Ok, here's another idea I'm trying. I have heard that using the "opt out" for the CRAs adds points to your score. No joke, and I mean a nice bump, not just a couple of points or so for deleting a recent (90 day recent) inquiry. I'm going to try it tomorrow. Here's what I'm doing. Opt out from all 3 CRAs promo lists. Wait for the confirmation LETTER from all CRAs that I am opted out... Wait 90 days or so from date of letter. Recheck score. I've gotten this one from someone I trust but I haven't tried it yet. Anyone up for an experiment? Thinking about it logically, the CRAs say nobody else will SEE these inquiries. They don't say the PROMOs won't hurt our scores. BIG difference. And perhaps being able to get the PROMO offers is judged differently from the actual PROMO inquiries. I'm not sure what makes the score difference here. but Selling our names makes the CRAs money. Opting out hurts them... but I never did it because I judged my repairs by the mail I got. But let's face it, if you're reading this board you'll know what to apply for and when... so why let them sell you over and over??? It would almost also make sense that someone who Doesn't want the promos will be a better bet. They don't want extra credit offers. They'll be less likely to apply for new credit because they won't be innundated with offers. They'd have to be proactive, not reactive... these people won't see a great offer and go for it on a whim. They'll be less likely to get more credit. They'd also be less likely to jump ship. So if you're MBNA you're much less likely to lose your customer if they don't get FirstUSA solicitations all the time... When you look at it from this perspective, it makes statistical sense to give OPT OUT people higher scores. Now, how much??? do you say??? What's the reward for OPTING out? I won't say. I've heard a number. It sounds too good to be true. But I'm trying it. I'm not applying for the next year or so anyway. Certainly not before Jan. And I know what to apply for next. I don't need solicitations. Who's up for this experiment????
Remember: Score bump 90 days after confirmation in writing that you're out. Make sure all 3 take you off. Just wanted to put this in again So we don't jump to conclusions if we don't see a bump the day after we call I've never done this so it'll be interesting. I hope in 4 months we agree we came across another way to add points to our scores!
I Opted out on Friday for the same reasons but wasn't aware of the confirmation letter.Checked score today,down one (1)point. VJ
Opted out a few weeks ago, but I don't expect any score changes. My reasons were reducing junk mail, and minimizing the risk of identity theft. Also, my score is currently not high enough to receive the truly desired pre-approvals. So until it's over 720, I'm not opting-in again. BTW, the recording says you'd only get a written confirmation if you chose an unlimited-time opt-out (as opposed to the 2-year opt-out, which was my choice). Saar
I opted out two months ago. I got my Experian and TransUnion score on Saturday. I don't know if it helped or not because I never knew the scores prior to opting out. I'll wait a month and see if my 712 on Equifax changes since that is the only one I knew. Keep you posted. Dani
Kindof feels good to get out of their system. Besides, we all have learned "preapproved" doesn't mean much and we're smart enough to figure out what cards we want. I also have heard that scores get the most update around the first of the month. So I am guessing since I opted out today... I am likely to see the bump in the first week of November. It can only help. Oh, I got my inquiry disputes completed today by Experian. 1 came off, 4 stayed. My score decreased 7 points since 2 days ago. Only difference = inquiries came off dispute.
Makes ya wonder if we're penalized for disputing! What other explanation is there for the 7 point drop?????? Tom
no, maybe I miswrote it. I got a score increase while disputing. they only took 1 off, 4 stayed (came off dispute) so my score went down because I think the inquiries were factored back into the score calculation.
Marie, when did you do the disputes? And how did you do them -- online, mail, etc? I am curious because I am nearing 3 weeks with no response as to my online disputes.
I'm skeptical about this opt out experiment. Say I follow along.....how is it going to work seeing that your credit report from 3 months prior will not be the same three months later anyway? Anything could happen in 3 months. I could pay my cards down or blow them up. That would change my score. Say if I try to keep everything steady and my score does rise. How do I know it's not because of my accounts aging or inquires falling off? I guess my concern is that it seems like there's no sure way of knowing if opting out could potentially raise your score or not. And like GEORGE mentioned, this might prevent me from receiving GOOD offers in the mail from reputable banks, etc.
I called. And, I think I need to let my credit applying slow down or stop for a while, anyway. A lot of those preapprovals require a hard inquiry be done, anyway. I don't really care if it helps my score (I really hope it does, though). I have been wanting to do it for a while. I don't like the CRA's throwing my name and number around all the time... Dustin
I do all my disputes in writing except I just did the Experian online inquiry deal. I usually want the paper trail, but I was hoping the inquiries would drop in several days like others experienced. I agree this experiment is uniquely difficult to judge in success. I'm paying down quite a few accounts in the next month, I don't know the exact calculation of points for that but I do know FICO penalizes heavily for balances on revolving cards... There's no way to tell exactly how much is from this versus other activity. I have not done this up until now because I also wanted the promos. However, I've been noticing the promo inquiries but fewer actual offers. I'm squarely between subprime and prime. Likely I won't get the prime offers for a while and if I did get them I won't get accepted. "preapproval" is a joke. I also don't want any more subprime junk and if my current issuers want to send me any solicitations they will anyway. I have not a thing to lose. Everyone's situation is different. I wouldn't have done this a year ago but now the time is right. Today I looked at my reports again. There are a LOT of promo inquiries. They are the predominant items. Then ARs. Then my apps. If they affect the score at all, I'm screwed out of prime. I'm in the 650 range now... it'll increase in Dec when the bk hits 36 mos... and my balances are decreasing. So I'm guessing I can get 660-670 in the next 6-9 mos. So what else will get me prime? CLosing some newer accounts would likely do it but I'd like to keep them. So if opting out helps even 10 points, it'll make me on the threshold of prime. If I need a manual review to get approved to prime cards, I can certainly negotiate it with a real person and if the score is just the cutoff then maybe this will make the difference. By the way, I'm skeptical too but again, it's the right time in my rebuiding process to try anything new. I did get this suggestion from someone I trust, from someone who's in the mortgage business... from someone who sees what makes a difference (he does a lot of rescoring for people). And he suggested to me that the increase will be larger than I expect. For me it's worth a try. You guys have good points on the promos.. for me it's another experiment in scoring and it's worth a try :_)
