Too many cards for scores north of 800?

[Anonymous]

My accounts have all shown up like clockwork a few days after first statement cut

[jamesdwi]

The majority of people with 800+ scores don't apply for more than 1 or 2 cards  every year.  Even when I had a 777 TX score I was able to apply for and get a credit card with very little impact, but a second INQ or card added to my file drops my score 10-20 points. So if you are starting out you really have to limit your  AP's or your score will dive quite quickly. 

as with credit its YMMV, some here can get away with 5-6 apps a year and keep a high score, but most normal people score's will tank as being seen as credit seeking. 

I have found once you have a couple cards for 6 months, and you are rebuilding you can app for 3-4 cards in a 6 month period, without freaking out most lenders but once you are north of 700 FICO's you need to slow down and APP for 1 or 2 cards every 6 months at the most, after 6 months you score will have recovered and you can AP for one or two more.  

This is what I have done, for the most part, but when i did add a 3rd or 4th card once I was over 700, i paid the price, and found my self below 700 for 3-4 months. This penality is even harsher when you have an 800 score and AP for more than a card or 2, you will find your self at a 720 or worse with any behavior outside of the norm.

[Anonymous]

So you're suggesting above that if you have an 800 score you'd likes 80 points (down to 720) if you app for 3 cards?  Do you have experience with this?  I'd find it hard to believe that 3 inquiries especially if they aren't on the same bureau and 3 new accounts would lower a score that much.  Depending on file thickness, 3 new accounts may not even drop AAoA.  On a very thin/young file I could see it being more volatile to changes, but very thin/young files are rarely at 800.

[jamesdwi]

it may not be 3, its hard to tell, just know that anything outside of the norm for the score you have will be magnified when you have an 800+ score. 

[Anonymous]

I just started a thread on this topic, as I've never heard of 800+ members losing some 80 points from a spree.  I'd like to hear some data points from anyone that's done a spree with 800+ scores.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Spree-impact-score-drop-on-800-Club-membe...

[909]

Thanks, BBS. Data points will be quite a bit more helpful than extrapolating personal experience to broad population groups.

[NRB525]

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@iowe wrote:
I'm in the middle of my own credit rebuild and I used credit cards to get the fico score increase going again like so many of the rest of us here. Since 2015, my scores have gone from low 500's to low 700's, with my end goal being 800's across the board. Over the last few days, I've been approved for two of my first five figure limit cards(woohoo!) bring my total number of revolving accounts to 8.

Over the many hours spent reading the posts here, I notice few people with higher numbers of revolvers and massive total credit lines ($300k-400k) have credit scores north of 800. Most that I have seen are between 700-790.

Is there a point where the revolvers all age together and their scores would grow? Or is there a point of over-saturation with revolving credit lines and having too much revolving credit limit being something holding one's fico scores down in the 700's?

I'm just thinking. Trying to accomplish my fico 800 goal as quickly as I can. What do you think?

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As CGID notes, you probably are working through some baddies in your file. That is currently the main weight keeping your scores down, and will be the reason 800 is out of reach for now.

I added a boatload of accounts in late 2014 into March 2016, while also paying down balances and saw a general increase in scores to EQ 769 TU 774 and EX 755 by March 2016. Then I stopped adding new accounts, and a year later, as March 1 2017 opened, I wrapped up some nice increases on all bureaus, to EQ 824 Tu 824 EX 815, and that is with 15 of 24 CC reporting some level of balance. So as long as your file is clean, yes, you can get over 800 with a large number of CC accounts.

I opened another CC recently, but also had some increase in balances outstanding, and my scores dropped to EQ 812 TU 792 and EX 803. So the advice to stop apping is good to keep in mind as well.

[Anonymous]

Again I think it needs to be reiterated that number of cards has zero impact on FICO scores.  If a lot of cards are opened in a short period of time naturally that can impact score, but someone can have 40 credit cards that were all opened more than 2 years ago (having not apped in 2 years) and their score will be just as high as someone with 3-5 credit cards.  All other things being equal, of course.

[sarge12]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Again I think it needs to be reiterated that number of cards has zero impact on FICO scores.  If a lot of cards are opened in a short period of time naturally that can impact score, but someone can have 40 credit cards that were all opened more than 2 years ago (having not apped in 2 years) and their score will be just as high as someone with 3-5 credit cards.  All other things being equal, of course.

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BBS....Your thread you started to collect data for effect of a spree on 800+ score seems to not be getting any response...do you think maybe I am the only 800+ score on these boards who has even went on an app spree?? What do you think? I know a lot of high acheivers are very conservative.

[Anonymous]

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@sarge12 wrote:

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BBS....Your thread you started to collect data for effect of a spree on 800+ score seems to not be getting any response...do you think maybe I am the only 800+ score on these boards who has even went on an app spree?? What do you think? I know a lot of high acheivers are very conservative.

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I'm not sure.  Perhaps I'll post a link to it in the high achievers thread so I target high achievers specifically and possibly get them to chime in on the thread.  Maybe you're right, though, that many with scores that high tend to not spree.  I'm planning on a spree in the upcoming months and with any luck all of my FICO 08's will be above 800 at the time so I'll be able to provide some data.  Depends on if I can get clean on EX and TU by then.  I guess even if I don't get clean on those 2 bureaus, or even if I only get clean on 1, it would actually provide even better data as I'd get to see the spree impact on a score of 841 verses a score of 751, for example.  That could be kind of cool   The big question is whether or not I hold off on the spree for another 9 weeks, because at that time I cross the 1 year mark of my last spree (last opened account) so my AoYA will cross 1 year and my scores will go up a bit... meaning they'll drop more if I spree after that.  We'll see...