raising my credit score

[Bh101]

how do i raise my credit score? i recently applied for a credit card and got rejected, the company (amex...spg) said that my score was to low.  i always pay my bill in full every month and never use more than 20% of my limit.....any ideas why i was rejected and how to raise my score?......am i doing something wrong?

[elikay]

request your CR from annualcreditreport.com

[Bh101]

wat do i do with that to raise my score or figure out wats going on?

[shach]

how do i raise my credit score? i recently applied for a credit card and got rejected, the company (amex...spg) said that my score was to low.  i always pay my bill in full every month and never use more than 20% of my limit.....any ideas why i was rejected and how to raise my score?......am i doing something wrong?

creditkarma has a pretty explanatory credit report card, try there.

[AsherO]

creditkarma has a pretty explanatory credit report card, try there.

It isn't accurate. It showed income to Debt as a derogatory item, then it allowed me to change my income (they had it at $0), when I changed it they removed that line from derogatory items but my score didn't change.

They also calculate some stupid score (pro-vantage maybe), I don't think they even try to simulate a FICO score.

I couldn't find this info in their FAQ, so I'm not sure. Please CMIIW.

[shach]

It showed income to Debt as a derogatory item

DTI is simply the percent of income going towards dept, to help gage yourself. what i liked about there site was more the breakdown of my updated credit score and why.

then it allowed me to change my income (they had it at $0), when I changed it they removed that line from derogatory items but my score didn't change.

never figured that one out either. Do you recommend any other site?

[HSS]

Do you recommend any other site?

I used citi identity monitor identitymonitor.citi.com to get my 3 credit scores and report on a regular basis.

They used to be free for first 30 days and then you could just cancel within the 30 day time period, but now they charge $1 for the first 30 days, which in my opinion could still be worth it to most people to pay $1 to get all 3 reports and scores quickly and easily from one place.

Just dont forget to call and cancel within the 30 day time period.

[Q274]

Amex also has such an offer for 1.99 for first month. My suggestion would be to get a differnt cc to raise your credit limit and lower your percentage even more (I am not confident that would work but I know that on my report it said a very big positive is that I had a very very low percentage of my limit out always- my score was in the high 700 bh)

[shach]

It isn't accurate. It showed income to Debt as a derogatory item, then it allowed me to change my income (they had it at $0), when I changed it they removed that line from derogatory items but my score didn't change.

They also calculate some stupid score (pro-vantage maybe), I don't think they even try to simulate a FICO score.

I couldn't find this info in their FAQ, so I'm not sure. Please CMIIW.

do you think adding additional cards have any affect on my score?

[gozalim]

It isn't accurate. It showed income to Debt as a derogatory item, then it allowed me to change my income (they had it at $0), when I changed it they removed that line from derogatory items but my score didn't change.

i don't think credit score includes income. (that's also why people are liberal with that on applications-no way to verify) so when you change your income-no change to score (even though approval chances go up)

[shach]

i don't think credit score includes income. (that's also why people are liberal with that on applications-no way to verify) so when you change your income-no change to score (even though approval chances go up)

thats right. "Monthly household income is not on the credit report. Please enter your monthly pre-tax income for your household to see how you compare". its only to gage yourself by comparison to their other users.

[shmooz]

Since all the credit watching sites are giving you scores other than than the real Fico which the credit agencies use, I finally bit the bullet on gettting signed up with myfico. Can't do it free since had that once (and need to wait two years till next). I got the scorewatch it is $13 minus a 25% discount. My score is 765 which is very good and gives me confidence to keep up carefuly applying and taking advantage of the credit card offers. The scorewatch is pretty good, besides the fico from exquifax it explains why the score is what it is.

[Cholentfresser]

just looking at my Experian report, i see an inquiry from a little while ago, which is  from the onepass card, then for today's date, i see it says there's a "new trade line" from chase. does  anyone know what this is? do i need to dispute it?

[Yellow]

I did Citi identity monitor and was really happy with it (cancelled within first thirty days so it was free, but IMO its totally worth a dollar)
Also quizzle.com is supposedly good, because they gives tips/advice, but im not sure how accurate the scoring is

[Yellow]

Just out of curiosity, i know that once a year the credit report is free, but does this go by calendar year?

[Dan]

I did Citi identity monitor and was really happy with it (cancelled within first thirty days so it was free, but IMO its totally worth a dollar)
Also quizzle.com is supposedly good, because they gives tips/advice, but im not sure how accurate the scoring is

Those wont give you real scores.

but does this go by calendar year?

no

[kayef]

just looking at my Experian report, i see an inquiry from a little while ago, which is  from the onepass card, then for today's date, i see it says there's a "new trade line" from chase. does  anyone know what this is? do i need to dispute it?

I had that recently as well. I think 'new trade line' is just when your new cc info (balance and credit limit etc.) reaches the reporting agency.

[AsherO]

Just out of curiosity, i know that once a year the credit report is free, but does this go by calendar year?

I think each CRA will allow requests as long as the last request was more than a year (365 days) ago. At some point I saw an article online suggested staggering them so you get one every four months (from a different CRA).