Anybody here only have one credit card? If so what is your credit score?

[SecondCor521]

CK 839/829. 13 open cards, with one daily driver and occasional use on the others. Total CL well into six figures.

I carry my one main card with me all the time around town, and use that 100% of the time unless I'm at Winco, where I have to use my bank debit card which is usually stashed in the glove box.

While traveling, I'll take two no-FTF cards and do a travel notice with both of them, although I think by now one or both of the ones I typically take for that say they don't need me to do that any more. I also try to remember to take my bank debit card if I'm going to use a foreign ATM for pocket cash, because I don't want to pay cash advance fees.

[old medic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset There is a correlation between low credit scores and higher accident rates. Insurance companies used credit score as a predictor of those folks having more accidents.

Our last incident involving insurance was over 25 years ago....

[Car-Guy]

I only have one each. One from AMX, one from Visa and one from MC.

[socca]

I only have one card; credit score is a bit less than 800. I always get dinged for not having/using enough credit (kind of reminds me of a drug dealer complaining that his clients aren't snorting enough cocaine ).

If I travel overseas for fun again I'll get a second card as backup (also I've heard that there are better cards for foreign travel than the one I've got).

[Car-Guy]

I guess I just don't get credit scores.

Over the past few years my credit score has been running between 797 and 810... (Give or take a point or two).. I have three credit cards and always pay them off in full every month. My average monthly CC bill is rarely over $2500 even if I add up the charges on all 3 cards. I haven't had a loan for anything in decades (car, home, personal, etc). Never missed a payment on anything (e.g utility bills). Own a home, property, cars, etc. Zero debt and million(s) in the bank.

I wouldn't even know my credit score if Capital One didn't show it on my account every time I log on.... How is it that my credit scores isn't 850 (or whatever the top number is)? That's a rhetorical question since I don't really care, (just venting) but it makes me wonder if the credit score system is really any good for measuring someones credit worthiness.

[Amethyst]

I wonder about this, too. Would like to know how much difference there is (if any) between 800 and 850 in the eyes of lenders, who are the ones mainly interested in credit scores.

Another thing which annoys me, is the large ding (50 points in our case) for a "hard" credit inquiry, which one can't escape if applying for a loan. And then it sits on your record for years!

Bottom line - while it makes sense to draw distinctions between people with excellent credit behavior, and those who play fast and loose with credit - why would there still be gradations among those who pay every bill promptly, and never borrow close to what they could afford to pay?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Car-Guy I guess I just don't get credit scores. Over the past few years my credit score has been running between 797 and 810... (Give or take a point or two).. I have three credit cards and always pay them off in full every month. My average monthly CC bill is rarely over $2500 even if I add up the charges on all 3 cards. I haven't had a loan for anything in decades (car, home, personal, etc). Never missed a payment on anything (e.g utility bills). Own a home, property, cars, etc. Zero debt and million(s) in the bank. I wouldn't even know my credit score if Capital One didn't show it on my account every time I log on.... How is it that my credit scores isn't 850 (or whatever the top number is)? That's a rhetorical question since I don't really care, (just venting) but it makes me wonder if the credit score system is really any good for measuring someones credit worthiness.

[brett]

No idea how it is calculated. I always assumed that the credit score was out of 1000

We typically have four or five cards. We cancelled two cards early on in the pandemic. No doubt we will get another one before year end as we start to travel internationally again.

We do pay our cards off each month. One thing though is that our cards have fairly high credit limits. We need this when we travel. It is not unusual for us to have an auto rental agency place a hold for 3000 euro, sometimes more. All it takes is an auto rental hold, perhaps some airline tickets, or a last minute cruise to push our credit card balances up.

Add to this that some regional airlines are very selective on what card they accept. We have have had on line airline purchases refused on one card and accepted on another even though both cards were valid and had lots of 'room' on them. It is one our our premium cards that this occasionally happens on.

[5Miler]

I have had one card (Visa) for the past 25 years with no store revolving cards or any other loan. Mortgage paid off 9 years ago when I retired and last auto loan paid off 18 years ago. I do use my Visa fairly heavily each month but as most here do, pay it off each month. Credit score sits at 820.

Monthly bank credit score always tells me that my score is lower due to lack of revolving credit history which I assume to be store cards or the like. I'll stick with what I have thank you very much.

[bada bing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst I wonder about this, too. Would like to know how much difference there is (if any) between 800 and 850 in the eyes of lenders, who are the ones mainly interested in credit scores.

The top tier of credit worthiness for getting loans starts at 760 FICO8 score. You won't get anything extra for an 850 score compared to a 760+. It is very possible that other factors like income (not a part of FICO scoring) or job tenure (also not a part of FICO) will influence a credit application. But differences between anything above 760+ is largely or totally irrelevant for credit determinations.

There is a non-credit difference between a 760 score and a 850 score. People with scores at the very top (above 820) get a lot less unsolicited credit card offers (junk mail). This is because above 820 indicates a "never pay credit card interest" and "very seldom open new accounts" behavior. In order to have a perfect FICO8 850 score you have to have the majority of accounts at zero balance with an overall utilization under 10%, an average age of accounts over 8 years and no new credit inquiries in the last year.

Credit scores are "hackable" in that you can increase them rather rapidly to an extent by managing how your account balances are reported. This can be useful for people with dinged credit or young people just starting out. It works for people with higher scores as well, but it isn't of any benefit if your FICO8 score is already above 760.

There are many different credit scores. FICO8 and FICO9 are the industry standard. The Vantage score (used at credit karma and other places) is also quoted a lot, but isn't exactly equivalent to FICO scores and is used less often in actual credit application determinations.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FANOFJESUS Would like to know if anyone is doing this.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think anyone asked - "Why do you ask?". So, why do you ask? Do you have no CC's now, and want to get just one? Or do you have more than one, and want to get down to one? If so, why? The reasons might affect how people respond.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 I could easily only have one card, but I have three. Those reward categories are the issue. I really like the Fidelity card (2% on everything), but the Costco card has other benefits that I like. ....

Fidelity 2% and Costco/Citi for the same reasons (gas 4% and restaurant 3%), plus Amazon for Amazon rewards, and I put my recurring automatic charges on the Amazon card. Since I don't use the Amazon card anywhere else, I figure it is less vulnerable to fraud so I won't have to go through the update every time a card company suspects fraud and issues a new card.

Plus a 4th, that I just use a couple times a year, to have a back up - the other two cards are in our wallets, if we misplace that and report it missing we'd be stuck for credit (and I don't want to use that Amazon card outside of Amazon and the recurring auto charges).

-ERD50

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bada bing . There is a non-credit difference between a 760 score and a 850 score. People with scores at the very top (above 820) get a lot less unsolicited credit card offers (junk mail). This is because above 820 indicates a "never pay credit card interest" and "very seldom open new accounts" behavior. In order to have a perfect FICO8 850 score you have to have the majority of accounts at zero balance with an overall utilization under 10%, an average age of accounts over 8 years and no new credit inquiries in the last year.

I can't remember the last time I paid any CC interest but am 100% sure it's been more than 20 years ago (probably more like 30 years). I can't recall the last time I open a new CC account but that is probably at least 20 years ago too. I may have exceeded the 10% credit usage a few times in the past 20 years but I still paid the balance in full at the end of the month... And all of my CC's accounts have been in existence for 20+ years. The only odd thing I can think of is, I've had two CC fraud cases (one for 2k and one for 4k) in the past ~20 years and new cards were issued in both cases... Maybe that counts against my credit score and keeps me down around 800......

[Hyper]

Only one. No idea if I even have a score. Always heard you lose your score once you stop borrowing which has been 20+ ish yrs or so ago...? For what reasons would you want to know your score other than the insurance one that is quite interesting. I recently bought a newer vehicle and thought the insurance was on the high side and even went in to discuss which didn't change anything. I think we've only had like two diff ins co ever. Thank the Lord, we've not had any claims for many yrs either.

Edit: Thinking about this, I probably very rarely hit $1500 for the whole year on my card! DW would be different.

[chassis]

One credit card. I don't know what my credit score is.

[CindyBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plex My score floats near 800, but it can't go over that because I've never had a mortgage, and a mortgage history is one of the big factors that go into a score if you really want to max it out.

I've never had a mortgage and mine is over 800.

[SloHan]

No. Have four credit cards. I like the cash back or the points depending on the purchase.

[Doribe]

I've cut down to four no-fee cards. Since my travel plans are on hold for a while, I canceled any rewards cards with annual fees.
1. My general purpose card is Discover.
2. I use a rewards Chase card for all automatic repeating charges. I like to keep the statement uncluttered so I can quickly determine everything is as it should be.
3. Costo card because of DH.
4. Visa with free museum benefits. This is a backup.

[Rocket Man]

I have two credit cards. One is used for about everything and the other is only used for a couple of small monthly recurring subscription payments. Pay in full every month. I have no idea what my credit score is. Have not checked it in years.

[cyber888]

I have 4 cards ... fluctuates 820 - 830

[Sunset]

My credit score is good, because I don't want to pay interest or fees, not because I care the number is 820 or 800 or 850.

But the score itself is only part of the story, when checking renters credit, I would always look at the history in much greater detail. It would show slow payments or missed payment.
Much more revealing than just a score of 700.

[Koolau]

We have 5 between us and credit score bounces around 820. I don't think the difference between say, 800 and 850 would often save you a nickel on anything.

No expert but here are a few of the things that affect credit scores: Missing a payment definitely lowers scores. QUICKLY adding or subtracting available credit hurts you. Oddly, adding available credit will typically raise your score - eventually IF you don't use it. Paying off your balance BEFORE it becomes due - IOW the CC bill you receive is ZERO because you either have a credit OR you sent a check that got to the CC company before they calculated how much you owe at end of month - these strategies HELP your score. IOW, it's fine to pay off your balance due before any interest is added BUT you'll never get the top score that way. Paying interest will hurt your score, of course. Having higher average charges against your total available credit hurts you - even if you always pay it off on time.

Remember, I'm no expert so YMMV.