Car loan help credit score? AMEX help credit score? Please HELP!?

Question

I have 10 revolving & 3 installment accounts listed, 0 mortgage & 0 other {no student loans, no car loans, etc}. All 13 of my accounts are in good standing. Only 4 of the accounts are open accts & 9 are closed… with 0 currently past due & 0 negative account history. I’ve had 5 inquiries in the last 12 months. I have 4 credit cards – 2 Visa’s, 1 Mastercard, 1 dept store...totaling to $6590 in avail credit. Im never above $3400 used (abt 50%)
I was recently sent an approval for an AMEX green charge card. I have heard they are hard to get, & was considering getting it (only bc I thought it might ‘look’ good)... Wouldn’t charge much tho since it must be paid in full.
My question: I’ve never had any long term debt (ie student loan, car loan, mortgage)… should I co-sign on my fiancé’s car loan that he just opened? Will that raise my credit score since its long term debt (& YES it will always be paid on time)? Plz help! Score is 720 now, want 770 in 1yr! Will the AMEX 'look' good?

Ben - I dont have an issue w/ debt..
Millionster - Thanks for the information, hopefully someone will see this and it'll benefit them. I am already practicing those tips... I am able to pull my credit report daily w/ a small monthly fee, I pay everything on time, etc. But again, thanx for the pointers.

*~*I am not going to take on the car loan. Now Im just really curious about the AMEX. Im closing out one of my Visa's soon (Its a CapOne card; I've had it since '04, but its a 'starter' card in my eyes...lower credit limit & I hardly use it).

Any other pointers?
THANX

GC: He actually can get credit on his own... he already has the car & the loan. I was just considering co-signing to help MYSELF out... His credit is perfectly fine.

THANKS EVERYONE!

Answer 1

Absolutely DO NOT co-sign that auto loan. Never, never, never co-sign anything with someone you are not legally married to. Everything may be fine now, but what happens in a year or two if you break up?

Want to improve your credit score? Forget about getting another credit card. You have more than enough already. You should pay off the balances on your existing credit cards. Your debt to available credit limit ratio should never be more than 30%. At that 50% mark, you are killing your score.

Only charge what you can afford to pay in full at the end of the month. Paying in full will do so much more to raise your score than getting another credit card.

Answer 2

Do not close down any credit card account because doing so will cause your credit score to drop. Just don't use the cards if you don't want to, but leave the lines open. I don't think you have too many credit cards, and in your case having these cards is ok because you obviously know how to use credit wisely. Having a few cards isn't a bad thing. It would only get bad if you're the type of person who uses them to buy a lot of expensive things and carry high balances from month to month then end up paying never-ending interest charges and only the minimum monthly payment. I've never been a fan of American Express because I think they are over the top with their annual fees and other requirements for most of their products. However, the Blue card is not a bad idea since it has no annual fee and most Am Ex cards do come with some nice perks---but thats mostly IF you use the card enough to rack up the points. Just don't expect too much from American Express. They no longer have a very good reputation as a decent credit card company and since the recent credit crisis they've been actively reducing a lot of people's credit limit. How soon do you plan to buy your condo? If its within the next 6 months then forget about applying for American Express or any other credit card for now. Keep your credit score clean and in the 800s and avoid any new credit inquiries that might change it.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I wouldn't. On auto loans, they usually inquire about 10 times (and your don't want that). You can if you would like to help him but it wouldn't help your credit score. They basically look for revolving charges because to them those are long term debts. They also look at how many inquiries are on record and that is where you get hurt when you have too many. It is not good to let everyone inquire into your credit. It actually lowers your score quite a bit EACH time an inquiry is done. Believe it or not, they also look at your utility bills. this is big because that also shows you pay on time. The Amex I wouldn't get unless you are going to open a business in the near future. That is where that card will help. Having too many credit cards is not good either. Even though you show you are credit worthy, it actually slows down your credit score.

Answer 5

OMGoodness, don't stress out over a score of 720. That's an excellent score. Just leave well enough alone and keep doing what you have been doing, except keep your balances at or below 30% of your line of credit. Absolutely DO NOT co-sign for your boyfriend. Just like someone said here, what happens if later on down the line you break up and he decides not to make his payments on time....that will hurt your score big time. I learned the hard way by co-signing on a mortgage years ago for a boyfriend that I thought I was going to marry. That relationship went sour big time and he ended up defaulting on the mortage and the house almost went into foreclosure. I am just now recovering from that financial disaster.

Answer 6

Get the AMEX if you want to just remember not to have any of your cc above 50% this will bring your score down a lot if you are owing more than 50%. (that's why you shouldn't cosign, good choice) Keep in mind that when financial institutions look at your "trade lines" they will see that you have many credit cards - as once you close/cancel a cc it doesn't drop off your "trade" until 6 years. Doesn't bring your score down - but it just looks like a lot. No debt looks good, the only one I would say doesn't look bad is a mtg debt. Stop applying for credit, and just keep using and paying off your cc every month and i guarantee you'll have the score you want in a year maybe sooner.

Answer 7

Like most everybody else said: DON'T CO-SIGN!! Especially since he can't get credit on his own.. you might want to re-think things, such as the reason he can't. Hmmm.

All that said, you need to do two things in my opinion...

1. Get all of your own accounts paid off. Completely. No more minimum monthly payments.

2. Find something for yourself to get a longer term 'loan' on. Like a car or whatever it is that people take loans out on. That will boost your credit score way more than some silly AMEX card.

Besides that, AMEX isn't accepted in a whole lot of places (just check the decals on store doors)

Answer 8

ANytime you open a new loan your score will dip down a bit until a pay history is established. If you have no mortgage or auto loans open right now, it will raise your score after about 3-5 payments are made. I can see it going up to about 750 given the information you gave us there.

To really boost your score, pay down the balances on your cards below 30 percent of your limit.

Between the installment loand, and getting them cards down just a wee little bit more, I can eaily see a 770 in 12 months.

Answer 9

Whoa whoa, you've got quite a bit going on there. The best advice for you right now is not take on any new debt and and continue to pay your bills on time.. I wouldnt recommend taking on any kind of debt for someone that is not your immediately family and even though I would have my reservations. Think clearly and understand your finances before you take on any new debt -- especially if you dont need it!

But in case you want to boost your score despite what Ive said let me share with you my tips that you can use to build your credit score quickly. I raised mine to well over 700 points fro 500 using these steps in less than a year -- :

# Know and Track Your Credit Score (be sure to sign up for the free trial of your credit score tracking listed below. It really helped my get my score up.)
# Never Miss a Payment, Starting Today
# Never use more than 20% of your Available Credit
# Keep Credit Cards that Have No Annual Fees Open For as Long as Possible
# Extend Your Credit Limit on Cards You Already Have before You Get New Ones
# Get Credit Cards that Have CashBack Rewards to Contribute to your Balance
# Transfer Your Balance to a Credit Card with a Lower Interest Rate and a Higher Available Credit-
# If You Think You Are Going to be FORCED to Pay a Bill Late Ask for an Extension or Payment Plan
# Take out a Small Personal Loan and Repay it Over a Year
# Ask Someone With Good Credit if They will Account Shadow you

Read more here:
10-Ways to Boost Your MyFico Score
http://millionster.com/articles/debt/increase-fico-credit-score/

When you're trying to build a solid credit score it's important to get a comprehensive view of what is actually effecting it...
Your Credit Score (also known as your MyFico score) is calculated with the following breakdown:
35% - Payment History
30% - Credit to Debt Ratio
15% - Credit History
10% - New Credit
10% - Credit Types in Use

If you excel in one area and lack in another, only fixing the areas which you lack are going to improve your score

Answer 10

Truth as it has been mentioned here: Never co-sign any loan with someone you're not legally married to. You two could break up and if, for any reason, he defaulted on the loan, it would be reported as well on your own credit report, which, of course, would lower your score considerably. Please, however, note that I am not wishing for you and your fiance to break up, but, again, the truth is, "it does happen."

Right now, you have a very high score of 720, and, to me, I don't think co-signing any loan or even obtaining another credit card would further help to increase your score. The number of accounts you already have are okay for now. Keep paying the accounts' bills on time and watch your credit score climb higher. A new debt, no doubt, would lower your score at the initial stage (and if not well managed) could further plunge your credit score.

Please, please, please (I am repeating myself three times) don't co-sign. Maintain the accounts you already have and continue to pay your bills on time. Sooner or later, you would see your score rising higher than 720.

Good luck and best wishes!

Derrick