What, in general, does one need to attain a 700+ score with the components of the score we know about? balance ratios? credit history length? types and length of history on accounts? late payments, if any? A view of what the entire report should look like would be really helpful.
I am in the 660 -675 range now. History is 30 + years. Currently have no negatives on any report. Everything paid and up to date. I have seven major cards (visa and mastercard) and a total of 26 accounts showing on my report (open and closed). What is pulling my scores down is the high level of useage on my cards. $63,000 available credit on the major cards, with about $55,000 used. Therefore, my ratios stink. To get to 700, I need to bring my total cc debt down to about $35,000. That is my personal experience. I think that it would be hard to reeach 700 with negatives on your reports, at least from the last couple years.
If you're just starting out, I think it's not that hard to get a 700 since you don't have any negatives. Negatives hurt your score a lot and I think the effect of inquiries is amplified if you have any serious negatives on your report. I feel that balance ratios count more than length of credit history. Only a few of my accounts hit the two year mark so far, but my score is 753 maybe because I keep the ratios low. I feel that in order to get a score of 700+ you need no negatives, good payment record, and low ratios. The accounts will age in due time.
