Experian FICO score??

[vmax]

I read that just owning one of these bad MFers will make your credit score go up 100 points

 

[TexasRedneck]

Yeah - right until ya run up on a nest of rattlesnakes.......C-YA!!!!

 

[Ole Cowboy]

Mine stays at 850. Only exception was when I had a number of large purchases on credit card in the same month. Dropped to 840. Even though paid in full by the due date, apparently when the amount charged is too high a percentage of the credit limit, you get dinged a little.

I bounce between 835 - 850 in this rather odd wave pattern that may be as much as 13 points to a low of 1 point...

One of the drawbacks of credit reporting is that they only go back about 5 to 7 years. I think it should be a lifetime thing.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

Why in the hell does that bother you?
Don’t you have some brush clear? LOL

View attachment 187616

NOT with THAT machine! I have a floating deck without that I could not mow at all. I don't have a piece of level ground anywhere, full of rocks, stumps, holes you name it.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

I read that just owning one of these bad MFers will make your credit score go up 100 points

That is a floating deck model, same as mine...Albeit I did not like their choice in tires and they just do not give the traction, I use V shaped tractor design and makes a BIG difference.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

What I'm saying is it matters WHEN you pay the full amount. if you pay the full amount on the due date, you will get dinged because they will report the balance you had 20 days earlier when the statement was mailed to you.

That is going past me...Why would that be a ding. The balance when I get the bill is much lower than when I pay the bill on the due date.

Back in my single days [over 20 years], I traveled extensively in my job and I had an expense account. To ensure that my bills got paid, I paid it forward and had credit balances in all my accounts that would cover the bill that came in until I could get back home, get my mail and pay. It worked great for a single guy who never had to worry about not making a payment on time.

THEN American Express sent me a card. It did not take long and AMX was sending me more bills saying I owed money, so I paid the bill, which led to another bill, the fone calls you owe us and if you don't pay we are canceling your card, so I send in another check. Finally, I get home and look at the bill and I call AMX and I get hold of someone who can really see my bill and he says I need to talk to another supervisor who gives me the same answer. When about 4 supervisors up the chain AMX realizes that their computer system treats overpayments as debt not a credit. I cancel my AMX card and get a sweet little check for over $7000 bucks.

 

[TexasRedneck]

I bounce between 835 - 850 in this rather odd wave pattern that may be as much as 13 points to a low of 1 point...

One of the drawbacks of credit reporting is that they only go back about 5 to 7 years. I think it should be a lifetime thing.

I'm okay w/the 7-year window. It lets someone get sideways, learn their lesson, and get back on track without being hammered the rest of their lives - and most credit issuers would LOVE the excuse. We have 3 cards that I have to remember to use once a year (we had one canceled because we never used it...lol). One's a MC issued through our CU, so it's easy to use and then pay later that day, another is Cabela's, which is easy to pay online as well. Third one is one of the big banks......I'm VERY leery of those SOB's, and use it, wait until the end of the week and then pay online as well. I then f/u a week later just to be SURE they credit my account properly (once in a while they manage to credit the "wrong" account "by accident", leaving a balance owed......).

 

[ZX9RCAM]

We have 3 cards that I have to remember to use once a year (we had one canceled because we never used it...lol). One's a MC issued through our CU, so it's easy to use and then pay later that day, another is Cabela's, which is easy to pay online as well. Third one is one of the big banks......I'm VERY leery of those SOB's, and use it, wait until the end of the week and then pay online as well. I then f/u a week later just to be SURE they credit my account properly (once in a while they manage to credit the "wrong" account "by accident", leaving a balance owed......).

Yeah.
I started a thread on this a few years ago.
Bank informed me they were canceling a card I had, because I never used it, and I was worrying about what it might do to my credit.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

I'm okay w/the 7-year window. It lets someone get sideways, learn their lesson, and get back on track without being hammered the rest of their lives - and most credit issuers would LOVE the excuse. We have 3 cards that I have to remember to use once a year (we had one canceled because we never used it...lol). One's a MC issued through our CU, so it's easy to use and then pay later that day, another is Cabela's, which is easy to pay online as well. Third one is one of the big banks......I'm VERY leery of those SOB's, and use it, wait until the end of the week and then pay online as well. I then f/u a week later just to be SURE they credit my account properly (once in a while they manage to credit the "wrong" account "by accident", leaving a balance owed......).

Few years ago as the Internet became ubiquitous I cleaned up my financial life but getting down to 2 charge cards only. With luck my financial life sits almost completely in one basket, USAA. As USAA was one of the very first companies to go with automation [early 50's] they are about as knowledgable and bulletproof as any company out there when it comes to protection of your data.

My advice to all: Clean all the charge cards you are holding, if you are not using it shuck it. Reduce your financial exposure to hackers, the Chinese, Russians, N Koreans, Iran and other ME bad actors. They get your data then sell it around the world and suddenly your bank account is drained dry. My bank runs a TIGHT ship, they watch my spending like hawks and if I change my pattern I get a fone call and text msg to call ASAP and they hold funds till I Ok the transactions.

If I don't fill up with diesel at WalMart I get a text!

 

[Ole Cowboy]

Yeah.
I started a thread on this a few years ago.
Bank informed me they were canceling a card I had, because I never used it, and I was worrying about what it might do to my credit.

Been told if the financial institution cancels it its a ding, if you cancel, nothing...

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Been told if the financial institution cancels it its a ding, if you cancel, nothing...

Yes, it was a ding.

 

[mamboloco]

closing accounts lowers your "average age of accounts", which lowers your score.

Keep those cars in a sock, use them a couple of times a year to keep them open. Don't worry about exposure, the cards are covered by the bank, let them worry about that. Fraud detection these days is driven by AI and stop stuff pretty quick.

Having a good mix of cards, installment loans helps your credit score. having one or two cards might keep you from getting to 800 territory.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Having a good mix of cards, installment loans helps your credit score. having one or two cards might keep you from getting to 800 territory.

Not true.
I've used a single card for many years.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

closing accounts lowers your "average age of accounts", which lowers your score.

Keep those cars in a sock, use them a couple of times a year to keep them open. Don't worry about exposure, the cards are covered by the bank, let them worry about that. Fraud detection these days is driven by AI and stop stuff pretty quick.

Having a good mix of cards, installment loans helps your credit score. having one or two cards might keep you from getting to 800 territory.

Closing accts lowers your score, sorry just not true.

Yes your exposure is covered by the bank...but hackers get access to: your name, passwords, login names and pins and that my friend is where the problem is.

IF you think more cards = higher score you are wrong, granted they do that on other planets, but not this one. I am over 835-850 most of my life

 

[Whistler]

You're talking about FICO so that may be true however some scoring methods consider "available credit" which can be boosted by additional cards

 

[Ole Cowboy]

You're talking about FICO so that may be true however some scoring methods consider "available credit" which can be boosted by additional cards

My bet is ONLY if you got the income to support the increased credit on those stacked cards. They do look at the credit limit and your ability to pay, one stack those cards you can quickly pass your paycheck.

I keep my limits low, maybe around $30k each on my 2 cards. My biggest purchases are for my company and that is around $10-$12k and as I pay off every month $30k is more than needed.

 

[TexasRedneck]

And WHATEVER you do, avoid AMEX at ALL costs.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

And WHATEVER you do, avoid AMEX at ALL costs.

I shucked that card back in the late 70's and have never looked back...

 

[TexasRedneck]

I shucked that card back in the late 70's and have never looked back...

You an' I both! I remember thinking how "cool" it was to have one - and how HAPPY I was to get rid of it! Had to carry one in the mid-90's because of an employer. I quickly built up enough "reserve" that I could cover my monthly expenses out of pocket and then submit an expense report. Everyone thought I was foolish until they hit a 3-month period where the billing got all fouled up an' they started getting hits on THEIR credit reports (since they had to sign for the cards, subject to corp repayment). Naturally, the corp billing department did NOTHING to help those affected recover their damaged credit rating!

 

[vmax]

So has OP learned the answer to his question or in six pages has he only read what he already knew and continues to wax eloquent