I am about to start applying for home mortgages and buy a house. I want to get the best rate possible, so in turn, I am trying to make my credit report perfect. I have 13 total revolving accounts ---7 open -----Sears Card opened 5/06 -- no balance -- $5,200 CL -----Sears Card opened 6/04 -- no balance -- $4,000 CL -- AU -----BOA/MBNA opened 5/04 -- no balance -- $2,000 CL -----Bank of Amer open 9/03 -- $3,119-- $10,000 CL -----Polaris opened 7/02 -- no balance -- $10,000 CL -----Chase opened 6/02 -- no balance -- $5,300 CL -----Discover opened 5/00 -- $1,607 -- $5,000 ---6 closed -----CITI opened 1/04 -- No limit reported -----Capital 1 opened 1/02 -- No limit reported -----GEMB/JCP open 1/01 -- No limit reported -----Capital 1 opened 9/01 -- No limit reported -----GEMB/Whitehall open 4/01 -- $1,000 CL -----CITIBKSDNA open 5/00 -- $2800 CL I have 6 inquiries in my history: no installment loans or collections! Scottrade - 8/11/06 - Equifax Sears/CBSD - 5/21/06 - Transunion SprintPCS - 5/16/06 - Experian SprintPCS - 5/16/06 - Experian ( I dunno why they ran it twice?) SprintNXTL - 5/14/06 - Equifax Two River Ford - 2/09/05 - Equifax I have no collections and I have never made a late payment or over-limit My Address is listed wrong as well as my current employer...does that affect my score at all? I have about $5,800 total debt. I got my FICO 2 years ago and it was 720...My scores from truecredit.com are: Transunion - 746 Experian - 747 Equifax - 751 What can I do to raise my score the maximum it can be? Get an installment loan and then pay it off quickly or what? Would it help if I re-opened some of those old accounts? I closed them a couple years ago thinking it would help my score. John
Hey John, Have you ever heard the old expression "You can only get so high . . . " You are maybe as high as one can be! Those are some very impressive scores! In my opinion, I wouldn't do anything different than you have done in the past. Beginning at 720, you get prime rates on everything. It serves really no purpose to strive for that 800+ score because you get the same benefit from a 720 or above. Good job, relax!
At 750, it shouldn't matter for much. The passage of time will probably do the most. You have a recent cluster of inquiries, which will fade over 6 months to a year, which should raise your scores toward 770. Your length of credit history is about 6 years. If you continue to pay as agreed, and police your reports to ensure no errors creep in, that should have the most significant effect, long term. Your utilization is already quite low. Keep in mind that the main reason to have high scores is to get the best terms when you need them. It is all about your bottom line. There would be no point if you never used credit. In addition, as you have a longer history of good credit (never late, paid as agreed), the scores appear to be less affected by higher utilization. Your address and employer have no effect on FICO. You probably want to make sure your current address is correct with all your accounts, so it is reported to the CRAs correctly, since CC offers may end up there and if someone residing there were to have enough information to apply in your name, they might get approved and have a card sent there. In particular, you are reaching the level of consumer reliability where a sloppy creditor is more likely to be a cause of any credit problems than an error on your part, so in any disputes or problems, always document all contacts, including all names of CSRs you speak to, and sent follow-up letters.
