@LooksAreDeceiving wrote:
Hello all,
A couple of days ago, I applied for a Discover card. Before the inquiry hit my report, my EX FICO 8 was 757; the inquiry dropped it to 740 (lower than I expected, unfortunately).
17 points for an inquiry is par for the course on thin files. I have personally observed data points of 18,19, and 20pts for one single inquiry on TU, EX, and EQ, respectively. This happened when I applied for my first 2 cards 9 months ago.
This morning, my score had risen to 747, with the only change being my AoYA hitting 6 months. Is this to be expected? I though that there was a boost when the AoYA reached 12 months, but didn't realize there was one beforehand.
On my thin file with 2 cards, there was a very significant boost in score at AoYA 3 months.
And then again at AoYA 6 months.
There's not a lot of data on the first 6 months of having a credit card, mostly because a lot of people won't have a score before the 6th month and a credit card is their first account.
I waited until my credit builder loan reached a year in age before applying for my first 2 cards, so I was able to track everything in detail using myFICO monthly reports. (You'll see all 28 FICO scores along with score factors for each one at the links above.)
Also, you might see an extra 3pts or so if you keep your actual computed aggregate utilization between 0 and 4%. Never zero, and less than or equal to 4%. Again, this is probably another 'thin file only' thing.
And when you only have 2 cards, having a balance report on 1 with the other reporting $0 (AZEO, or 'All Zero Except One') gives yet another major boost in score.
It's a gravy train of points for the first year!
