The 700 barrier

[Anonymous]

So, one year after I first pulled my FICO scores, I can't believe what's been accomplished. While my credit wasn't all that bad to begin with, I was pretty ignorant on how credit can affect me. Had I not come here and learned what I have, I'm pretty sure I'd be in the pits with debt. So, for that, I thank everyone here for their advice over the past year.

So I pulled my FICO scores this month, and it's like I'm being played with. My scores are TU-699, EQ-697, and EX-690. (EX, at its highest, was 699 as well.) Only balance is 6% UTI, overall 3% UTI. What's still getting me is new accounts (2 or 3, depending on CRA, thanks to Fingerhut) and that 90-day late that 1FBUSA will still not budge on. (I even tried sending GW letters to every single name I found connected to them, and still no dice. )

Two accounts will hit a year old in May, and my 90-day will turn another year old in June. I'm hoping that sometime after that I will finally join the 700 club. Being one point away twice, while hilarious, is also very frustrating. Just to see a FICO score of my own that begins with something better than a 6 would be nice.

One thing I'm not sure on is a student loan that I took out this semester. I've finally taken the plunge and gone back to school part-time. When this loan ($1700) finally shows up, what kind of affect will it make on my FICO scores? This would be my first installment loan. I have no other accounts besides credit and store cards. 

[GFer]

Once that student loan shows up you may very well get a few points. Student loans are installment loans and the gain would be because you would have a better 'mix' of credit. Remember there are 4 types of loans:

CC

Charge card (store card)

Mortgages

Installment loans (student loans, car loans, and lines of credit)

[marty56]

Dont forget about old INQs falling off.  I got a nice score boost on EQ when I went from 2 INQs to 1.

Also how old is your 90 day late?  My scores have been fairly stable for about a year and I havent seen any real increase in my score on my 120 day late which will be 4 this summer.  IMHO 90+ day lates dont really deacy until they fall off.

[Anonymous]

The 90-day occured in June 2006, so it will turn 3 this year. It seems like forever ago, too! *sigh* It's been months since I last bugged them about it, so I guess it's time to send out a new batch of GWs.

I have three INQs on EQ, and only one on EX. All but one on EQ will drop come May. (Hurry up already!)

I forgot to mention how important just $1 can be on credit reports. TU had a $1 balance on my Target card. (The team members at Guest Services were a bit shocked when I went to pay it! ) After my new $0 balance reported on TU, my FICO jumped 17 points. Crazy stuff.