@sarge12 wrote:I am putting these points here for those who might not know. Some are of the belief that 850 is the highest fico08 score you can receive. It is my understanding that that is not exactly the case. It is more accurate to say it is the highest fico08 score they will report. From what I have read you might have an actual score above 850. Due to that, it may be possible to have an inquiry while having an 850 score, and not have the score drop below 850. In other words, your actual score might be 870, and have a new inquiry that drops the score 10 points to 860, which would still report as 850. I have no idea what the highest possible unreported score would be if receiving the absolute maximum number of points in every catagory, but I have the understanding that it is north of 850. I have never yet received an 850 score, but I am close now, lacking only 15 points on the equifax report.
Assuming a score tops out at 850 (or wherever), you'll always have some people whose credit factors are so strong that certain things like a new inquiry which would normally lower a score by "x" number of points doesn't phase them. In other words, they are more bullet-proof to the impact of changes. Credit scores are so complex that you can't generically say that a certain change like an inquiry, a new account, or a late payment will impact it by precisely a certain amount of points. We can estimate but it's a rough guess.
The top score also depends on the scoring models. There are probably more scoring models that we even know about publicly. Some are known to top out at 850 but some top out at 900. In the past month, I've gotten scores from both CITI (03/24/20) and Discover (03/30/20.)
CITI said, "Your FICO® Score is calculated based on data from Equifax using the FICO® Bankcard Score 8 model and is the same score we use, among other information, to manage your account. This model has a FICO® Score range from 250 through 900."
But I also have a "FICO Score 8" provide from my Discovercard.
Hmmm, so from the charts and discussion, CITI's FICO tops at 900. Discover's tops at 850. They appear to be the same score (Model 8) on the surface. But wait ... One says Bankcard Score 8 and the other says Score 8. So yes, according to My Fico, there is a slight difference. It all depends on the scoring model.
@Anonymous wrote:Very inspiring scores from the 850+ club.
My highest score was 817 on (I believe) Equifax. I've bounced from high 780s to low 800s for the past two years. Unfortanely, I will probably never go up any higher than that as I only have 'baby credit.' It is always the key factor affecting my score.
Don't discount your potential! It took me decades to get to well into the 800's. My scores are higher than I ever thought was possible. It just takes a long time in building with regular payments, credit line increases, mix of credit with installation loans like autos or home, and regular use of your accounts. Plug away and you'll be amazed where it might go in time! 
@Aim_High wrote:
@sarge12 wrote:I am putting these points here for those who might not know. Some are of the belief that 850 is the highest fico08 score you can receive. It is my understanding that that is not exactly the case. It is more accurate to say it is the highest fico08 score they will report. From what I have read you might have an actual score above 850. Due to that, it may be possible to have an inquiry while having an 850 score, and not have the score drop below 850. In other words, your actual score might be 870, and have a new inquiry that drops the score 10 points to 860, which would still report as 850. I have no idea what the highest possible unreported score would be if receiving the absolute maximum number of points in every catagory, but I have the understanding that it is north of 850. I have never yet received an 850 score, but I am close now, lacking only 15 points on the equifax report.
Assuming a score tops out at 850 (or wherever), you'll always have some people whose credit factors are so strong that certain things like a new inquiry which would normally lower a score by "x" number of points doesn't phase them. In other words, they are more bullet-proof to the impact of changes. Credit scores are so complex that you can't generically say that a certain change like an inquiry, a new account, or a late payment will impact it by precisely a certain amount of points. We can estimate but it's a rough guess.
The top score also depends on the scoring models. There are probably more scoring models that we even know about publicly. Some are known to top out at 850 but some top out at 900. In the past month, I've gotten scores from both CITI (03/24/20) and Discover (03/30/20.)
CITI said, "Your FICO® Score is calculated based on data from Equifax using the FICO® Bankcard Score 8 model and is the same score we use, among other information, to manage your account. This model has a FICO® Score range from 250 through 900."
But I also have a "FICO Score 8" provide from my Discovercard.
Hmmm, so from the charts and discussion, CITI's FICO tops at 900. Discover's tops at 850. They appear to be the same score (Model 8) on the surface. But wait ... One says Bankcard Score 8 and the other says Score 8. So yes, according to My Fico, there is a slight difference. It all depends on the scoring model.
Discover and Citi are only pulling the model of score they use. There are I think, 28 versions of fico scores between the 3 CRA, but the lender is not applying the data in the credit report to generate the score. The CRA's are, and any lender that pulls a fico bankcard 08 score from TU will all get the same score. The fico bankcard 08 differs in the maximum possible score returned, 850 for fico 08, and 900 for fico bankcard 08. The bankcard 08 does give more weight to the revolving credit card lines than fico 08. It would show mostly if you do not have an installment loan. The harm of not having an installment loan will have greater effect on fico 08, because the bankcard 08 is used mainly by credit card issuers...mainly Citi...so your payment record for credit cards is the credit card issuers main concern. Many issuers use other fico score models. Wells Fargo for example uses fico 09, but fico 08 is still by far the most commonly used model for non-mortgage lending. I think for mortgages it is 2,4, and 5 depending on the CRA, and the middle score is used to set rates. For approvals of mortgages scores are not really used from my experience. The lender does a 3b credit pull and goes over all 3 reports with a fine tooth comb. Once the underwriter approves a loan they use the middle mortgage score to set the rates. There is also fico scores geared more for Auto loans. In my experience with mortgage loans, the lender really does look at everything closely before agreeing to a 30 year loan. You can also be required to clear up that 500 dollar collection account you forgot about before they sign if it is within the SOL. They do not want a future judgement to possibly interfere with that ability to meet your payments. I would imagine since the real estate bailouts they are likely even more careful.
@sarge12 wrote:I wonder if I am alone here in sometimes feeling temptation to pay everything late just once to get back what was once the thrill of major point changes? Sometimes I miss the thrill of getting 40 point gains. For ages it seems my score changes are of the 5 point variety...up or down! It has almost become boring. I'll never do it, but I have thought about it. There is just not many points left, but these scores have hovered between 800 and 835 forever. I think I once got an 836, but those final 15 points or so seem impossible to obtain. It gets to 830 and just stalls. I know it makes no difference, but just once, I would love to see 850 on a fico 08, and 850x3 would be even better. Perhaps then I might even be invited to @Thomas_Thumb Christmas party.
Eh, 850 is fun but the thrill doesn't last! Lol 
Few people are going to get it up there and make it stick unless they are making absolutely no changes to their profile and then ... what's the point? The way I look at it is that my credit score is there to work for me to get better approvals, better cards, better rewards, better limits, better APRs etc. And if you do that, you'll have some fluctuations. I would never purposefully sabatoge it for no reason. (I did recently run up 98% utilization with a no-fee 0% BT offer on my new Navy FCU card which I paid off over three months to build payment history. That temporarily tanked my scores a bit.) I'm happy to mostly stay in the 825 to 850 range with my various scores but they never stay completely at the top. (My recent FICO EQ-05 pull for the AOD card only came out at 780 since I have many new accounts and perhaps also that I still owe a lot on my mortgage loan.)
Honestly I wonder sometimes how @Thomas_Thumb does that with his scores! I imagine he never or very rarely apps for new credit?? It would be fun to see more of his profile statistics since he doesn't post it in his signature.
@sarge12, do you have any installment debt like mortgages or auto loans? I know that only revolving debt can hold a profile back a few points. Likewise, some very small utilization on accounts. Sometimes that is all it takes.
Here ya' go ... here's a couple ... my Navy FCU EQ FICO 9 from today and my GS Bank (Apple) TU FICO 9 from last August when I applied for the card. I'm humbled to ever see the proverbial 850 but the unicorn does actually exist!!!
