Amex fico score vs real fico score

[yochiek93]

I'm just answering people's questions.  If you don't like my advice, you certainly don't have to listen to it.  I can tell you right now that I know Dan is one of, if not the best, encyclopedia of rewards knowledge which is why I started reading and posting here.  That doesn't mean that he is also an expert on other topics, and this board doesn't really focus on credit.  I'm not calling him out BTW.  I respect him a lot and came here to learn.

The advice to let small balances report on all cards is just plain incorrect though.  There are other things I've seen posted as well that aren't correct.

Reread my post I respect you and would like to learn all the tricks of the trade I didn't mean any harm to you at all or anyone for that matter just a question that was asked 5k times its about time that people trust the experts

[ydf]

I'm just answering people's questions.  If you don't like my advice, you certainly don't have to listen to it.  I can tell you right now that I know Dan is one of, if not the best, encyclopedia of rewards knowledge which is why I started reading and posting here.  That doesn't mean that he is also an expert on other topics, and this board doesn't really focus on credit.  I'm not calling him out BTW.  I respect him a lot and came here to learn.

The advice to let small balances report on all cards is just plain incorrect though.  There are other things I've seen posted as well that aren't correct.

thanks for being here, and as you can see the ppl here wants you here with your big expertise, just if I may ask you what else did you see here incorrect?

[Mendelssohn]

thanks, so If I close a card or 2 now it wont realy hurt my score?

*No.

*Everything is dependent on your profile.  I'm not sure how many cards you have open, but ideally you want a minimum of 5 for FICO scoring.  I'm sure all of us in this thread have far more than that.  As I posted earlier, you also want cards open that you plan on keeping forever.

[David Smith]

Five of my earliest cards are new fees no frills cards that I'm planning on keeping open forever.

[Mendelssohn]

thanks for being here, and as you can see the ppl here wants you here with your big expertise, just if I may ask you what else did you see here incorrect?

Misunderstanding which FICO scoring models you get from different card issuers and understanding how charge cards count/don't count in FICO scoring.  Utilization is the biggest thing because many of you were ignoring an important part of the utilization calculation.

FICO calculates the utilization portion of your score by 3 things:

1. Overall utilization
2. Individual card utilization
3. The number of cards with a balance

[benjie1305]

Nothing against our CB expert thanx a lot for all your help
But @ydf, @Dan is not enough of an expert?

 

Unnecessary comment. This thread has shown that there are others that have tremendous insight and useful knowledge they are happy to share. Why not leave it at that? I doubt Dan would say of himself that he knows everything and that he doesnt cherish and find others insight useful as well.

[David Smith]

Misunderstanding which FICO scoring models you get from different card issuers and understanding how charge cards count/don't count in FICO scoring.  Utilization is the biggest thing because many of you were ignoring an important part of the utilization calculation.

FICO calculates the utilization portion of your score by 3 things:

1. Overall utilization
2. Individual card utilization
3. The number of cards with a balance

I think #3 was largely ignored compared to 1 & 2, which reading CB makes me think is partially backwards.

[yochiek93]

Unnecessary comment. This thread has shown that there are others that have tremendous insight and useful knowledge they are happy to share. Why not leave it at that? I doubt Dan would say of himself that he knows everything and that he doesnt cherish and find others insight useful as well.

You're right sorry

[noturbizniss]

You have to fill out paperwork for each inquiry within the past 6 months and explain what it was for.  If you have a really strong credit profile, it shouldn't hurt anything, but it's not a good idea to go app crazy before a mortgage.

Obviously score and DTI are the most important.  For FICO 04 scores used for mortgages, $2 on one card with the rest reporting $0 will get you the most points for utilization.  You also don't want a lot of new accounts that will lower your AAoA (Average Age of Accounts) and also dip your scores for new accounts.

All other things being fantastic, an inquiry over 6 months old won't affect the rate?

[Mendelssohn]

All other things being fantastic, an inquiry over 6 months old won't affect the rate?

No. 

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Just do what I said earlier.

That is the attitude I have been waiting for. I mean that in a good way.