Well, I finally applied and was approved for an auto refinance. Went from 19.75% (BankOne) to 3.9% with Pentagon Fed Credit Union. Incidentally, my FICO (they pull equifax) was 665 I would have applied last month, but as I was checking my report, I realized BankOne had duplicated my auto loan TL, and when I asked them to fix it, they "fixed" it by deleting both TLs, leaving me with no auto loan history. Well, I kept checking creditexpert and the TL finally showed up again, so I went an applied online and was approved. Incidentally, my scores were hovering around 585 to 600 until I paid off my credit cards in full last month. The difference, from going from 80% usage to 0% was about 60-70 points. 8/23__9/21 EQ FAKO: 621>>693 EQ FICO: 607>>665 EX FAKO: 633>>663 TU FACO=666>>??? WK score of 20>>23)
Wow! I did not realize that paying off your CC's would increase your score by that much! Most of my CC's are at least 70-75% usuage or more. So, if I can get them paid off, or down considerably, then my scores should jump up as well. Thanks for the info, as this gives me some hope in getting my scores up. FedUp2003
Yep, the single most effective way to increase your fico score is buy paying down your balances. You'll be amazed at how many points you can gain. Congrats on the refi! Did you apply online? Can anyone apply to this company?
Pentagon Federal Credit Union is for Army and Air Force officers, DoD professionals, members of certain military associations, and their families throughout the world. If you meet these qualifications, you can join. Their web site is www.penfed.org. There is more information about joining, you can read through it and see if you qualify. Once you're a member, keep at least $5 in your account and you stay a member. Immediate family (including brothers and sisters) of members can join by having the family member sponsor them.
