FICO has previous released some guidelines about what makes up our scores:
- 35% payment history
- 30% utilization
- 15% credit age
- 10% inquiries / new accounts
- 10% credit mix
My question is, are these fixed percentages? Or is it just a rough guideline that actually can vary? And if so, by how much can they vary?
Total Loan Balance: $43k / $65k
Total SL: $78kOh, one more question which I see come up a lot around here (last one for now, I swear!)
Why do FICO score simulators work so badly? Is it just that the people who make them don't really understand the scoring algorithms, or are they intentionally wrong for some reason?
(For example, I've seen some simlators say my score will drop 20 points if I continue making on-time payments for 2 years).
It's a real problem, I think. One poster here recently said they felt like giving up on rebuilding their credit after they saw that anything they did would only cause their score to get worse.
Does FICO / MyFICO have plans to make a working simulator some day? I feel like they have everything they would need to accurately predict future scores, but the simulator that they offer currently isn't different than anyone else's
Dang, I thought of one more question. Sorry guys 
This is a rare opportunity to talk to some insiders, so I'm pretty excited for this opportunity and have been putting a lot of thought into questions I've had over the years!
This is in regards to Fico 10T (the one that factors in data trends).
Question is pretty simple - will balance/utilization trends still affect the score negatively even if the current balance/utilization is much lower than usual?
For example, see this scenario:
- March shows 25% utilization
- April shows 35% utilization
- May shows 50% utilization
- June shows 85% utilization
Because the trend is that the user is accumulating more debt, instead of paying it down, I would imagine that the scores would suffer from this trend data. That part makes sense.
But let's say in July, the utilization is 1%. Would the trend data from the prior months still be hurting the credit scores at that point, or would the new low utilization sort of "reset" the trend and substantially boost the scores?
I'm worried that even if I were to pay off my debt completely, just the fact that I had a few prior months where my balances were higher might take a LONG time to undo that damage. This is what I always liked about the "snapshot" data of prior FICO versions, the fact that it was easy to boost your scores just by paying down the debt before the next statement closing dates, after which it was like I never had the debt in the first place. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of that information continually hurting my scores for several years, but I'm hoping it's only pulling scores down if the current month's trend is worse than the prior months trends, and that it can be quickly rectified by simply paying down the debt.
Thank you so much for answering all the questions!
My question is, when does a young file cross over to an aged file?
Starting Score: 784
Hello, and thank you! What a treat for us all
ok...here we go.
#1- Years ago, there was "talk" of a super sweet ratio point, for ultimate FICO scoring, and that was 1:1, 2:2, 3:3 etc, etc, etc.......basically, the amount of open revolving cards and open reporting installment loans were exactly the same. Any truth to that?
#2- What is the exact number of inquiries that FICO STOPS counting them into your current score? 12? 20? 80? skies the limit?
#3- If inquires quit "counting" into your score after1 year, and FICO doesn't "see" them anymore, then why do they need to stay on your reports for 2 years?
#4- Why am I penalized for not having a Mortgage?
When I pay off a personal loan, thus achieving an evident goal, illustrating that I am a responsible borrower who completes my obligations AND reducing my credit burden in the process, my score drops based on the closing of an account. How does this make sense?
Thank you for this opportunity.
We often hear the words.... but this effect (of your prior indiscretion) will decrease over time....
When it comes to 30 lates, 60 lates, etc, can you speak to any gradual increase in terms of points? Most users report the change and get a jump only after a full 7 years, despite the "effect" language.