@colinstu wrote:as far as I know, inqs lose their weight / hit on score after 6 mo of receiving them. they don't drop off the report entirely until 1 yr.
Inq will stay on your report for 2 yrs but will not count for Fico after 1 yr 
@RyGuy4690 wrote:Any insights to grow my score from the current 717 eq/176 tu/706 ex to around the 750-800 mark?
right around 10 inq TU, 14 EQ, 16 EX
somewhere in that area, multiple were done within the same day for a new car bought in October
It does not seem like I am too far away.
Cards look like this:
Card Outstanding Balance Credit Line American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card ALWAYS PAY IN FULL NPSL American Express Blue Cash Everyday $0.00 $500.00 American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles 0.00 $4,100.00 US Airways MasterCard by Barclays Bank $0.00 $10,000.00 Bank of America Cash Rewards Signature Visa $0.00 $5,000.00 Discover Card $0.00 $3,400.00 Chase Sapphire Visa Signature $0.00 $10,000.00 Chase Southwest Premier Visa Signature 0.00 $5,000.00 Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature 0.00 $5,000.00 Citi Dividend MasterCard $5,187.11 $8,700.00 Best Buy store card $0.00 $1,400.00 Macy's store card $0.00 $2,900.00
My score is similar to yours except EQ at 650.i still dont know why it is 50 points lower than my EX. My inqs same as you with 7 expected to fall off this sep. However my score has stuck at 703 EX 711 TU 650 EQ for 3 months, maybe bc my AAoA is low, 1.8 yrs
@lg8302ch wrote:
@colinstu wrote:as far as I know, inqs lose their weight / hit on score after 6 mo of receiving them. they don't drop off the report entirely until 1 yr.
Inq will stay on your report for 2 yrs but will not count for Fico after 1 yr
Everyone's credit report is unique and generalizations are the name of the game. That said, your "average age of account" is short, the "oldest acount" will affect scoring and utilization (systems seem to really like 1% to 9%) is a big one. Again, everyone's credit file is unique. For me 1% utilization is key with AAoA at 6 years and oldest account at 13 years has me into the 800s for a year now. Truth I was in the 800s at a lower number of years but apped for cards with inquiries and down went the score. Gardening and letting the affects of inquirys fade (a year can help) along with not apping which drags on the AAoA. In credit (despite the marketing hype we see everywhere), patience is the name of the game it is not a quick fix.
but then I would have to buy something from FingerHut.... no, not happening
In certain stages of FICO scoring, FingerHut could indeed help a score, due to being able to get the credit in the first place if one is not otherwise able to. At higher FICO scores, there are cards which you will be able to get to replace the FingerHut.
@RyGuy4690 wrote:Any insights to grow my score from the current 717 eq/176 tu/706 ex to around the 750-800 mark?
right around 10 inq TU, 14 EQ, 16 EX
somewhere in that area, multiple were done within the same day for a new car bought in October
It does not seem like I am too far away.
Cards look like this:
Card Outstanding Balance Credit Line American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card ALWAYS PAY IN FULL NPSL American Express Blue Cash Everyday $0.00 $500.00 American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles 0.00 $4,100.00 US Airways MasterCard by Barclays Bank $0.00 $10,000.00 Bank of America Cash Rewards Signature Visa $0.00 $5,000.00 Discover Card $0.00 $3,400.00 Chase Sapphire Visa Signature $0.00 $10,000.00 Chase Southwest Premier Visa Signature 0.00 $5,000.00 Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature 0.00 $5,000.00 Citi Dividend MasterCard $5,187.11 $8,700.00 Best Buy store card $0.00 $1,400.00 Macy's store card $0.00 $2,900.00
Since you have a fair number of good limit cards, and only one reporting a balance, that's the max you will expect for now.
The INQ need to grow old and drop off, is one thing.
So in the mean time, you can use and allow those other cards to report balances even though you PIF by the due date. Since you ultimately want to app for other cards with these and other lenders, showing usge is often beneficial. There are seasons of FICO score management. Since you want to get to 750, you've got some time to go, to add more months of history to your file.
You've also got a bunch of AF cards in there. Are you planning on or are you already paying those AF amounts? If you are planning on cancelling some of them to avoid AF, that's going to require some transition to another active account to replace them somehow. If you stay with the same cards, it makes your trip to 750 easier. 800, as noted, will take quite a while, so in both cases it is best to have cards you are going to hold and use for that long term, regardless of AF.