Possible to get 700+ first score?

[Anonymous]

I've been reading again

A few old posts have said if utilization is very low, the very first credit score reported could easily be above 700.

My newbie question is...
If I rotate between 2-3 cards and keep total utilization low, does that better my chances of having my cards graduate/unsecure?

I know the wording for most cards is something like "after making 7 monthly payments on time" they'll consider unsecuring the account. If I rotate and don't use a particular card every month, will that make it take longer to graduate?

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

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@tothephonebooth wrote:
I've been reading again

A few old posts have said if utilization is very low, the very first credit score reported could easily be above 700.

My newbie question is...
If I rotate between 2-3 cards and keep total utilization low, does that better my chances of having my cards graduate/unsecure?

I know the wording for most cards is something like "after making 7 monthly payments on time" they'll consider unsecuring the account. If I rotate and don't use a particular card every month, will that make it take longer to graduate?

Thanks in advance!

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Using the card IMO doesn't matter.  The passage of time here matters.  Also, remember that usage constitutes any activity on the account.  You can make a $175 purchase your first month and if the minimum payment is $25/mo and you just pay the minimum for 7 months that constitutes activity each month even though you aren't using the card at all during those 7 months and are simply paying it off.

[Anonymous]

Does carrying a balance help/hurt as far as scoring is concerned? Everywhere I've read says pay it in full but everyone I know says carrying a balance is better.

[Anonymous]

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@tothephonebooth wrote:
Does carrying a balance help/hurt as far as scoring is concerned? Everywhere I've read says pay it in full but everyone I know says carrying a balance is better.

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Everyone you know is wrong.  :-)

But that's not unusual -- most ordinary folks are wrong about a lot of stuff related to credit scoring.

There is no scoring advantage whatsoever to carrying a balance.  (Remember, to carry a balance means to allow a statement to print with a positive balance and then to NOT pay the amount at the top of the statement in full.  To PIF by contrast means you pay that amount at the top of the statement -- all of it -- sometime in the three weeks following the statement printing..  To carry a balance means typically to pay interest each month.)

While there has NEVER been a scoring advantage to carrying a balance, it used to be the case that it wouldn't damage your credit to carry a balance either.  That's because creditors had no way to tell from your credit report if you carried a balance and if you did how often you did that.  That has now changed.  Creditors now CAN make those kinds of assessments.  People who tend to carry a balance are far riskier (statistically) than those who never do. 

Furthermore, creditors can tell if you have ever carried a balance at any time in the last two years (or more).  So it is in your interest to begin establishing a history inside your credit report as a person who always pays in full.

[newhis]

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@tothephonebooth wrote:
I've been reading again

A few old posts have said if utilization is very low, the very first credit score reported could easily be above 700.

My newbie question is...
If I rotate between 2-3 cards and keep total utilization low, does that better my chances of having my cards graduate/unsecure?

I know the wording for most cards is something like "after making 7 monthly payments on time" they'll consider unsecuring the account. If I rotate and don't use a particular card every month, will that make it take longer to graduate?

Thanks in advance!

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My 'how to get 750+ FICO Score from no history' guide:

- get 2-3 cards

- read and execute the SSL technique

- you can use 1 or more cards each month

- wait 6 months until your FICO generates 

- for max score for your profile, report small balance 1 card and $0 the others, 1 month before your FICO score is created

I started with 2 cards and no loan, no credit file. My first TU FICO was 731. DW started with 2 card, then another after 4 months, first TU FICO was 720. I bet the age of new account was the reason for the lower score.