I just found out that my credit score is 690. I want a 700. What can I do? I just paid 2 store accounts off. Another should be paid in dec. will this help. I am addicted. I gotta have a 700.
Do you have any negative TLs on your reports? How old is your oldest account? What is your total available credit, and how much is your current outstanding debt?
should I close the accounts I just paid. One was 0% interest for 1 year. The other is almost 3 years old
Closing accounts does not increase your FICO score. Having accounts with a long history of "paid as agreed", with low or $0 balance, does. If they are not costing you fees to keep open, why close them. They add to the lenth of your history, which increases your score. If they are costing you, open accounts with better terms (no annual fees, lower rates) first, before closing them.
REason I asked, I was told that a lender seeing excessive available credit, questions a credit risk, therefore you can be denied credit or it may decrease you FICO.
If you are a subprime borrower, with a record of damaged credit, a subprime lender might not want you to blow their money, but if you were, you probably would not have a lot of "excess" credit anyway. You don't want to borrow from, or do any business with, anyone who wants you to be trapped in a corner, with no alternatives, or other creditor relationships. Those are shark tactics. I've seen cases where bankers promised "our best terms" if you would move all your business to them, but a few months later, "We have to raise your rates", when no-one else is. If you have a good credit history, FICO rewards low balance to credit limit, and penalizes high balance to credit limit. Excess credit you are not using is good. It means you have not borrowed to your limit. What is your current debt balance, and what is your total credit limit?
