Share your badass tips for improving credit score

[tomq04]

I've got no proof on the interest idea other than my F-I-L likes to come up with correlation ideas about everything.  I've personally never paid a penny in CC interest, and I'm sitting at 780 at age 27, and had 780 when I bought my house at 24.

I was throwing that out to see if anyone else had heard such a thing, apparently the consensus is "bullocks", so let's not go that route.

[iris lily]

... Don't carry a balance. There's no need to pay interest to get your score up. Your credit card company reports your balance to the credit bureaus once per month. If you use your card regularly, there's a good chance on any given month that you will show a balance the day the company makes their report, even if you pay it off in full before the due date.

Maybe, but I've had credit cards for decades and never carry a balance, and my FICO score reported by Creditkarma is still less than 800.

I wrote a post about that here some months ago. I won't worry about it, but it is annoying that it's not higher.

[kpd905]

Maybe, but I've had credit cards for decades and never carry a balance, and my FICO score reported by Creditkarma is still less than 800.

I wrote a post about that here some months ago. I won't worry about it, but it is annoying that it's not higher.

It might be the variety of accounts.  If you only have credit cards and no student loans, auto loans or mortgage, you'll have a slightly lower score.  But really, once you hit 760, there is no point in going higher unless you are going to use it for churning cards.

[RetiredAt63]

I am in Canada so it's not always the same.

I took out an RRSP loan (hey, 2.85% interest rate (prime) versus 6.5% on my personal LOC).  They had to pull my credit score to do it - 769 (apparently max is 800 for wherever they pulled it).  Bills paid on time, no overdues or too much on CCs, one credit check in the last 2 years (when I rented an apartment for a year).  The loan officer seemed to think that 769 was pretty good, he never sees an 800, and isn't sure what you would have to do to have it. Oh, and he is one of us without knowing it, plans to be retired by 35.

Credit scores are not something I have ever really worried about - leading a mustachian life pays off.  I haven't found being retired is an issue either, as long as there is income coming in from somewhere they don't seem to care where it comes from.  However, we don't have the CC churning opportunities that people in the US have, so credit scores only really matter for the biggies - mortgage, car loan (I am talking general population, not us), CCs.

[aj_yooper]

Interesting thread, Bob!   Will be following along. 

[Bob W]

Maybe, but I've had credit cards for decades and never carry a balance, and my FICO score reported by Creditkarma is still less than 800.

I wrote a post about that here some months ago. I won't worry about it, but it is annoying that it's not higher.

It might be the variety of accounts.  If you only have credit cards and no student loans, auto loans or mortgage, you'll have a slightly lower score.  But really, once you hit 760, there is no point in going higher unless you are going to use it for churning cards.

Yes,  I definitely plan on rewards churning.  So it really does matter to me.   760 is adequate for almost all the rewards deals.   But I know that with inquiries I'll take a hit.   So if I start churning at say 730,  I anticipate a slam down of 30 points based on inquiries and age of credit.   

A strange bit, that many may not be aware of, is that the more cards you have/had the higher your score.   10 or less is considered poor.  So I think that will help me as I am setting at 9 right now.  The day I hit 730 is the day I pull the rewards churn.

My mom had an 800+ credit score in her 80s when she passed 5 years ago.  She probably still had an active Sears card from 1965!

A stellar 800 credit number tends to motivate bankers to help you out.     

[kpd905]

One tip that hasn't been mentioned: Amex backdates all cards to your oldest card.  So get a no-fee card with them to keep forever.  Say you had a 10 year old card with them, and now you open a new card.  Your new card is considered 10 years old instead of brand new, which can be really beneficial to your average age of accounts.

[darkadams00]

My score = 814 and the wife's = 829. Basically we've carried no debt for quite a while, and we use two cards to pay monthly expenses. Utilization never passes 10% on either card. Each gets paid off in full each month. No interest. No fees. A few years ago I tried to increase my score quickly by different methods suggested via Google searches. Little success. When I finished with debt, lowered utilization, and just started using credit minimally but regularly, the scores began to move upward consistently--about 100 points over a year or so.

In talking mortgages, FICO seems to be the number of choice around here. The other numbers seem to quasi-FICO numbers that are more readily available to consumers. Score ranges are different, and scoring algorithms vary across the numbers. So one action might trigger different outcomes on different scores in both direction and magnitude.

[Bob W]

My score = 814 and the wife's = 829. Basically we've carried no debt for quite a while, and we use two cards to pay monthly expenses. Utilization never passes 10% on either card. Each gets paid off in full each month. No interest. No fees. A few years ago I tried to increase my score quickly by different methods suggested via Google searches. Little success. When I finished with debt, lowered utilization, and just started using credit minimally but regularly, the scores began to move upward consistently--about 100 points over a year or so.

In talking mortgages, FICO seems to be the number of choice around here. The other numbers seem to quasi-FICO numbers that are more readily available to consumers. Score ranges are different, and scoring algorithms vary across the numbers. So one action might trigger different outcomes on different scores in both direction and magnitude.

.   Seems like very good advice and great scores!    I will follow going forward.

[Bob W]

So this is laughable!   

When my credit utilization on my Walmart card showed 550 out of 600 and my total utilization of all credit was 2% my scores got slammed from  712-684 (trans) and 720-688 (Equifax).   

That was about three weeks ago. 

 So 3 days ago Walmart sends me an email (well actually GE capitol) that they are increasing my limit to $1,200.  Go figure.   So my scores still show low on this Monday but Credit Karma is updating tomorrow so I will see if the $50 balance on the $1,200 card and zero other debt is enough to get my scores back up to the 715 range?

[Bob W]

Boom!

Paying down the one credit card I used to near zero and it self increasing from 600 to 1200 must have made a huge difference.   Credit Karma shows a 733 score on Equifax this morning. That is amazingly a one day bump up of 45 points!   The Transunion side of CK still shows a 684 but it doesn't seem to reflect the change in utilization as of yet.   

733 is pretty good, and I know I said I would start the rewards miles game at 730,  but I'm a bit nervous with that right now.  I think that new cards will have a pretty big impact on my score due to age of credit.  Adding 4 cards at once will significantly reduce my credit age.


 I'm doing the other steps mentioned above and see that all my inquiries should drop in April (2 years they drop).   I think the biggest help may be being added to my wife's stellar 20 year old high limit card as an authorized user.   

I'm pretty stoked about the 733 ----- c'mon 750!

(I bet I start seeing the preapproved credit card apps piling up in my mailbox again and that is  a very good thing)

[johnny847]

I think you fret over your credit score too much. So long as you don't need a loan in the near future, don't worry about it.

My uninformed friends think I'm crazy when they learn I have 9 credit cards. "But doesn't that lower your score?", "Your score will drop once you cancel your cards with an annual fee", and other such statements/questions. I don't have the energy sometimes to correct them, but what I do know is this:
I don't have any plans for a loan in the near future. Hence, my credit score will only be used to get more credit cards. If in fact I have applied to too many cards, then I'll start being denied for them. It's a self limiting problem.

Just apply for the cards Bob. Firstly, CK is merely an estimator. Secondly, if your credit score is too low or whatever, then you'll get denied. Big deal. Just apply again later. A credit inquiry has a small effect on your score (inquiries only make up 10% of your overall score).

[Bob W]

I think you fret over your credit score too much. So long as you don't need a loan in the near future, don't worry about it.

My uninformed friends think I'm crazy when they learn I have 9 credit cards. "But doesn't that lower your score?", "Your score will drop once you cancel your cards with an annual fee", and other such statements/questions. I don't have the energy sometimes to correct them, but what I do know is this:
I don't have any plans for a loan in the near future. Hence, my credit score will only be used to get more credit cards. If in fact I have applied to too many cards, then I'll start being denied for them. It's a self limiting problem.

Just apply for the cards Bob. Firstly, CK is merely an estimator. Secondly, if your credit score is too low or whatever, then you'll get denied. Big deal. Just apply again later. A credit inquiry has a small effect on your score (inquiries only make up 10% of your overall score).

Like you I didn't  too care much until I realized that I could easily net $10,000 a year in free travel just by applying for credit cards.  (see my previous posts on this thread)  So for me 10K a year is serious money. 

That and I will also most likely mortgage a piece of land or house or something in the future.  So a shining score of 800 goes a long way to motivating the mortgage folks to work my case hard.   

I also used to think that 10 cards was too many,  but it appears that you need at least 10 cards or 10 some things to get into the good area of the score algorithm in that particular area.   

That --- and remember --- my score went up from 688 to 733 in one freaking day simply by paying down $500 on one card.   That is a huge difference.   In most cases it would mean a decent percentage on a mortgage loan or the low score may even impede the ability to have a mortgage loan at all.   

Also,  it has come to my attention that credit scores can impact employment options, insurance rates,  security clearances, apartment rentals etc. 

So even if one never needs or wants credit it appears to be a good thing to have a high score.

[johnny847]

First of all, Credit Karma is merely an estimator. It can be dead on sometimes, but it can be terribly inaccurate. Credit Karma says my TransUnion score is 674. Barclaycard, on the other hand, provides me my true TransUnion FICO score. It's 730. The estimator really doesn't mean all that much.

Secondly, you said you wanted to get in on travel hacking. That's great. But at the same time, if you actually need to use your credit score for something (whether that's a mortgage, insurance rates, what have you) in the near future, then guess what? You shouldn't be signing up for all these credit cards because they will result in a temporary dip in your score.

So that's why I'm saying you should either apply for the cards, because you won't need your credit score in the near future anyway, or you shouldn't be applying at all because you'll need your score in the near future.

[Numbers Man]

Pay your bills on time.

I went to a small ethnic restaurant that wouldn't take my discover card and couldn't handle my 2 twenties to pay a $32 dollar bill. So my wife used a credit card that we haven't used in months. So we didn't pay the credit card bill for several months. That's the problem with everything online. You never know you have a balance unless you routinely check it out.

So my credit score went from about 810 to 699 for missing one small bill. It didn't matter that I recently paid off a shit load of student loans or have never had a late payment in the last 20 years or that I have a lot of credit available.

We called the credit card company and paid the amount off and go the late fees waived but had to pay about 30 cents in interest. The credit card company also reinstated our account and communicated that to Equifax. It still shows up as a negative on my report but my rating is over 800 again. It took a few months for my score to recover. I also refuse to go back to that restaurant.

[Bob W]

First of all, Credit Karma is merely an estimator. It can be dead on sometimes, but it can be terribly inaccurate. Credit Karma says my TransUnion score is 674. Barclaycard, on the other hand, provides me my true TransUnion FICO score. It's 730. The estimator really doesn't mean all that much.

Secondly, you said you wanted to get in on travel hacking. That's great. But at the same time, if you actually need to use your credit score for something (whether that's a mortgage, insurance rates, what have you) in the near future, then guess what? You shouldn't be signing up for all these credit cards because they will result in a temporary dip in your score.

So that's why I'm saying you should either apply for the cards, because you won't need your credit score in the near future anyway, or you shouldn't be applying at all because you'll need your score in the near future.

Thanks for that.   I realize CK is not a direct score but for my purposes pretty close.  (They update weekly but there could be a lag of 3 weeks or so between actual scores and CK scores.  For instance one CK score updated Tuesday and one did not)  I will be acquiring copies of my credit reports from the bureaus with the free annual looksee in the near future.    (although they don't include scores)

I also realize that applying for 5+ cards on the same day will have a bump down effect for 90 days or so due to inquiries.   From what I've seen is that scores tend to rise pretty quickly as the plus side is that you have more accounts and have more available credit.   

I will be hoping to be in the 740-755 range on all bureaus prior to the hit and am hoping not to drop below 690 in the short term.    In my case I show 8 to 9 accounts currently and above 10 is considered good. 

I'll know if my improved score is good to go if I start receiving lots of unsolicited credit card apps in the mail.  I currently receive none.   I think the credit card companies add their own algorithm to the bureaus ---- something like averaging their previous pulls on your account and looking for a trend.   

Many of the nicest cards for the miles game appear to ask for a 730+ plus score.   

[Bob W]

Pay your bills on time.

I went to a small ethnic restaurant that wouldn't take my discover card and couldn't handle my 2 twenties to pay a $32 dollar bill. So my wife used a credit card that we haven't used in months. So we didn't pay the credit card bill for several months. That's the problem with everything online. You never know you have a balance unless you routinely check it out.

So my credit score went from about 810 to 699 for missing one small bill. It didn't matter that I recently paid off a shit load of student loans or have never had a late payment in the last 20 years or that I have a lot of credit available.

We called the credit card company and paid the amount off and go the late fees waived but had to pay about 30 cents in interest. The credit card company also reinstated our account and communicated that to Equifax. It still shows up as a negative on my report but my rating is over 800 again. It took a few months for my score to recover. I also refuse to go back to that restaurant.

That sucks!   It is amazing that such small BS has such a huge impact. 

[johnny847]

From what I've seen is that scores tend to rise pretty quickly as the plus side is that you have more accounts and have more available credit.   

Whoo! It's amazing how many people focus on the drop after a credit card application and then ignore the subsequent rise of your score. Yay for being informed.

I will be hoping to be in the 740-755 range on all bureaus prior to the hit and am hoping not to drop below 690 in the short term.    In my case I show 8 to 9 accounts currently and above 10 is considered good. 
...
Many of the nicest cards for the miles game appear to ask for a 730+ plus score.   

This is just one data point, but I've never had my score exceed 734 (and most of the time my credit score hovers around 720) and I've never been denied for a credit card. This includes higher end cards such as the Amex Premier Rewards Gold, Barclaycard Arrival+, and the US Airways Mastercard. Another reason why I was saying just apply for them. But really, this is just one data point, so you can't reach any meaningful conclusions from this other than a score of 740-755 is not an absolute requirement for the mentioend cards.

I'll know if my improved score is good to go if I start receiving lots of unsolicited credit card apps in the mail.  I currently receive none.   I think the credit card companies add their own algorithm to the bureaus ---- something like averaging their previous pulls on your account and looking for a trend.   

I'm not sure that's the case. I didn't start getting such unsolicited offers in the mail until after I started churning credit cards.

Pay your bills on time.

I went to a small ethnic restaurant that wouldn't take my discover card and couldn't handle my 2 twenties to pay a $32 dollar bill.

I can't even.

So my wife used a credit card that we haven't used in months. So we didn't pay the credit card bill for several months. That's the problem with everything online. You never know you have a balance unless you routinely check it out.

Typically you can set email alerts for when you have a payment due. Though I don't have a credit with every issuer so of course perhaps yours didn't have that option.
Also, for cards I don't use, I like to set alerts for when even $1 is charged to the card (another typical email alert option) so I will be informed more quickly if my card has been used fraudulently.

[nanu]

You can also use Mint.com to track when your bills are due or when cards are used so no reason to ever miss a bill.

[WYOGO]

I think you fret over your credit score too much. So long as you don't need a loan in the near future, don't worry about it.

This.

Meh...my credit score. I have a few baddies that have dropped my score into the low 600's at times and don't much care. I pay what I want to pay. If I want a premium card, a number of which I do have and the baddies are impacting initial approval, I simply call them up communicate my above average income and considerable assets and get approved every time. Simple.

With that said, I have never been late on a credit card payment and never carried a revolving balance. I charged it so of course I pay it by the due date or I would never have charged it in the first place.

One nice thing about having money is that ultimately we can buy anything we want including cars and houses. I do not finance things like this unless with 0% interest over the entire term. If it is outside my reach, I don't want it anyway. If I later come to feel differently about the terms of the initial agreement or I perceive the credit issuer is guilty of some sort of breach or misrepresentation and it is unable to be resolved, I simply stop paying during negotiations. If no resolution is ultimately offered, fine by me. I do not write letters to resolve anything. I don't give a shit.

I am intrigued by the world in which "consumers" are dependent upon credit issuers.

[milesdividendmd]

I think you fret over your credit score too much. So long as you don't need a loan in the near future, don't worry about it.

This.

Meh...my credit score. I have a few baddies that have dropped my score into the low 600's at times and don't much care. I pay what I want to pay. If I want a premium card, a number of which I do have and the baddies are impacting initial approval, I simply call them up communicate my above average income and considerable assets and get approved every time. Simple.

With that said, I have never been late on a credit card payment and never carried a revolving balance. I charged it so of course I pay it by the due date or I would never have charged it in the first place.

One nice thing about having money is that ultimately we can buy anything we want including cars and houses. I do not finance things like this unless with 0% interest over the entire term. If it is outside my reach, I don't want it anyway. If I later come to feel differently about the terms of the initial agreement or I perceive the credit issuer is guilty of some sort of breach or misrepresentation and it is unable to be resolved, I simply stop paying during negotiations. If no resolution is ultimately offered, fine by me. I do not write letters to resolve anything. I don't give a shit.

I am intrigued by the world in which "consumers" are dependent upon credit issuers.

A couple of observations here.

The first is that you seem to be in a pretty good financial situation.  This makes you less concerned with your credit score which is a wonderful thing.

The second is that by tanking your credit score you are becoming more fragile to future possibilities. Though it may not be the case now,You may be in a situation in the future where it would be very advantageous for you to be able to access to capital at low interest-rates. You are closing these doors unnecessarily.

Furthermore if you want to access a lot of high bonus credit cards in a short amount of time in order to really play the miles game, your current score would hinder this approach severely. Another option lost.

I think the ideal state is to be in a position where if your credit score goes down you're not materially harmed, but you also consciously make smart decisions in order to keep the possibility of a poor credit score to a minimum.

The credit score is another game to play. And playing it well gives you more options. In my philosophy,options are usually very desirable.

[Bob W]

I think you fret over your credit score too much. So long as you don't need a loan in the near future, don't worry about it.

This.

Meh...my credit score. I have a few baddies that have dropped my score into the low 600's at times and don't much care. I pay what I want to pay. If I want a premium card, a number of which I do have and the baddies are impacting initial approval, I simply call them up communicate my above average income and considerable assets and get approved every time. Simple.

With that said, I have never been late on a credit card payment and never carried a revolving balance. I charged it so of course I pay it by the due date or I would never have charged it in the first place.

One nice thing about having money is that ultimately we can buy anything we want including cars and houses. I do not finance things like this unless with 0% interest over the entire term. If it is outside my reach, I don't want it anyway. If I later come to feel differently about the terms of the initial agreement or I perceive the credit issuer is guilty of some sort of breach or misrepresentation and it is unable to be resolved, I simply stop paying during negotiations. If no resolution is ultimately offered, fine by me. I do not write letters to resolve anything. I don't give a shit.

I am intrigued by the world in which "consumers" are dependent upon credit issuers.

A couple of observations here.

The first is that you seem to be in a pretty good financial situation.  This makes you less concerned with your credit score which is a wonderful thing.

The second is that by tanking your credit score you are becoming more fragile to future possibilities. Though it may not be the case now,You may be in a situation in the future where it would be very advantageous for you to be able to access to capital at low interest-rates. You are closing these doors unnecessarily.

Furthermore if you want to access a lot of high bonus credit cards in a short amount of time in order to really play the miles game, your current score would hinder this approach severely. Another option lost.

I think the ideal state is to be in a position where if your credit score goes down you're not materially harmed, but you also consciously make smart decisions in order to keep the possibility of a poor credit score to a minimum.

The credit score is another game to play. And playing it well gives you more options. In my philosophy,options are usually very desirable.

Excellent point Alexi!  Thanks for your input. 

I just graduated from you and Brad's Mileage hacking course and highly recommend it for MMM readers.  What a great thoughtfully laid out course!

So I checked my Credit Karma today -----  They update every 7 days --- My Transunion score went up 47 points in one day to 731!   So CK now reports a 731 Trans and 733 Equifax.   Not entirely bad scores but I am still taking action to keep it moving up.   The reason, as I mentioned previously is that I will be playing the mileage game.   

The credit score game is super important to me just now.   

And of course you are entirely correct about it being better to maintain a high score vs a mediocre score.   Imagine a situation where your employer is offered a lucrative consulting gig with the feds that pays an outrageous fee.   They want you to be the lead on the consult but because your credit score is poor you can't get the security clearance.

Or you could be in a situation where you need to move quickly in order to follow a dream or lucrative job.   Your credit score is 650 and most of the apartments you want to rent require a 700+.   

Or you are buying a home with a mortgage --  The difference between a 725 score and a 735 score could be as much as 1/2 of a percent in interest.   300K mortgage = $1,500 a year.   In many cases a score of less than 720 these days puts you in the higher risk mortgage category. 

[milesdividendmd]

Bob, thanks for your kind comments about the course. We're really happy with what we've built and the feedback.

Don't be a stranger at the facebook group, still lots of good back and forth, Miles game updates, new videos and more.

One of the suprising things about credit card churning is that it often does paradoxically improve your credit score and not by a little bit.

I'm at the 810 level which is about 50 points higher than 2 years ago.

[boarder42]

Boom!

Paying down the one credit card I used to near zero and it self increasing from 600 to 1200 must have made a huge difference.   Credit Karma shows a 733 score on Equifax this morning. That is amazingly a one day bump up of 45 points!   The Transunion side of CK still shows a 684 but it doesn't seem to reflect the change in utilization as of yet.   

733 is pretty good, and I know I said I would start the rewards miles game at 730,  but I'm a bit nervous with that right now.  I think that new cards will have a pretty big impact on my score due to age of credit.  Adding 4 cards at once will significantly reduce my credit age.


 I'm doing the other steps mentioned above and see that all my inquiries should drop in April (2 years they drop).   I think the biggest help may be being added to my wife's stellar 20 year old high limit card as an authorized user.   

I'm pretty stoked about the 733 ----- c'mon 750!

(I bet I start seeing the preapproved credit card apps piling up in my mailbox again and that is  a very good thing)

thank you so much for posting this.  I'm trying to fix my wife's credit and she has one card with high utilization right now and i have been wondering the impact.   So i should expect a large increase once paid down... awesome.

[Bob W]

Bob, thanks for your kind comments about the course. We're really happy with what we've built and the feedback.

Don't be a stranger at the facebook group, still lots of good back and forth, Miles game updates, new videos and more.

One of the suprising things about credit card churning is that it often does paradoxically improve your credit score and not by a little bit.

I'm at the 810 level which is about 50 points higher than 2 years ago.

Good to hear that your score is now officially awesome.     I will need to look into the facebook thingy.  I have traditionally avoided facebook but I will now make an exception. 

[Bob W]

Boom!

Paying down the one credit card I used to near zero and it self increasing from 600 to 1200 must have made a huge difference.   Credit Karma shows a 733 score on Equifax this morning. That is amazingly a one day bump up of 45 points!   The Transunion side of CK still shows a 684 but it doesn't seem to reflect the change in utilization as of yet.   

733 is pretty good, and I know I said I would start the rewards miles game at 730,  but I'm a bit nervous with that right now.  I think that new cards will have a pretty big impact on my score due to age of credit.  Adding 4 cards at once will significantly reduce my credit age.


 I'm doing the other steps mentioned above and see that all my inquiries should drop in April (2 years they drop).   I think the biggest help may be being added to my wife's stellar 20 year old high limit card as an authorized user.   

I'm pretty stoked about the 733 ----- c'mon 750!

(I bet I start seeing the preapproved credit card apps piling up in my mailbox again and that is  a very good thing)

thank you so much for posting this.  I'm trying to fix my wife's credit and she has one card with high utilization right now and i have been wondering the impact.   So i should expect a large increase once paid down... awesome.

That was my experience.  YMMV.   I was hovering around 725 and then put 500+ on the 600 card.  My score plummeted to the 680s.   I paid off that card and bamma wamma it went up even higher than it dropped.   That really surprised me.   My overall utilization showed 2%ish,  so yes,  it was that one high percentage card that sucked the life out of my score.   

I will never cross the 20% usage on any card again.  I think for myself that time and wise use of the credit cards, plus being added to my wife's ancient high limit card should push me towards that 750.      And really looking forward to that 800+ score that MilesdividendMD speaks of. 

I held a job a finance manager at an RV dealership several years ago and I can tell you that only 1 out of 75 of our customers presented with an 800+ score.  I was always very impressed with that.  Sadly they always ended up paying cash or financing very little of the transaction in the end. 

[boarder42]

i have an over 800 score.

she had 1 a collection that was open since 2010 i had that closed as it was paid off 5 years ago. 

she has 2 late payments i cant get off so i have to wait the 7 years

then she has the same issue as u one card at 90% max and 2% credit utilization on the rest and she is sitting at a 680ish .

[Bob W]

i have an over 800 score.

she had 1 a collection that was open since 2010 i had that closed as it was paid off 5 years ago. 

she has 2 late payments i cant get off so i have to wait the 7 years

then she has the same issue as u one card at 90% max and 2% credit utilization on the rest and she is sitting at a 680ish .

Cool.  I bet once the 90% max is paid down her score will fly.   The late pays should fade pretty quickly.  The 5 year deal should have little current effect.   If she doesn't have the cash to pay the maxed one down,  she might consider balance transferring so that no card is above 20% and total usage below 2% still. 

Best of luck and let us know if that improves the score in 30 days. 

[boarder42]

so that account was still showing collection and i disputed last month and had removed and she jumped 14 points ... hoping for this huge jump now. also her credit history blows.  its under 2 years.  so that will probably still hold her back. 

[Bob W]

so that account was still showing collection and i disputed last month and had removed and she jumped 14 points ... hoping for this huge jump now. also her credit history blows.  its under 2 years.  so that will probably still hold her back.

Nice call on the dispute.  You can also dispute inquiries. (a few points maybe).    According to Credit Karma (which is nice to check often)  one needs at least 10 credit accounts on their report to be in good graces.

Age of accounts is a factor according to some sources.   Another trick I haven't used yet is to ask people she normally pays that don't report such as cable, phone, utilities to report her positive history.   They all definitely report if you owe them.   You might have to find the right person.  Probably a head muckity muck in their collections department.   

With all the work you guys are doing I can see a bright score in your future.   2 years ago mine was sub 600.   What got me rolling was a store credit card.  As I used and paid my score crept up.   Actually  "crept" may be the wrong word as it appears to have risen 140 points in 24 months.   That is what?-- 1% per month or almost 6 points per month.   

I'm guessing the higher the score the harder it is to move the needle.    The range is 300 - 850 which seems a bit odd to me?   Why didn't they just make it a 0-500 point scale?

[boarder42]

so that account was still showing collection and i disputed last month and had removed and she jumped 14 points ... hoping for this huge jump now. also her credit history blows.  its under 2 years.  so that will probably still hold her back.

Nice call on the dispute.  You can also dispute inquiries. (a few points maybe).    According to Credit Karma (which is nice to check often)  one needs at least 10 credit accounts on their report to be in good graces.

Age of accounts is a factor according to some sources.   Another trick I haven't used yet is to ask people she normally pays that don't report such as cable, phone, utilities to report her positive history.   They all definitely report if you owe them.   You might have to find the right person.  Probably a head muckity muck in their collections department.   

With all the work you guys are doing I can see a bright score in your future.   2 years ago mine was sub 600.   What got me rolling was a store credit card.  As I used and paid my score crept up.   Actually  "crept" may be the wrong word as it appears to have risen 140 points in 24 months.   That is what?-- 1% per month or almost 6 points per month.   

I'm guessing the higher the score the harder it is to move the needle.    The range is 300 - 850 which seems a bit odd to me?   Why didn't they just make it a 0-500 point scale?

Its actually 11 thats the site i use.  and she has 10 but its a catch 22 b/c they say history is more important and she is 3 months away from hitting 2 years. tough choices.

[milesdividendmd]

Bob, thanks for your kind comments about the course. We're really happy with what we've built and the feedback.

Don't be a stranger at the facebook group, still lots of good back and forth, Miles game updates, new videos and more.

One of the suprising things about credit card churning is that it often does paradoxically improve your credit score and not by a little bit.

I'm at the 810 level which is about 50 points higher than 2 years ago.

Good to hear that your score is now officially awesome.     I will need to look into the facebook thingy.  I have traditionally avoided facebook but I will now make an exception.

Yeah

There are a lot of privacy concerns with facebook, but you can simply create a shadow account with a dedicated email and share zero private info you don't want to share.

It ends up being a useful platform for crowd sourcing mile shame info with s bunch of like minded Mustachians.

[WYOGO]

I think you fret over your credit score too much. So long as you don't need a loan in the near future, don't worry about it.

This.

Meh...my credit score. I have a few baddies that have dropped my score into the low 600's at times and don't much care. I pay what I want to pay. If I want a premium card, a number of which I do have and the baddies are impacting initial approval, I simply call them up communicate my above average income and considerable assets and get approved every time. Simple.

With that said, I have never been late on a credit card payment and never carried a revolving balance. I charged it so of course I pay it by the due date or I would never have charged it in the first place.

One nice thing about having money is that ultimately we can buy anything we want including cars and houses. I do not finance things like this unless with 0% interest over the entire term. If it is outside my reach, I don't want it anyway. If I later come to feel differently about the terms of the initial agreement or I perceive the credit issuer is guilty of some sort of breach or misrepresentation and it is unable to be resolved, I simply stop paying during negotiations. If no resolution is ultimately offered, fine by me. I do not write letters to resolve anything. I don't give a shit.

I am intrigued by the world in which "consumers" are dependent upon credit issuers.

I think the ideal state is to be in a position where if your credit score goes down you're not materially harmed, but you also consciously make smart decisions in order to keep the possibility of a poor credit score to a minimum.

The credit score is another game to play. And playing it well gives you more options. In my philosophy,options are usually very desirable.

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree with them for the most part. I suspect my perspective comes from currently having more points and miles than I have time off to spend and with numerous cards and options as you say, I don't particularly feel like I am missing out I guess. Maybe once I FIRE and have unlimited time and opportunity to travel the globe unhindered, I may become more concerned about the few offers my choices have closed the doors to.

With that being said. "Tanking" is not quite and accurate assessment of my situation. My utilizations, number of accounts and payment history are all excellent and I have never so much as carried a balance on any card I have owned or been late with a credit card payment my entire life.

Sure my principles have caused me to makes some decisions in other areas that that may rob me of some random opportunity I may or may not ever need but it has worked out reasonably well so far...

Fortunately for me irreconcilable differences between me and credit issuers do not seem to happen all that frequently otherwise my credit score would probably indeed be terrible.

[2Birds1Stone]

Start CC Churning =)

[NICE!]

I'm trying to get into the aforementioned course but it isn't letting me - any help?

Another question - if you start churning, when do you cancel cards? For example, if I get say, the Barclay's card this year and use it for the bennies, when do I axe it? I already have a super-prime credit score and 2 long-running cards, but nothing else. I'm an additional cardholder on my wife's Sapphire and was thinking about adding that one to the mix.

[MrFancypants]

I have over 800.

Over my adult life I've gotten a lot of small loans that I've paid on time, and paid off early.  Same with my credit card, of which I've only ever had one.  It's really not complicated, just make your payments on time.

[milesdividendmd]

Mykl,

It doesn't have to be complicated assuming one starts from where you are right now.

For someone starting from a lower score, or with a shorter credit history, learning how to play the game can be useful.

[MrFancypants]

I started a great many years ago.

[Liz]

For all of my cards except one, I pay off the balance in the same month before the statement cuts, so it shows a zero balance due when the statement comes out. Basically I pay by the due date of the same month I use the card, not the next month. A lot of people pay off their balances every month by the due date, but they pay after the statement generates so a balance shows on their credit reports.

[milesdividendmd]

I started a great many years ago.

Bingo!

[Gigotte]

Hi all,

Digging that one up a bit. My wife and i (+2 kids) will be moving from Europe to the US in 3 months and I am still a bit confused with that credit score thing.

So when you arrive you have a 0 Credit score and should go for a secured credit card to start building an history.

But we (my wife) do have an american express and we can apparently "tranfer" the account to the US, which would allow her to show an older history and to get an unsecured card.
I guess this one would be better to build the score than a unsecured one ?

Also, let say we plan on jointly buying a house in one year and to ask for a mortgage. Do the bank look at the "joint"score (if that exists), or do they look at both score individually to make their offer ?

I hope this is clear enough !

[Bateaux]

We pay all debts off at the end of the month.  No current mortage.  Current score is 832.  I don't need a loan.  What can I do with my 832?

[nanu]

Gigotte,

There's a way to get Amex to do it, I'm not sure how.
There are many sources online for how to build up credit from scratch, and probably some on how to transfer history from another country - I suggest you look for those.
You could also start a new thread here and people will try to help you, but that isn't the focus of this forum so you might get better info elsewhere.

Bateauxdriver,

Credit card churning for bonuses! There's a very large variety of credit cards out there that give great bonuses when doing the minimum spend after signing up. Then rinse and repeat, as often as you're comfortable (under certain limitations).

[kpd905]

We pay all debts off at the end of the month.  No current mortage.  Current score is 832.  I don't need a loan.  What can I do with my 832?

You can get $5,000+ per year to use toward travel.

[sharonpope]

Affirm Financial helped me out when I was in this bad credit situation, it really feels like hell when you can't get anything due to your credit score, frustrating and often times  you feel like banging your head on the wall.

[TomTX]

Holy thread necro, Batman!

I've reported the spammer.

One tip that hasn't been mentioned: Amex backdates all cards to your oldest card.  So get a no-fee card with them to keep forever.  Say you had a 10 year old card with them, and now you open a new card.  Your new card is considered 10 years old instead of brand new, which can be really beneficial to your average age of accounts.

Um, no. Amex does not backdate new cards. Source: I have new Amex cards and they all show the actual start date. Original Amex was 2004.

[TomTX]

I also used to think that 10 cards was too many,  but it appears that you need at least 10 cards or 10 some things to get into the good area of the score algorithm in that particular area.   

Nope.

I hit 850/850 in actual FICO (not VantageScore or whatever else) while having less than 10 cards on my history. Did have long standing on-time mortgages and a (paid off, still counted) car payment.

VantageScore (what CreditKarma uses and virtually no actual creditor uses) seems a lot more sensitive to opening new accounts.

I've been working to actually use my crazy high score. I've opened 12 new cards in 2017 alone - so I can show you what I mean. At the beginning of 2017 the scores were pretty close.

Discover (with an actual FicoScore 8) today is still reporting me at 830 for TransUnion
BoA (with an actual FicoScore 8) is also reporting 830 for TransUnion
Barclay (with an actual FicoScore, variant not revealed) is reporting 825 for TransUnion

CreditKarma (VantageScore) today is reporting 796 for TransUnion