Why don't I have perfect credit?

Question

I've never EVER been late on a payment, I've had and paid off several trade lines (and early too), so why is my credit score not an 800 or above? I just don't get it!

PS - I HAVE checked my credit report and there is not anything negative on it...

Ok, so if it is my Debt-To-Income Ratio what do I do to improve that?

Answer 1

There are many factors that may be keeping you from the 800 club.

Credit history not long enough.
Utilization to high.
Not having a rounded out profile of accounts - major credit cards, store cards, loans etc.
Amount of inquirys within the last 6 to 12 months.
Recently opened accounts
Any negatives listed.

Those are a few examples of what can lower a score.


edited to add: never ask for a credit limit decrease. That will seriously ding your scores.
Your debt to income would depend on what you have outstanding, mortgage pmts, car loan pmts etc compared to your income.

Having a $100,000 limit with only a $1,000 balance (like the first poster mentioned) is a good thing, not a bad thing, since it helps your total utilization across the board.

Answer 2

I don't know if this is the case with you, but continually rolling your credit card debt to newer cards will hurt your credit score. This happens because you are closing an account with an established payment history and incurring a new debt with no payment history. The bureau's credit scoring model will deem theses accounts " too new to rate".

If you are maxed out on your credit lines, just pay your debt down a little. Keep it at about 50% or less of the overall amount of credit you were granted. If you still need help, there is plenty of credit score info available at www.myfico.com

Answer 3

The August 2006 issue of Consumer Reports wrote a super enlightening article on the subject. Some things I was not aware of: It stated that your overall available credit may be too high. Lower the credit limits on your credit cards, but not lower than $3000.

It stated that not having one or two (not more, not less) credit cards will lower your insurance premiums with some auto insurance companies. They may very well use a different scoring method that others who pull your credit. Remember that the credit reporting agencies do not provide the score--the companies who view your report do.

Therefore it's very important that your one or two card are the best ones for you. I did some research on the web to see if there were any unbiased ratings, comparisons or reviews. I did find one here: http://lendersrated.com/creditcards.htm....

I hope this helps you.
Leafgreen

Answer 4

If you have been paying your bills on time and paying off anything damaging on your credit, then i would have to say its probably because any time you have your credit run it takes a point off your score. When companies check your credit they also look at how many times your credit has been run and for what reasons. Like for instance, if you attempted to get a loan from the bank and you allowed them to run you credit, just to be told your credit wasn't good enough for the loan. Then turn around and try to buy a car, when the car company sees that a bank refused you money, they will more than likely not approve you either. So be very careful about running your credit. alot of turn downs and alot of past credit checks is a bad reflection to your credit. As well as alot of people checking it.

Answer 5

Anything over 730 is vanity, anyway. I can't think of anywhere where you pay less interest because your credit score is 780 instead of 760.

The criteria for credit scoring is proprietary. You even get small minuses if you apply for a loan and someone checks your credit. There's all kinds of weird and unknown criteria. But if you are over 730, you are likely to get the best rates when it comes to loans.

Answer 6

If you've checked ALL THREE credit scores and there is nothing on all three reporting agencies then I would say it's your "debt to income ratio" or your "amount of available credit". If you have to much open credit it goes against you too (meaning if you have $100k open on your credit cards but only $1k charged... it would affect your score.

Slainte,

-D

Answer 7

ok long as you are over 720 you have A credit.. 800 only 5% have anything over that score

Answer 8

properly, congradulations on your first mastercard. yet pay attention! in case you do no longer use it properly you will wreck your credit. My best suggestion is to only spend what you will pay returned interior of ONE months time. lenders decide to be sure which you would be able to pay off on a schedule. So on occasion paying all of it off at as quickly as isn't the best thank you to bypass. it ought to seem as notwithstanding if it is notwithstanding, they decide to be sure which you would be able to cope with the cut back, the value dates etc. purely having a mastercard can no longer ascertain your credit. you will have it for 2 years and not use it yet your credit will stay a similar. you will desire to apply it with a view to get carry of a extra advantageous credit. purely verify you will pay returned what you spend in that months time. So verify you employ it to get a miles better credit yet use it properly and positioned on it what you will pay returned!

Answer 9

800 is this magical number that some people get and some people don't. You need a really long excellent, established history to get close.

Answer 10

you may have had bad marks in the past and even though they dont show up it takes time to raise the credit score.