A nice perk to being retired..Who cares about credit scores anymore !!

[zippy2020]

Well........we just discovered we need a new foundation. I can take the $$$$ out of the portfolio and get socked with income taxes as well as higher Medicare premiums, OR,

We can re-mortgage the house. Which we intend on selling in the next two years anyway, and don't need to care about maximizing any profit from it. We have enough for our "old age" plus separate platinum-level LTCi policies through the state pension fund (which acts as an active advocate when you file a benefits claim).

Guess which one we'll pick...........)

[Old Microbiologist]

It is interesting looking at credit scores. Having moved to Europe they don't use this kind of thing at all. Most people play cash for everything and mortgages are a "new" idea not readily accepted by the people or the banks. The terms of a mortgage if you find one usually require a 50% down and a long personal history at your bank. Here in Hungary there are no car loans whatsoever and when you buy a new car it must be ordered and you pay up front in cash. We have lived here now for 10 years and the idea of credit scores never even occurred to me for a long time. We did get new Chase VISA cards (Amazon Prime and the Sapphire Card) so I am guessing our credit scores are fine. We only did that to get the cash back rewards and the travel insurance on the Sapphire card as in Europe there is no such thing for non-EU citizens living within the EU. We also can't get US travel insurance either as we don't live there so it is a Catch-22. So, this problem is solved with the Sapphire card. We spend over $100k a year on travel so Chase doesn't seem to mind We haven't had a mortgage or any debt whatsoever for the past 10 years but apparently that doesn't affect your credit scores enough.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HNL Bill And if the balance on one card exceeds 30% of the credit limit (until the statement closes), you get dinged, even if you pay it off in full. The score system is rigged for those who need credit, and who are likely to fail, IMHO.

Mine just dropped a bit below 800 and I suspect it's because the Costco Visa I got last September had a $10K credit limit. My December statement balance was $3,300, and the November balance was $4,400. I paid both in full- I'd made the final payments for an expensive trip to get the 4% back on travel. I've got a $20K limit on the Fidelity Visa.

No worries. In my experience, banks have tended to give me more credit than I wanted, anyway. I'm sure the limit on the Costco visa will be increased at some point without my asking, and I'm in no hurry.

[fh2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Microbiologist We spend over $100k a year on travel so Chase doesn't seem to mind

That is an impressive amount of travel budget.

Did you have to file any claims from Chase credit card? What is your experience for the claim process?

[rathail]

Lots of good stuff here.

Gumby(post #5) noted issues with a low score but not about locking things down or is it the same thing?

What happens when you lock your credit down with a high rating I’m currently above 830 DW is close to the 800’s.
Can businesses see that you have a great score or do you need to unlock one or all reporting agencies?
Does locking down score affect getting good insurance rates?
Getting utilities if you move?

[meleana]

Your credit score affects the rates you get on things like your car insurance policy. Also, if you need to open a new account for a service such as a utility or internet company, for example.

[camfused]

One more example: I am about to buy a car. I was going to pay cash, but I am going to finance about $5000 of it, since I get a $500 rebate if I use their financing. I'll pay if off after the first month and make about $480. Gotta have decent credit rating to get the financing.

[CoolRich59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fh2000 Did you have to file any claims from Chase credit card? What is your experience for the claim process?

Not to hijack the thread, but we used our Chase Sapphire card to rent a car last Fall. We caught a rock in the windshield and the car rental company charged the card an add'l $200 for the damage. I submitted the claim to Chase and the $200 was deposited into my checking account 3 days later. I was pleasantly surprised.

[catii]

FICO at 801, without our doing anything at all to affect it. No need to buy anything on credit these days, but I laughed at the posters who walked/drove away from a stupid car lot.

We were buying our last car, & I walked in with a check for the amount I was willing to pay, & told the salesman I would leave in exactly 60 minutes, with or without the car. Turned on my stopwatch, too.

Sixty minutes later, they were still arguing, so we got up, & climbed in our car, telling them that since they wouldn't return my check, I was headed over to the police department to put in a grand theft complaint. Three of them literally ran after us, holding the car keys. I made them run for awhile, too!

[ponyboy]

Im 36, not retired, and ive never cared about my credit score...and its been hovering around 800 for years. I never take out loans, so it has no impact on me.

[NXR7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolRich59 Not to hijack the thread, but we used our Chase Sapphire card to rent a car last Fall. We caught a rock in the windshield and the car rental company charged the card an add'l $200 for the damage. I submitted the claim to Chase and the $200 was deposited into my checking account 3 days later. I was pleasantly surprised.

Agreed. Retirement usually requires enhanced risk management and cost control. The Sapphire, which I also have, is the only card I know of where they provide primary insurance on car rentals. So they pay first and not just after you've already filed an insurance claim with your own policy like just about every other card.

I find that more valuable than reward miles or cashback even though rental cars are not inexpensive.

Ray

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponyboy Im 36, not retired, and ive never cared about my credit score...and its been hovering around 800 for years. I never take out loans, so it has no impact on me.

Once you get the score that high, just keeping some credit card accounts or other lines of credit open without activity will keep the score high. Though in the case of credit cards, just one $10 charge (paid off immediately) every few months can't hurt, and it may prevent the card issuer from canceling the account (hitting both your available credit *and* possibly average age of open accounts). Remember all the cancellations the banks issued to inactive accounts in the aftermath of the 2008-09 meltdown?

I personally use each of my open CC accounts to pay at least one small recurring bill or charitable donation, and autopay the balance in full from checking each month. That's all it takes to keep them open in most cases.

And I do use my CU's Visa card regularly, since if I make at least 10 transactions a month I get the savings rate on my checking account (currently 1.65%, was 2% three months ago -- thank you, War on Savers). Paid off in full each month, of course.

I don't intend to take out another loan or a new CC (the ones I use now have no fee and 1.5% cash back and that's good enough), but in case I do want to do it and in case my insurance rates are impacted by it, I do want to avoid having them slip too much (currently around 820, though in reality anything above 740-760 puts you in the top tier).

[Gumby]

FICO just announced an new credit score methodology, FICO 10. Apparently, it could result in changes to your score of 20 points in either direction.

https://www.yahoo.com/money/fico-cre...210252419.html

[ShokWaveRider]

Opened a New CC at local CR, Score went up to 825 Go Figure.

[camfused]

^^^^ Mine used to hover around 805. I upped the credit limit on two of my credit cards, and now it sits at 850 all the time.

[GreenEggs]

My daughter's in college full-time. She purchased a car a couple of years ago using money that her grandfather had gifted. I encouraged her to finance the car to help build her credit and cosigned for her. I think she set up the payments to auto-pay, so never had to worry about forgetting the due date. Anyway, I recently told her to check her credit score, which is available on her online banking account, just by clicking a tab. We were amazed to see that it was 778. Wonder where it will be after she actually has a job?!

I guess in total she has the car loan, a credit card, and rent. But, still no job or income.

I'm not sure that I'm impressed with FICO's methodology. They don't factor in age, employment history, length of credit history, etc.?

Heck, I wonder how high I could get my dog's FICO score if I put a few bills in his name? LOL!

[Out-to-Lunch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenEggs Heck, I wonder how high I could get my dog's FICO score if I put a few bills in his name? LOL!

A friend of mine actually did that. He started by putting the dog (with a different last name!) on the telephone listing. Then some utility bills. Eventually the dog qualified for a credit card (which always got paid off every month).

My friend always laughed at the idea that somewhere out there, the credit agencies were indubitably trying to find a SSN to match this credit profile.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Out-to-Lunch Eventually the dog qualified for a credit card (which always got paid off every month).

Somehow I'm trying to imagine the checkout clerk's face when the dog buys a box of Kibble at the grocery store and signs with a paw print....

[GreenEggs]

It would make a great bumper sticker.

"My Dog's FICO Score is Higher than Yours. WOOF!"

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Somehow I'm trying to imagine the checkout clerk's face when the dog buys a box of Kibble at the grocery store and signs with a paw print....

Mr. Peabody LIVES!!!!!!!