account age vs CL

Here's a question. For FICO scoring purposes, which matters *more*: the age of a given account, or the account's credit limit?

My story: I pulled my Equifax report recently. I have an old account listed on my credit reports -- a JCPenney card opened in 1997, with a $200 limit -- which I thought was a paid chargeoff. I'd fallen behind on payments, got duns in the mail, and I'd swear that they sent me a letter that the account was cancelled.

I paid them off, and I thought that was that. I don't have any of the documentation from that time anymore, much less the actual card, and I haven't received a statement in (literally) years.

When I looked at my Equifax report, though, the account was still listed as open. In fact, they've still been doing regular (soft) AR inquiries on my Equifax report -- seven in the past year.

So I dug up an old personal check from 1997 where I'd made a payment (hey, I didn't even remember the account number!), went to JCPenney's website, and entered the account information as I remembered it.

Lo and behold, the account's still active. The address listed is an outdated one, from when I went to college in a different city, but it's an active account.

I suppose that's good for me, in that I now have an "older" account on my credit record. Other than student loans, the credit cards I have are all less than two years old, so that's a plus.

My question is...how much does that matter? The account is seven years old, sure, but it only has a $200 limit -- a "toy card", as some people around here call them. Is it possible for FICO to give more emphasis to an account's credit limit than to its age in the scoring model? Or is this just one of those questions about the "black box" nature of FICO that nobody knows much about?

I don't really plan to *do* much of anything with the account. Maybe update the address, and possibly send a goodwill request to have the late payment references removed, but that's about it.

Mainly, I just wanted to hear everyone's opinion. I'm still in the "learning" stage here, so any input you can give me would be most helpful. Thanks for reading.

 

Hmm. Interesting. The account was opened in 1997, while the date of last activity (paying it off) was March 1998. I don't know if that makes it fit the guidelines.

Of course, I'd stopped charging on the account before then (in 1997), so maybe *that's* why it's still active.

So...does that mean I should go ahead and request a new card, and buy the occasional pair of socks or something like that every few months in order to show utilization?

I'd originally thought that my current situation was the ideal setup: an old (7+years) open account with no card, no statement, and no annual fee -- ergo, no hassles.

Another "hmm". Could buying a pair of socks boost my FICO score in this case? The mind boggles.

Again, interesting. The oldest positive account I have -- and it doesn't even list on *all* three reports -- is a paid-off student loan. It was issued in 1998, sold to Sallie Mae in 1989, deferred till 1993, and paid off in 1995. Maybe that's what's keeping my FICO scores from being completely in the tank.

Thanks for your response. You've definitely given me some food for thought.

--Sisko