Changes coming to some credit scores

[exnavynuke]

Not FICO, but the Vantage Scores used for a lot of other stuff (such as many CC apps etc)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/major-changes-coming-credit-score-151538177.html

I'm just wondering what "excessively large credit card limits" is supposed to mean right now. I wonder how this will impact my desire to "play the CC Points game" going forward..

 

[Spock]

paid off my mortgage late last year
and my FICO scores dropped 30 points
notation for reason stated "no installment loan activity" (paraphrased).

when it comes to credit cards, to each his/her own, but for me cash back will get used and "points" will sit and rot.
I've got cards I've had for 30 years. When I have the rare need to call about a problem (one of which was my fubar) they practically trip over themselves to correct it.

 

[audreyh1]

I read that last night. That will probably get us. We have a huge number of credit cards with high credit limits and very low utilization. OMG I could suddenly run up >$100K of debt overnight! Never mind that we pay off the cards every month.

Gosh, just like I could liquidate all our investments and flee the country so I didn't have to pay off some pesky loan that is << our net worth. This logic is sometimes applied by lenders who ignore net worth in favor of regular income streams like SS, pension or regular paycheck - 'cause no one is ever suddenly out of a job!

My FICO score report is always reminding me that it would be higher if I had some revolving debt, like a deprtment store card that I was paying off. No thanks! Low 800s is good enough for us. We're not likely to request a loan anyway unless there is a fantastic deal on a car loan, and then we'd probably only partially finance the car.

 

[euro]

My score used to always float between 770 and 800. Until I retired a little over a year ago. Then it started increasing and now hovers at 835. So, zero W2 income = 50 points increase in score? Huh?

I never understood this stuff...

 

[audreyh1]

Ours used to be higher - 825-840, but the last few years due to various activities such as opening new credit union accounts for good CD rates, or taking advantage of a couple of new credit card offers each year, our scores have drifted down.

If we stop opening accounts, after 12 months, our credit scores should start creeping back up.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I'm just wondering what "excessively large credit card limits" is supposed to mean right now. I wonder how this will impact my desire to "play the CC Points game" going forward..

I would most certainly have a *ding* in this department. I currently have 15 open CC accounts (but only using 2 cards right now) and have almost $200K of available credit. 1% utilization is "only" $2,000 which to me, would be HUGE detriment.

I personally don't really care about my credit score outside of what it does to my insurance rates. As long as my rates aren't raised for "credit issues", I really don't get a damn what my score is.

I read that last night. That will probably get us. We have a huge number of credit cards with high credit limits and very low utilization. OMG I could suddenly run up >$100K of debt overnight! Never mind that we pay off the cards every month.

I have heard this argument for several years and I think it's over-hyped. I have had credit card companies call me when my spending patterns were "off" from my normal patterns. I have had USAA stop a transaction when I was trying to buy something for $20 at a Target in a town I had lived in for 4 years. When I called to see what the deal was, they just said, "Our fraud department determined that the in-person purchase was out of the ordinary in that you were not close to your residence." Uh, what?!? Granted, that's the ONLY time that has happened, but the point is...if you started racking up a ton of purchases in a short period of time, I think the CC companies would (or could) shut you down pretty damn fast.

 

[Bamaman]

I honestly don't care what they do. My credit union knows about my assets, and they're available for any of my financial needs.

I really doubt I'll ever need to borrow any money anyway.

 

[foxfirev5]

I would most certainly have a *ding* in this department. I currently have 15 open CC accounts (but only using 2 cards right now) and have almost $200K of available credit. 1% utilization is "only" $2,000 which to me, would be HUGE detriment.

I personally don't really care about my credit score outside of what it does to my insurance rates. As long as my rates aren't raised for "credit issues", I really don't get a damn what my score is

Exactly. The insurance rating and subsequent "discount" to my premiums are the only reason I have to track my score at all.

 

[Fedup]

Honestly, I don't care if it drops to 600. Doubtful. But I'm done borrowing except for the insurance thing. My credit score must be good because we just got an offer from American Express with 75,000 reward points. I need to figure out where to use this. All my points are booked for 2018.

 

[Major Tom]

My current FICO score, according to Amex, is 840. The 2 reasons given for why it is not higher are -

1) Lack of recent installment loan information, and
2) Too few accounts currently paid as agreed

The only things on my credit history these days are 3 credit cards, 1 of which almost never gets used. The other 2 are used and paid off regularly. Note that although the wording in 2) might make it appear that I am not paying my bills on time, what it actually means is that I don't have enough accounts that are being paid in a timely fashion.

Weird that I have such little diversity and low activity on my credit history, yet still have a score of 840.