I know, first world problems, but one of my goals as I garden is to get my scores as high as possible, because I need a goal, right? 
Some people on here have reached 850, that would be the ultimate, but I'd be happy with 800-830 without AZEO.
Right now, I'm at AZEO, my youngest accounts are over a year, and my EX and TU FICO8 scores (only ones I have access to without paying) haven't moved in 3 months. EX is 816, TU is 824. I can make them drop by "violating" AZEO or letting a higher Utilization report, but they don't seem to want to move any higher than they are now.
I also know credit is a marathon, not a sprint, and maybe in time they'll creep up higher? Just wondering what criteria I need to achieve for this to happen, either sooner or later.
Data points:
4 open accounts: 3 credit cards, 1 mortgage.
AAoA: 6y10m. AoOA: 23y7m. AoYA: 1y3m. AAoOA (open accounts): 7y2m. AAoRA: 9y3m.
CC reported utilization: 1% w/AZEO. Mortgage balance: 5% paid off (18y9m to go).
Inquiries: 3 on EX, 2 on TU. None are scoreable, over a year old.
No derogs.
I would guess the biggest factor right now is the mortgage balance, but that's going to creep down over many years as I don't have the funds to pay it down faster, and I'd rather not sell my house and live in my car for a higher FICO score.
I'm wondering if there are any account age thresholds that, when reached, will bump me up a point or three. I know at 1 year there's a scorecard change that bumped me up several points. Will reaching 2 years with no inquiries or new accounts net me anything besides a diamond spade and zero inquiries? What about AAoA of 7 years, which looks like the next "threshold" I will reach that results in a round number age, whether that affects FICOs I don't know.
Thanks...
Based on the information you've provided, it looks like age of youngest account and remaining balance on your mortgage are the primary factors in your score.
For the most part a score above 760 will give you the best terms available; basically making scores in the 800's status symbols for the most part.
I'm sure someone else will be along shortly (if not responding while I type) to offer possible other solutions and/or correct me if I'm mistaken.
@Anonymous wrote:I know, first world problems, but one of my goals as I garden is to get my scores as high as possible, because I need a goal, right?
Right now, I'm at AZEO, my youngest accounts are over a year, and my EX and TU FICO8 scores (only ones I have access to without paying) haven't moved in 3 months. EX is 816, TU is 824. I can make them drop by "violating" AZEO or letting a higher Utilization report, but they don't seem to want to move any higher than they are now.
I also know credit is a marathon, not a sprint, and maybe in time they'll creep up higher? Just wondering what criteria I need to achieve for this to happen, either sooner or later.
Data points:
4 open accounts: 3 credit cards, 1 mortgage.
AAoA: 6y10m. AoOA: 23y7m. AoYA: 1y3m. AAoOA (open accounts): 7y2m. AAoRA: 9y3m.
CC reported utilization: 1% w/AZEO. Mortgage balance: 5% paid off (18y9m to go).
Inquiries: 3 on EX, 2 on TU. None are scoreable, over a year old.
No derogs.
I would guess the biggest factor right now is the mortgage balance, but that's going to creep down over many years as I don't have the funds to pay it down faster, and I'd rather not sell my house and live in my car for a higher FICO score.
I'm wondering if there are any account age thresholds that, when reached, will bump me up a point or three. I know at 1 year there's a scorecard change that bumped me up several points. Will reaching 2 years with no inquiries or new accounts net me anything besides a diamond spade and zero inquiries? What about AAoA of 7 years, which looks like the next "threshold" I will reach that results in a round number age, whether that affects FICOs I don't know.
Thanks...
@Anonymous since your youngest account is over a year old, it's not hurting you on versions 8 and 9.
I hate to tell you this, but what you need is a couple more bankcards, imo. (you have a thin file, which is more difficult to Optimize.) But adding is gonna lower your ages in the short term, but you'll see an increase in the long term, imo.
now, I'm saying that shooting from the hip, if you could give us your negative Reason codes and more information, we might be able to zero in more. And the mortgage loan is not hurting you that much, although once it's been open, it gives you more points the longer it's been open and as you pay it down, there's some thresholds it is believed.
@chiefone4u wrote:Based on the information you've provided, it looks like age of youngest account and remaining balance on your mortgage are the primary factors in your score.
For the most part a score above 760 will give you the best terms available; basically making scores in the 800's status symbols for the most part.
I'm sure someone else will be along shortly (if not responding while I type) to offer possible other solutions and/or correct me if I'm mistaken.
760 middle mortgage score should get you the best terms on a home loan, but for other forms of lending you may need a higher score on classic 8 (or whatever version the lender is using). As an example, USB offered me not their best rate w/ classic 8 scores between 817 and 821. But, yeah, above a certain point trying to increase your score is just for fun or to give yourself a buffer for doing things that might lower your score, like opening a new account.
@Anonymous, I'm not sure that there's much more you can do for your score with your current profile other than continue to pay down your mortgage and wait for your AAoA to hit 7 yrs 9 mos. There aren't any obvious points left on the table that I can see, other than possibly thinness of file, and I imagine that your reason codes, if you could see them anywhere, would mostly be things that couldn't be resolved for gain in the short term, like loan balances (if a mortgage would trigger that) or possibly accounts with a balance (since the best you can do is 50%). My scores were in the 820's-830's for years and years doing AZEO (accidentally, since I was only using one card) and the only real movement I was able to get on them was downward, when I opened a new card. The only classic 8 reason codes I can see now (thanks Amex!) are for having a new account (<1 year, presumably) and high loan balances (75% paid off). I don't have extra money to pay my SL's down to 9%, so there isn't really anything I can do about either but wait.
@Anonymous wrote:
Another thing to think about is, although right now my closed accounts make my file thicker, they will one day drop off, possibly thinning my account to the point of a score penalty. Maybe adding another card is a good idea for long term scoring? I don't need another card, and none interest me right now anyway.
Or maybe I should just take my 816-824 scores I have now and accept that's where I stand for the foreseeable future. 850 would be "nice" but unlikely unless I garden for many years, never moving, buying a car or refinancing.
For me, that would be the answer right there. I'm kind of a credit minimalist, so I wouldn't open a card that didn't serve a purpose for me just to see if it would help my scores down the line, esp if they were already 800+.
@Anonymous wrote:I know, first world problems, but one of my goals as I garden is to get my scores as high as possible, because I need a goal, right?
Right now, I'm at AZEO, my youngest accounts are over a year, and my EX and TU FICO8 scores (only ones I have access to without paying) haven't moved in 3 months. EX is 816, TU is 824. I can make them drop by "violating" AZEO or letting a higher Utilization report, but they don't seem to want to move any higher than they are now.
I also know credit is a marathon, not a sprint, and maybe in time they'll creep up higher? Just wondering what criteria I need to achieve for this to happen, either sooner or later.
Data points:
4 open accounts: 3 credit cards, 1 mortgage.
AAoA: 6y10m. AoOA: 23y7m. AoYA: 1y3m. AAoOA (open accounts): 7y2m. AAoRA: 9y3m.
CC reported utilization: 1% w/AZEO. Mortgage balance: 5% paid off (18y9m to go).
Inquiries: 3 on EX, 2 on TU. None are scoreable, over a year old.
No derogs.
I would guess the biggest factor right now is the mortgage balance, but that's going to creep down over many years as I don't have the funds to pay it down faster, and I'd rather not sell my house and live in my car for a higher FICO score.
I'm wondering if there are any account age thresholds that, when reached, will bump me up a point or three. I know at 1 year there's a scorecard change that bumped me up several points. Will reaching 2 years with no inquiries or new accounts net me anything besides a diamond spade and zero inquiries? What about AAoA of 7 years, which looks like the next "threshold" I will reach that results in a round number age, whether that affects FICOs I don't know.
Thanks...
There's nothing positive for you to do other than to keep on doing what you're doing.
If you want to see more frequent score changes, get experian.com, which updates daily rather than monthly.
Your scores are already stratospheric; more activity will just take you down, not up.
