A FICO Score is something that controls your life and that you have no control over. In other words, it's the perfect scam. No one will ever know what their FICO Score is because the ratings agencies give different numbers depending upon who is asking. Why do we submit to this nonsense?
Nobody is forcing you to open credit accounts and borrow money. Even when you do, how you make use of that credit line,
their money don't forget, is up to you.
It's the lenders' game, and their rules.
Mr. Sharky from the "private money" industry downtown can also happily offer money to meet your needs, but you probably won't like his terms any more than the big banks, especially when payments are late.
1) If there is a formula, why is there a variance?
2) Are you saying that you checked six scores from six different sources?
There are multiple credit-rating bureaus, and multiple scoring models.
OK...but by "submit to", I read that as why do we allow/participate in the burden of FICO scores? The answer is because we have no choice other than to be financially responsible which I'd be doing anyway even if FICO scores didn't exist. The fact they exist and can be different is no skin off my nose whatsoever.
Many people obsess way too much over credit scores. Worse, without understanding what they measure, and how they're applied. Conduct a responsible fiscal life, and they should be no worry at all.
If you say so.
I recently applied at Chase Bank to get pre-approved for a mortgage. My Experian FICO Score from the bank was more than 15 points less than my FICO Score on my Experian account. It moved my score from an 8XX number to a 7XX number. Big difference? Heck if I know.
Again, there are different models, and different scores. In a sense, also "retail" vs. "wholesale" scores, meaning the scores that are touted publicly now by banks are not the same ones they look at, and use in their evaluations. Those "here is your credit score" campaigns only make the situation worse by muddling it.
FICO score reflects a snapshot of your current credit usage, types, and historical payment history. The change is score is likely influenced more than just closing an inactive account.
The payment history is the largest factor in most models. Pay your bills, on time, don't go wild, and the rest takes care of itself.
It’s all so confusing. Credit Karma says I have almost 730 but the FICO score displayed in the Amex app is like 50 less.
Hopefully it doesn’t ruin the interest rates if I need to buy a car soon
See above. Don't apply for new loans, or make big purchases on credit before milestone needs like a car or a house is near.
The 25% off Macy's will give you for getting their card today can impact the overall picture, and probably not worth it, in general.
Reading these posts, let’s not forget one very important aspect for some who may think there are other factors besides credit scores that matters to lenders. Not really except for maybe a mortgage company nobody else checks your liquid assets.
A mortgage lender looks at far more than a credit score. They do broadly help determine which class of product a borrower is eligible for, but a good credit score won't help if income or employment history doesn't suit. It's one factor, and not even the most important one.
This is where the small fluctuations can make a difference. Like if you need 800 to get the better product, but only have 790. But even in the short term, there are ways to address that. Also keep in mind that among the three largest bureau scores, the one that's considered is the one in the middle, with the high/low discarded. Let's say bureau F = 820, E = 770, and T = 790. The last one from bureau T is the one that's used.
However, what you pay for almost all in every type of insurance products your entire life will also be reflected in your credit rating, which is also figured into your insurance score.
That is the unfortunate part, like SSNs being used as generic IDs, or in ways not originally intended. But the data is out there, and enough of a correlation between an individual's fiscal behavior to predict what kind of risk they present in other aspects of their life.
