FICO Score = 794

[disneysteve]

Not too shabby. I just pulled my credit report and score from Equifax and my FICO score is 794. Must be doing something right.

I was a bit surprised by the "Key factors affecting your score" comments, though.

1. You have a relatively high number of consumer finance company accounts being reported.
2. The amount owed on your revolving/charge accounts is too high.

I believe #2 is due to a reporting error. They show my main credit card, my Marriott Visa, as having a balance of $3,377, which is correct, but having a credit limit of $0. The credit limit on that account is $32,500. I sent in a dispute notice to have this corrected.

Other than that, everything is honky-dory.

[Daylily]

DisneySteve,
What is the range for FICO scores?
I don't think I've ever pulled the score from Equifax.
A did a report and score from Transunion a couple years ago and the score was 888 (max of 900?)
Last month I did a report and score from Experian and received something called a 'VantageScore' of 974. Range 501-990.

I've yet to do the FICO and I'm guessing the only way I can get that is from Equifax? Is that the one where the max is 800?

[Skooby]

Nice job disneysteve!

Daylily, fico scores range from 300-850.

[momof1in150]

Originally Posted by Daylily

I've yet to do the FICO and I'm guessing the only way I can get that is from Equifax? Is that the one where the max is 800?

The only place to get a true FICO score is from myFICO - FICO Credit Scores; Get a Free Credit Report Online with our Score Watch Trial

If you google myfico discount code you can find a 20% off coupon

[moneybags]

Can I get my score for free anywhere? I've never really seen my score, just assume that I have great credit

[MonkeyMama]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Not too shabby. I just pulled my credit report and score from Equifax and my FICO score is 794. Must be doing something right.

I was a bit surprised by the "Key factors affecting your score" comments, though.

1. You have a relatively high number of consumer finance company accounts being reported.
2. The amount owed on your revolving/charge accounts is too high.

When you are in the high range they just pull at straws. Last time I checked my score was in the 800s and it said something like "pay more on your balances to increase your score" While at the same time it said "you should borrow more money to increase your score." It had a couple of other things, but they were all conflicting.

Is prepaying my mortgage more going to help my score or taking another mortgage? SOunds like they want me to do both. LOL. I can't really imagine either would make a big difference though.

Good catch on the Marriot card!

[momof1in150]

Originally Posted by moneybags

Can I get my score for free anywhere? I've never really seen my score, just assume that I have great credit

Yes and no. Many companies offer you a free score but you have to sign up for a "credit" watch type program. They also may not be FICO scores but FAKO scores. The only place I would trust is myfico.

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I believe #2 is due to a reporting error. They show my main credit card, my Marriott Visa, as having a balance of $3,377, which is correct, but having a credit limit of $0. The credit limit on that account is $32,500. I sent in a dispute notice to have this corrected.

Call Marriott Visa and insist that they report your credit limit to all 3 bureaus. Most likely it's their fault for not reporting it, not the credit bureaus' fault. Explain that it is keeping your score down because it makes it look like you have 100% utilization on that card (don't tell them you have a good score).

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by vsjhoc

Call Marriott Visa and insist that they report your credit limit to all 3 bureaus. Most likely it's their fault for not reporting it, not the credit bureaus' fault. Explain that it is keeping your score down because it makes it look like you have 100% utilization on that card (don't tell them you have a good score).

Thanks. I was thinking about doing that also. It actually makes it look like I've overdrawn the account.

[kv968]

Congrats on the score.

Maybe the cc doesn't report what your credit limit actually is. I know that's a problem with Capital One. The only thing the credit bureaus see as a "credit limit" with them is the max you've ever put on the card and not what your true max is. In other words, you could have 2k on the card with a 10k max but if that's the most you've ever had on the card, it would look maxed out.

[jamai]

Originally Posted by moneybags

Can I get my score for free anywhere? I've never really seen my score, just assume that I have great credit

i believe you're entitled to one free credit score a year from all 3 credit reference agencies!

[disneysaver]

Originally Posted by jamai

i believe you're entitled to one free credit score a year from all 3 credit reference agencies!

Actually it's the credit "report" that's free, you have to pay to get your "score". Only one (I think it was equifax) gives you an actual FICO score the other 2 give you a "credit score" which is not an actual FICO. It's very confusing. My score is over 800 and they always find some wierd comment about what is affecting my score. Last time it was that I didn't have enough available credit because I had just closed about 10 open accounts. I still have enough available credit left to buy a small island I hope I never need to use it! They also said I had too many inquiries - I had one in the course of about a year.

[kv968]

Originally Posted by disneysaver

Actually it's the credit "report" that's free, you have to pay to get your "score". Only one (I think it was equifax) gives you an actual FICO score the other 2 give you a "credit score" which is not an actual FICO.

Equifax is the one that gives you an actual FICO score.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by kv968

Equifax is the one that gives you an actual FICO score.

Yep, that's the one I got last night. Not knowing any better, last year I paid for a score from Trans Union not realizing it wasn't an actual FICO score. Won't make that mistake again.

[NoMo]

I went to annualcreditreport.com and got my credit report for free. You have to pay extra for the "score" though. But, I don't care about my score, I don't borrow money. Now that is a real money saver!

[Ima saver]

My score is over 800. They told me that my score would be better if I had a mortgage. It makes no difference to me that my house has been paid off for a long long time. So, the last time, i bought a piece of property, I got a mortgage on it. Now it is paid off. I should check my score again. It only cost about $12 to get your score, I think.

[kv968]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Yep, that's the one I got last night. Not knowing any better, last year I paid for a score from Trans Union not realizing it wasn't an actual FICO score. Won't make that mistake again.

I got a "personal credit score" from TransUnion and then 4 months later a FICO score from Equifax. Nothing really changed within that time frame and the scores were only different by 3 points. I'm not saying it tracks that close all the time, but for me it did in that instance.

[vsjhoc]

Get your FICO scores (the only ones that matter) only at myfico.com. Before you pay for it, google the words fico discount code -- often you can find 20% off codes.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by vsjhoc

Get your FICO scores (the only ones that matter) only at myfico.com.

Are you saying the FICO from Equifax isn't "as good" as the FICO from myfico?

[momof1in150]

The reason I go to Myfico and order scores is because they would ding me with a hard inquiry. A lot of sites that offer you a free report & score show up as a hard inquiry on your credit report and this can hurt your score.

Steve - I don't know if you have a FICO or FAKO score. Only the people at myfico have the calculator that calculates their scores. A lot of companies guess what the percentages and how much each items counts but no one really knows the formula that myfico uses. I believe with Equifax you have a FICO score.

Here are a couple of links that might help:

CREDITBOARDS.COM - FICO SCORES 101

myFICO - Credit Education