Credit Score Question

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Aevian

Silver Knight of the Realm
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a_skeleton_00 said:
Sound advice, thanks!

When you say charge it through the month and pay it before the end, you mean BEFORE the cycle ends, effectively showing 0 usage when it reports..?
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I don't think usage really plays into it as much of other factors. I think it's basically length of having good history. I'd say just pay it off completely. It's more than your account is in good standing and for how long, not how much you are running thru it. Really patient is key in rebuilding. It sounds like you'll have most of the negative marks taken care of, but really it's now your time to build good credit. That you can't necessarily force.

I'm not an expert, just going off my experience. Again, I was a dumb college kid that got into credit card debt to help pay for basic expenses and defaulted on them. It took me years of rebuilding credit. Started off with a secured card with a score maybe in the 500s, I forgot where I started. I then got a basic Captial One card, now I have one of the more "elite" cards with a credit limit I'll never use half of it, and now a credit score in the 700s so I was finally get a loan for a house.

It was a terrible feeling when I had bad credit and knew that I wanted to own a house one day. Took awhile, but eventually got there. You'll get there too in time.
 
Jysin

Jysin

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Blazin said:
I want to know if a 850 is actually possible to receive, they dangle the carrot just to torture you with it.

View attachment 147173
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Well, you beat me. I can't seem to top 820. Like you though, it is quite meaningless. I haven't had a loan in ~18 years and don't plan on needing one for the foreseeable future. Mine is built almost entirely on one Visa and one Master Card. Visa is a Signature Rewards Black card with a $50k limit that I use for pretty much everything and pay in full before the end of the month. The MC Platinum is my backup card with a $20k limit and only used if for some reason my Visa doesn't work.
 
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a c i d.f l y

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Kiroy said:
The real interesting thing is Transunion doesn't have my oldest home loan on the books, but equifax does. Weird.
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Not all lenders report to all credit agencies. Experian is the biggest one. TransUnion less so, and Equifax even less.

Aevian said:
I don't think usage really plays into it as much of other factors. I think it's basically length of having good history. I'd say just pay it off completely. It's more than your account is in good standing and for how long, not how much you are running thru it. Really patient is key in rebuilding. It sounds like you'll have most of the negative marks taken care of, but really it's now your time to build good credit. That you can't necessarily force.
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This is incorrect. You should have exposure on your accounts. If you have an account with no usage, it does almost fuck-all to help your score. You don't necessarily need exposure on all of your accounts, but having minor exposure on each one, with good payment history, is critical.

What I meant by getting a $300 credit card is, use it to buy things you have to buy every month - gas, groceries -- and pay it in full when you receive your bill. Try not to go over 40% utilization. Maxed out credit lines do not reflect positively on your account. "Responsible credit use" is the best way I can put it. Use it, don't let interest accrue, and pay it off in full each month.
 
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A

a_skeleton_00

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Acid,

Confirming that i should fill the 400, wait for the bill, then pay it off?

Do not fill it, and do not pay it before the month ends, correct?
 
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Use $200 of the $400 line, wait for bill, pay in full on or before due date. Rinse, repeat.
 
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A

a_skeleton_00

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a c i d.f l y said:
Use $200 of the $400 line, wait for bill, pay in full on or before due date. Rinse, repeat.
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Thank you this is the straight fact direction I need. May I continue to pick and ask why 50%, and follow up, when my limit raises to 750 in August what amount do I utilize then? (Sorry if my terms are incorrect.)
 
Jysin

Jysin

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You basically do not want to have high credit utilization. If you are using near 100% of your credit line, it is perceived as being over-extended. This will reflect badly in your score. However, this hit doesn't stick. If your next month utilization is down it corrects immediately. But overall, just stay away from your card limits. As Acid said, stick with 40% or less.

Credit Utilization: The 2nd Biggest Factor In Your Credit Score
 
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A

Aevian

Silver Knight of the Realm
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a c i d.f l y said:
What I meant by getting a $300 credit card is, use it to buy things you have to buy every month - gas, groceries -- and pay it in full when you receive your bill. Try not to go over 40% utilization. Maxed out credit lines do not reflect positively on your account. "Responsible credit use" is the best way I can put it. Use it, don't let interest accrue, and pay it off in full each month.
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You are correct, I worded it poorly. Yes he should use it, but pay it off monthly. From one of the earlier posts I thought he was going to cycle the max of it multiple times during the period.
 
A

a_skeleton_00

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Because I have a 400$ card as my only credit, when my usage was at 46% this past cycle my score dropped 10 points, I am going to see how it registers when there's 15 to 20%.

Also update, of the 9 accounts one just updated today, and I received a 7 point upswing, I'll take it! :)
 
A

a_skeleton_00

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The big payout gets reported the 10th of this month for the 8 accounts left, crossing my fingers and seeing how quickly it gets updated.

I have 2000$ saved now towards the car loan which is the literal only open thing left and just making sure the car is 100% running, if it's good after the mechanic looks today I'll throw some $ at the loan to knock it down.

Updated question:

Does paying off a loan early have a positive effect on my account, ie this August would be a year and 4 months ahead, or would it be better to continue my car loan through Jan 2019 for the payment history..?
 
A

Aevian

Silver Knight of the Realm
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The account would show as a closed paid in full, but not a long history. If the interest rate is very low, you can make an easy argument to keep paying on it and use extra money elsewhere. Assuming your rate is probably a bit higher due to your credit so I would just say pay it off. If you have extra money, you could look into getting a secured credit card to start another line of credit line/history.
 
Pops

Pops

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It's credit HISTORY, keep utilization less than 20%, total credit overall low. Just keep chugging along. Get that 46% down.
 
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a_skeleton_00 said:
Updated question:

Does paying off a loan early have a positive effect on my account, ie this August would be a year and 4 months ahead, or would it be better to continue my car loan through Jan 2019 for the payment history..?
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The only reason to pay off a loan early is if you have accruing interest. Most loans have a fixed interest amount calculated at the beginning, so there's no reason to pay off early except to not have a payment requirement. Revolving credit usually accrues interest monthly, so definitely in your best interest to pay those credit lines in full each month.

Also, check to make sure there isn't an early payment restriction, as it could incur a fee.

By continuously paying the minimum on a line is more or less paying to increase your score. It's better to charge monthly, and pay off completely. That way it reports usage, but you're not accruing interest.
 
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

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Random but about credit:

Traded our Van in for a crossover - did financing through the dealer itself - it was for a used one. Ended up with some local credit union- got 1.5% off their initial offered rate. Both my wife and I put in on the loan.

Anywho they send the initial stuff out to a series of partner banks - standard practice - but I know not to have too many soft inquiry.

Many of the banks send letters "thanks for applying" etc.etc

Anywho- Bank of America sends us a "sorry you suck here is why" - its basically because of my short sale, but it gave us both our credit scores used "in part" of the evaluation, mine was 735 and hers 725. Those scores themselves are well within a "good" rating and sufficient for a used car loan- yet they denied it- so it looks likes lenders are starting to actually LOOK at variables other than "Are you > or = to XYZ number?" Then in the same pile of mail BOA gives me a HEY U GOT a 0% APR for 20 MONTHS OFFER ON YOUR CC BRO, BC YOUR A GREAT DUDE -- lolz
 
a c i d.f l y

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Xadion said:
Anywho- Bank of America sends us a "sorry you suck here is why" - its basically because of my short sale, but it gave us both our credit scores used "in part" of the evaluation, mine was 735 and hers 725. Those scores themselves are well within a "good" rating and sufficient for a used car loan- yet they denied it- so it looks likes lenders are starting to actually LOOK at variables other than "Are you > or = to XYZ number?" Then in the same pile of mail BOA gives me a HEY U GOT a 0% APR for 20 MONTHS OFFER ON YOUR CC BRO, BC YOUR A GREAT DUDE -- lolz
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Different banks have different requirements on their loans. The shitty payday loan store that barely requires an ID, up to your Bank of America's that have a 400 check audit on your record, and those checks can be different for Loans (car, mortgage) or Revolving (CC's) credit lines. If at all possible, tell BoA to go fuck themselves. Go with a random credit union, or go through the dealership's lending agent. They can usually negotiate rates, besides having set rates like BoA.

BoA also has shared marketing. So if you apply for one thing, it won't stop them from offering you an alternative thing you may have been approved for. You gotta learn to OPT OUT of that shit. And until you do, expect to get fuck loads of trash mail offers from BoA and their affiliates.

How large was the loan you applied for? What did you say your income was? Pro-tip, you can lie your ass off in the income field, which is illegal, but they're never going to check it (mortgage loans federally require income history, however, and some places are dicks and want to see a bank deposit statement). This field is what limits the size of your loan. Your score tends to dictate the rate you get.
 
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

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We applied through the dealership - but they then send it as soft inquiry's through all their providers, BOA being one of them, and the local credit union being the one that ended up actually supplying the loan- and we did negotiate the rate down 1.5% from the initial offer. Its just all the banks that received our loan request send out mail replies either saying "we hope to have earned your business" or like BOA "haha you suck" - I just think it is funny how one hand they do not want my business, on a secured loan with the car as a recoverable item should something happen due to my "bad" history - and then on the other they are like "Oh here is a few grand at 0%!" that is not recoverable if I were to go bankrupt or something... but I do understand a car lone is many times higher in amount than a few grand for a CC 0% term deal.

And we stated our proper income, I know for almost anything but a home mortgage they just take your word and move on - but if anything were to happen I do not want to give anyone any ammunition for anything to screw anything... having done a short sale- working in the rules and how things should be done yields the best results. I have heard horror stories about short sales and foreclosures, mine was really... uneventful.
 
a c i d.f l y

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There's huge profit in credit card debt, because its persistent. Loans have set payments, set duration, and tend to have low long term return. That 0% credit card is only if you pay it off in full, or only lasts, as you said, 20 months. In 5 years, when you still have $2,000 racked up, and are getting hit with 29% interest every month, the long term return for them is worth the higher risk, if that makes sense. Also, credit card debt has more government backing than loans, because of the lack of recoverable assets, or liens. Also, if you go bankrupt, that doesn't mean you won't have to pay back your debts, depending on the chapter you file, how much you owe, how good your lawyer is, and how shitty your judge is.
 
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

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Aye, I just thought it was kinda funny... also in the kinda funny column - I got a Sorry Bro letter today from another bank in connection to the car loan- US Bank, THEY have a reason- they held my mortgage I did the short sale on lol- ;-)
 
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