparation for a mortgage or car loan.

[vanillabean]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

A couple milestones that may be of some interest for eliminating restrictions to upward potential:

 - AAoA of 8 years or more

 - Aggregate installment loan under 70% (if an open mortgage is part of the mix)

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DW and I have a joint mortgage with just five percent paid off, and yet for each of the three credit bureaus at least one of us has a FICO 08 of 850. So I am inclined to accept the 8 years, but not the 70%. I would be happy to replace the latter with having credit not newer than a year.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

A couple milestones that may be of some interest for eliminating restrictions to upward potential:

 - AAoA of 8 years or more

 - Aggregate installment loan under 70% (if an open mortgage is part of the mix)

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DW and I have a joint mortgage with just five percent paid off, and yet for each of the three credit bureaus at least one of us has a FICO 08 of 850. So I am inclined to accept the 8 years, but not the 70%. I would be happy to replace the latter with having credit not newer than a year.

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my-own-fico, thanks for the data - it is quite helpful. Do you have any other open installment loans and if so, what is your aggregate B/L?

Yes, reported information does show 8 years (or 7.5 years) AAoA is a likely requirement for an 850 score and a 1 year youngest is very important (15 to 20 points) - but perhaps not critical if the profile has sufficient buffer in other areas.

The general consensus based on posted results is that open loans are considered in aggregate for scoring purposes. For example if you took out a 2nd mortgage for $100k that is at 95% and you have a 500k primary mortgage at 30%, then aggregate would be 245k/600k = 41%

I think 70% B/L is a threshold for mortgage ... meaning dropping below that may be worth some points - not sure being above the 70% ratio blocks one from an 850 score. Similarly, one can be at 850 with 100% of cards reporting and/or having an individual card utilization above 70%. Both these factors are known to have thresholds at lower levels which may increase score.

The thing about Fico 08 is it has a large buffer at the top so it is not necessary for a profile to be in the "best" category threshold for every factor to achieve 850.

[TLinFargo]

I added an installment loan added to my report 10/6/16 and it only dinged me 3 points. I was back to 850 pretty quickly. I'm sure adding a new revolving account would have a different effect.

9/3/2016 - 850 - starting

9/28/2016 - 841 - down 9 - went down to $0 on all revolving accounts

10/6/2016 - 838 - down 3 - added $8500 installment loan

10/26/2016 - 850 - up 12 - put a $150 balance back on a revolving account

[newhis]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

The thing about Fico 08 is it has a large buffer at the top so it is not necessary for a profile to be in the "best" category threshold for every factor to achieve 850.

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Good info. I was thinking about this after seeing several people with 850 or close to it, that didn't share exactly the same factors.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I recently hit 850 on EX (FICO 8) with an AAOA of ~7.5....with only 2 new trade lines, both less than a year old. I got very lucky with an old forgotten, closed PLOC reporting from 22 years ago which boosted aaoa...