How I jumped 64 points in just a little over a week!

[sfcastro77]

So here is the update that some of you had asked for on a previous post.

 

I apologize in advance for the length, but I wanted to get all the details out so that I could potentially help someone who wants to know how lowering Credit Utilization DOES help your score. Skim over if you must....

It is also important to add that I have 100% outstanding payment history. I don't show any lates.

 

Here is a little background first:

 

I have 7 cards on my report:

#1 Capital One (300 limit)

#2 Capital One Quicksilver (300 limit)

#3 CreditOne (400 limit)

#4 Firstprogress secured (350 limit)

#5 Fingerhut (700 limit had a recent increase to 1200)

 

Authorized User Cards

#6 Capital One (750 limit)

#7 Capital One Quicksilver (500 limit)

 

I also have 4 baddies that I have yet to fix that total around $2500.....2 are medical.

 

I have $37,000 in student loans that are in good standing and go back 14 years.

 

Now my story:

 

My husband had a massive heart attack in January and that took him out of work for 4 months. I depended heavily on mine and his cards and Maxed them all out. The only card that wasn't maxed out was my fingerhut card. I kept it below 20%

My 630 credit scored tanked to the mid 500's.

Recently I have wanted to purchase a car and even though my Credit Union will accept a 550ish credit score they will do so at a higher rate.

I wanted to improve my score before I even apply so this is what I did:

 

I am a teacher and I decided to work summer school which would give me an extra $2800 in just one month and this is money on top of my salary.

The first part of the summer school money came on 7/14 and I paid $1750 towards the nasty Credit Card Debt. I plan on using the next part of my summer school money as a down payment on the car.

 

I left $20 on Card #1

I paid off Card #2, #3, #4, and #5

 

The problem: After I paid off #2... Experian Credit Tracker decided that it would charge it $45 for monthly services that I wasn't able to use since the card was maxed before. UGHHHH!!!! I called Experian and they could only credit me $23. So now I was down to $21, BUT that wouldn't happen for a few more days and my statment was about to cut. So I called Capital One and the best they could do is credit the prior months interest, but the couldn't do it for this particular card since I was on a 0% interest deal. So I asked them to do it for Card #1 They did, but since interest was coming in That put that card at a $19 balance.

Other issues... INTEREST! Why do they bill it right before the credit snapshot is beyond me.

The only card that wasn't affected by the INTEREST was Fingerhut.

 

On week one this is the cards that reported and their balances:

#1 Capital One $44 15% Utilization (Stupid Experian Credit Tracker)

#2 Cap1 Quick $19 6% Utilization

#3 CreditOne $5 1% Utilization (Interest was added )

#4 FirstProgress $1 <1% Utilization (Interest was added )

 

This was only week one which took me from 77% Combined Utilization to 39% HOWEVER, only EQUIFAX was quick at getting it on my report. TRANSUNION is lagging and only showing 61%

 

I checked my Credit Score this morning and EQ shot up 64 points!!!!!

TU is lagging and only shows a 26 point increase. It should increase as they catch up with my payments. NOTE: For my auto loan my credit union only checks EQ.

 

My EQ went from 565 to 628 in one week!

My TU went from 588 to 614, but it has only reported one card and hasn't caught up with the other 3.

 

So this is what will happen next week....

 

MY fingerhut card will report on 7/26.... It should show as paid in full if INTEREST doesn't get put on! It should also go from a 700 limit to a 1200 limit.

 

And then:

 

On August 2nd my authorized cards should be removed since I dropped myself as an authorized use which actually will help my utilization and since they are young cards they will also add one more year to my AAOA.

 

Check back for more updates! I am sure it will jump more with the changes that will occur this and next week.

 

Does anyone have any idea how much more I can see an increase?

Edited July 24, 2015 by sfcastro77

[MownGo]

Congrats! Keep going after those CLI's! It's a waiting game

[Muffy127]

That's awesome. Can't wait to see how mine goes up

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moneypyts]

Just checking -- are the credit scores you're posting FICO scores? Where are you getting them from?

 

MP

[JeffeVerde]

For cards that add interest the day the statement cuts, just estimate the interest and overpay by that much - you can find the APR on your statements. I've got one card that adds the interest like that, so I make a point of overpaying by a couple dollars just to be safe. (and it amuses me to see it reporting on my CR's with balances like " - $1.97" each month )

[mendelssohn]

For cards that add interest the day the statement cuts, just estimate the interest and overpay by that much - you can find the APR on your statements. I've got one card that adds the interest like that, so I make a point of overpaying by a couple dollars just to be safe. (and it amuses me to see it reporting on my CR's with balances like " - $1.97" each month )

 

Credit One adds interest from the date of purchase. They try and set you up for a situation where you can never close the account because it has a balance. That's why I always recommend pushing an extra $25 or so to create a credit balance before closing the card.

 

 

 

We will begin charging interest on purchases and cash advances on the posting date.

 

Page 25: https://www.creditonebank.com/assets/CardholderAgreements/CreditOneBankCreditCardAgreements.pdf

Edited July 24, 2015 by mendelssohn

[tobettercredit]

Congrats!

 

Try to do all you can to bring your scores above 680 before you start applying for more credit.

 

Off course keep your utilization down all the time especially come app spree time.

 

And in the future try to stay away from Fingerhurt type of cards

[shifter]

On August 2nd my authorized cards should be removed since I dropped myself as an authorized use

AU accounts aren't deleted just because you remove yourself.

 

They stay on as "terminated" accounts for 10+ years like any other.

 

And they still affect AAOA.

[Jordan0542]

 

On August 2nd my authorized cards should be removed since I dropped myself as an authorized use

AU accounts aren't deleted just because you remove yourself.

They stay on as "terminated" accounts for 10+ years like any other.

And they still affect AAOA.

You can have some good luck disputing as not responsible for the account. Worked for DW on 2 old AU accounts gone bad. YMMV

[josephina]

I am trying to get my utilization down by having 0 balance on all ccs including AU cards (except one card I will leave a $2 balance as folks have suggested). I also have a student loan original amount 5.5K, current balance 5K, all payments timely. Would paying this down to 2.5k boost my score? Also, I am an AU on a chase ink biz card, do biz cards not report so therefore it's OK to have a balance? Thank you for all the great advice.

[sfcastro77]

Just checking -- are the credit scores you're posting FICO scores? Where are you getting them from?

 

MP

I use a combination of purchasing it from Equifax (which shows about 10 points less than CreditKarma)... I use CreditKarma as a baseline for how much the score has changed and I keep in mind that it may be inflated just a bit. The one that I really like is IdentityGuard. It is closer by far to what I purchase from Equifax. So a bit of FAKO and FICO. The FAKO for the rough estimate and by how much I have changed and the FICO for what the true score may be.

[sfcastro77]

 

 

On August 2nd my authorized cards should be removed since I dropped myself as an authorized use

AU accounts aren't deleted just because you remove yourself.

They stay on as "terminated" accounts for 10+ years like any other.

And they still affect AAOA.

You can have some good luck disputing as not responsible for the account. Worked for DW on 2 old AU accounts gone bad. YMMV

 

I didn't know that. I will have to keep an eye on it.

[sfcastro77]

Congrats!

 

Try to do all you can to bring your scores above 680 before you start applying for more credit.

 

Off course keep your utilization down all the time especially come app spree time.

 

And in the future try to stay away from Fingerhurt type of cards

Thank you. I had a 498 credit score just 1 year ago and it was cards like Fingerhut that actually helped to boost my score. I don't think it is a bad card. I just make a small purchase and pay it off and 10 times a year they boost the CL. When time hands me the big guns (i.e. Discover, AMEX) I will then hang up my Fingerhut, but cards like this one were willing to take me on when no one else would. The one I would want to get rid of eventually would be Creditone....they like to attach fees whereas Fingerhut doesn't and as long as you pay off your card you don't pay the interest.

[sfcastro77]

 

For cards that add interest the day the statement cuts, just estimate the interest and overpay by that much - you can find the APR on your statements. I've got one card that adds the interest like that, so I make a point of overpaying by a couple dollars just to be safe. (and it amuses me to see it reporting on my CR's with balances like " - $1.97" each month )

 

Credit One adds interest from the date of purchase. They try and set you up for a situation where you can never close the account because it has a balance. That's why I always recommend pushing an extra $25 or so to create a credit balance before closing the card.

 

 

 

We will begin charging interest on purchases and cash advances on the posting date.

 

Page 25: https://www.creditonebank.com/assets/CardholderAgreements/CreditOneBankCreditCardAgreements.pdf

 

They post too many dang fees. I am not liking them, but I will stick with it until I get to a place where I can replace it with better cards. I will follow your suggestion when it comes time to do so.

Edited July 31, 2015 by sfcastro77

[NoPresetSnarkLimit]

 

Just checking -- are the credit scores you're posting FICO scores? Where are you getting them from?

 

MP

 

I use a combination of purchasing it from Equifax (which shows about 10 points less than CreditKarma)... I use CreditKarma as a baseline for how much the score has changed and I keep in mind that it may be inflated just a bit. The one that I really like is IdentityGuard. It is closer by far to what I purchase from Equifax. So a bit of FAKO and FICO. The FAKO for the rough estimate and by how much I have changed and the FICO for what the true score may be.

You can't really assume these point changes will correlate with real Fico® scores. Equifax also sells Fakos and Karma most definitely does. If I may recommend CCT for all three Ficos, you can cancel within a week for good if you don't find it useful or cancel for a nice discount if you like it, see here https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=544503&page=6 but at a minimum you'll have all 3 Ficos today to use as a better baseline going forward.

[mendelssohn]

 

 

Just checking -- are the credit scores you're posting FICO scores? Where are you getting them from?

 

MP

I use a combination of purchasing it from Equifax (which shows about 10 points less than CreditKarma)... I use CreditKarma as a baseline for how much the score has changed and I keep in mind that it may be inflated just a bit. The one that I really like is IdentityGuard. It is closer by far to what I purchase from Equifax. So a bit of FAKO and FICO. The FAKO for the rough estimate and by how much I have changed and the FICO for what the true score may be.

You can't really assume these point changes will correlate with real Fico® scores. Equifax also sells Fakos and Karma most definitely does. If I may recommend CCT for all three Ficos, you can cancel within a week for good if you don't find it useful or cancel for a nice discount if you like it, see here https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=544503&page=6 but at a minimum you'll have all 3 Ficos today to use as a better baseline going forward.

 

 

+1

 

FAKOs are often off by 100 or more points in either direction, and also are more sensitive to things that may not even change a FICO score.

[sfcastro77]

 

 

 

Just checking -- are the credit scores you're posting FICO scores? Where are you getting them from?

 

MP

I use a combination of purchasing it from Equifax (which shows about 10 points less than CreditKarma)... I use CreditKarma as a baseline for how much the score has changed and I keep in mind that it may be inflated just a bit. The one that I really like is IdentityGuard. It is closer by far to what I purchase from Equifax. So a bit of FAKO and FICO. The FAKO for the rough estimate and by how much I have changed and the FICO for what the true score may be.

You can't really assume these point changes will correlate with real Fico® scores. Equifax also sells Fakos and Karma most definitely does. If I may recommend CCT for all three Ficos, you can cancel within a week for good if you don't find it useful or cancel for a nice discount if you like it, see here https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=544503&page=6 but at a minimum you'll have all 3 Ficos today to use as a better baseline going forward.

 

 

+1

 

FAKOs are often off by 100 or more points in either direction, and also are more sensitive to things that may not even change a FICO score.

 

Okay....I did what you said and used CreditCheckTotal which gave me the following results:

Experian 646

Transunion 681 (This one is 70 points higher than what I got from other resources. WOW!)

Equifax 640

 

These scores are better than what I expected to have. CreditKarma has my Equifax at 628 (updated just this morning.)

So this CCT site is actual FICO scores as far as I can tell.

Edited July 31, 2015 by sfcastro77

[mendelssohn]

 

 

 

 

Just checking -- are the credit scores you're posting FICO scores? Where are you getting them from?

 

MP

I use a combination of purchasing it from Equifax (which shows about 10 points less than CreditKarma)... I use CreditKarma as a baseline for how much the score has changed and I keep in mind that it may be inflated just a bit. The one that I really like is IdentityGuard. It is closer by far to what I purchase from Equifax. So a bit of FAKO and FICO. The FAKO for the rough estimate and by how much I have changed and the FICO for what the true score may be.

You can't really assume these point changes will correlate with real Fico® scores. Equifax also sells Fakos and Karma most definitely does. If I may recommend CCT for all three Ficos, you can cancel within a week for good if you don't find it useful or cancel for a nice discount if you like it, see here https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=544503&page=6 but at a minimum you'll have all 3 Ficos today to use as a better baseline going forward.

 

 

+1

 

FAKOs are often off by 100 or more points in either direction, and also are more sensitive to things that may not even change a FICO score.

 

Okay....I did what you said and used CreditCheckTotal which gave me the following results:

Experian 646

Transunion 681 (This one is 70 points higher than what I got from other resources. WOW!)

Equifax 640

 

These scores are better than what I expected to have. CreditKarma has my Equifax at 628 (updated just this morning.)

So this CCT site is actual FICO scores as far as I can tell.

 

 

Yes, they are. If it doesn't say FICO, ignore it.

 

Now you see why we were telling you to ignore FAKOs.

[sfcastro77]

 

 

 

 

 

Just checking -- are the credit scores you're posting FICO scores? Where are you getting them from?

 

MP

I use a combination of purchasing it from Equifax (which shows about 10 points less than CreditKarma)... I use CreditKarma as a baseline for how much the score has changed and I keep in mind that it may be inflated just a bit. The one that I really like is IdentityGuard. It is closer by far to what I purchase from Equifax. So a bit of FAKO and FICO. The FAKO for the rough estimate and by how much I have changed and the FICO for what the true score may be.

You can't really assume these point changes will correlate with real Fico® scores. Equifax also sells Fakos and Karma most definitely does. If I may recommend CCT for all three Ficos, you can cancel within a week for good if you don't find it useful or cancel for a nice discount if you like it, see here https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=544503&page=6 but at a minimum you'll have all 3 Ficos today to use as a better baseline going forward.

 

 

+1

 

FAKOs are often off by 100 or more points in either direction, and also are more sensitive to things that may not even change a FICO score.

 

Okay....I did what you said and used CreditCheckTotal which gave me the following results:

Experian 646

Transunion 681 (This one is 70 points higher than what I got from other resources. WOW!)

Equifax 640

 

These scores are better than what I expected to have. CreditKarma has my Equifax at 628 (updated just this morning.)

So this CCT site is actual FICO scores as far as I can tell.

 

 

Yes, they are. If it doesn't say FICO, ignore it.

 

Now you see why we were telling you to ignore FAKOs.

 

I literally had a 498 credit score March 2014. I know that was I FICO (Not sure which bureau) because it was due to a rejected car loan. Do you think my improvements will help me get a car? I am just glad the FICO's were better than I expected. TY for showing me the light....LOL. I think I will APPLY for the Car Loan Today and get this car buying thing out of the way before something comes and tanks my score! Wish me luck. I love this site...you guys are awesome.

Edited July 31, 2015 by sfcastro77

[mendelssohn]

Any score improvement will help with a car loan. You might check with a credit union is that is your goal, and freeze your reports before you go shopping.

 

That score may have been an auto enhanced FICO.

[sfcastro77]

Any score improvement will help with a car loan. You might check with a credit union is that is your goal, and freeze your reports before you go shopping.

 

That score may have been an auto enhanced FICO.

I applied over the phone with my credit union and was told that I in fact do have a an EQ 640... so you guys were absolutely right. Now just waiting for the call back with the definite approval... I hate doing it over the phone, but my Credit Union only works with the application part over the phone or online. I am so NERVOUS.... Wish me luck... I will post when or if I get an approval.

[mendelssohn]

Good luck, and don't forget to freeze all 3 of your reports when you actually go car shopping. Otherwise, you're likely to wind up with about 20+ inquiries from the dealership shopping your credit.

[sfcastro77]

Any score improvement will help with a car loan. You might check with a credit union is that is your goal, and freeze your reports before you go shopping.

 

That score may have been an auto enhanced FICO.

I am going to avoid dealership financing. I am only going to apply at 2 credit unions and take the better rate. I applied at my credit union and am just waiting for the underwriters to come up with something. The wait is killing me. My mother says that if for some reason it isn't approved that she will co-sign (her offer not mine) and she has a score in the 800's, but I really want to do this on my own. Buying a car feels like having a baby....

[dvd]

Based on your name, Im assuming that you live in San Francisco. Is so, I highly recommend SF Fire Credit Union. They have an excellent secured card (no AF, FTF, CA Fees, low APR, reports as a regular credit card.) They dont automatically graduate but after a year you can request a conversion to unsecured.

[JeffeVerde]

I literally had a 498 credit score March 2014. I know that was I FICO (Not sure which bureau) because it was due to a rejected car loan.

<snip>.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FYI - there's a special version of FICO designed specifically for auto loans (FICO Auto Score), which uses a different algorithm than the "standard" FICO. If you had negative factors that were important to the AutoScore, that 498 could have been much lower than your regular FICO.