At 685 and hit a plateau, pls advice

[theGman]

My CK score is now at 685 and has hit a plateau.

 

I have only one current credit card, its about 12 yrs old, with a balance of 300 and limit of 4800.

 

Three quick questions:

1. Average age on accounts is 8 yrs. I could call Amex and remind them of an account I used to have some 15 to 20 years ago. Will that help?

 

2. I have two inquiries from last year. How do I get rid of them?

 

3. I have two negatives. A charge-off from Discover which was last reported on March 2012. And a settlement with BofA last reported in Sep 2011.

 

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[mendelssohn]

Before you app for cards, attack the negatives. You want at least 3 open cards for FICO scoring purposes, and I would try and make Amex one of those (after removing negatives). They will backdate your new account to the date you first opened an account with them. I would not worry about the inquiries. After a year, they no longer have an impact on your FICO score.

[theGman]

thanks mendelssohn!

- any ideas on how to get the negative (charge-off) removed from discover and paid settlement from bofa?

 

- i could get a joint card with amex/delta right away and then ask them to back date the account to way-back-when.

 

- i have an offer for a card from credit one but their fees stink.

[mariuszh]

Before you app for cards, attack the negatives. You want at least 3 open cards for FICO scoring purposes, and I would try and make Amex one of those (after removing negatives). They will backdate your new account to the date you first opened an account with them. I would not worry about the inquiries. After a year, they no longer have an impact on your FICO score.

 

Great advice - baddies need to go.

 

I would also like to add - do not put any stock in FAKO scores.

[LearningToFly]

Post the details of the two baddies (DOFD, DOLA, any discrepancies in reporting between the 3 CRAs, etc.) and maybe someone with experience with Discover and BOA will chime in.

[theGman]

re-writing in a bit. formatting didnt work.

Edited December 10, 2013 by theGman

[funkiehouse]

Yeah a 685 on CK could be a 730 FICO. Almost positive your stuck with the BOA, just knowing you settled. They are done with you and could care less. I'm thinking the only way is to do a jack attack and see what you can get changed and use that for further disputes if it's wrong. I think a couple more credit lines will bump you up, esp since one of the two baddies is already 2 years out. If you can get rid of those 2 then get a real score and go from there. Lot's of people, including myself, have gotten AMEX with a lot worse.

Edited December 10, 2013 by funkiehouse

[theGman]

thank you very much!!

 

1. i applied and got amex/delta with 50,000 miles. wohooo. will have them back date many many years where i first had a amex.

 

2. any ideas on what the third card should be?

 

more on the discover/bofa baddies soon.

[theGman]

1. Ok. So as posted above, got the Delta Amex Gold Card. Will have them back date it.

 

2. What is a good 3rd card?

 

3. What happens to my credit if I close the Delta Amex card in a year to avoid the subsequent year $95 annual fee?

 

4. Got the free Equifax report from AnnualCreditReport. They are below. Apparently, I have to wait until May for free Experian and Transunion. Any ideas on how to get these two for cheap along with THE fico score?

 

5. Baddies below: any suggestions appreciated.

 

Bank of America:

Date Reported: 01/01/2011

Status: Pays 61-90 days

Limit: $10,000

Activity Designator: Paid and Closed

Comments: Account paid for less than full balance

 

Discover

Date Reported: 06/12/12

Status: Pays As Agreed

Limit: $10,100

Activity Designator: Paid and Closed

Comments: Account paid for less than full balance

[theGman]

bump

[SuperGurl72]

1. Ok. So as posted above, got the Delta Amex Gold Card. Will have them back date it.

 

2. What is a good 3rd card?

 

3. What happens to my credit if I close the Delta Amex card in a year to avoid the subsequent year $95 annual fee?

 

4. Got the free Equifax report from AnnualCreditReport. They are below. Apparently, I have to wait until May for free Experian and Transunion. Any ideas on how to get these two for cheap along with THE fico score?

 

5. Baddies below: any suggestions appreciated.

 

Bank of America:

Date Reported: 01/01/2011

Status: Pays 61-90 days

Limit: $10,000

Activity Designator: Paid and Closed

Comments: Account paid for less than full balance

 

Discover

Date Reported: 06/12/12

Status: Pays As Agreed

Limit: $10,100

Activity Designator: Paid and Closed

Comments: Account paid for less than full balance

FICO.COM

[funkiehouse]

1. Ok. So as posted above, got the Delta Amex Gold Card. Will have them back date it.

 

2. What is a good 3rd card?

 

3. What happens to my credit if I close the Delta Amex card in a year to avoid the subsequent year $95 annual fee?

 

4. Got the free Equifax report from AnnualCreditReport. They are below. Apparently, I have to wait until May for free Experian and Transunion. Any ideas on how to get these two for cheap along with THE fico score?

 

5. Baddies below: any suggestions appreciated.

 

Bank of America:

Date Reported: 01/01/2011

Status: Pays 61-90 days

Limit: $10,000

Activity Designator: Paid and Closed

Comments: Account paid for less than full balance

 

Discover

Date Reported: 06/12/12

Status: Pays As Agreed

Limit: $10,100

Activity Designator: Paid and Closed

Comments: Account paid for less than full balance

Regarding the two baddies. It might be worth leaving them on your report if the AAOA is helping. That might outweigh the negative effect of the notation but it depends on the rest of your reports.