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| 5/26 |
| 2004/12/12-13 [Finance/CC] UID:35253 Activity:high |
12/12 Speaking of amazon, I'm thinking of signing up for their visa
card. Is there any harm in having several credit cards (this
would be my third; I have a moderate balance on my first one, and
I don't use my second one at all.) BTW I'm signing up to get the
$30 off my purchase. Thanks.
\_ Your credit score declines when you apply for credit (not
so much but just don't do it too often) or when you cancel
old cards. Having about 2-3 cards helps your credit score
but you should make sure there's some activity on those cards.
Having more than 3 might not be such a good thing.
\_ I went crazy and got about 10 credit cards at one point. I
just kept applying for them until they started refusing me.
I never used 3/4 of them. When I went to buy a house 5 years
later, it lowered my credit score. Not too much, probably
50 points or so, but if I had been a marginal case, it would
have been the difference. I closed most of the accounts and
two years later my score is back up to the high 700s.
\_ Does it harm your credit when you cancel/close a card?
\_ For a while. But a few years later your score
is higher, assuming you had "too much" available
credit.
\_ This is where ia m right now. shit i didnt know that
cancelling fucks w/ your score!
\_ Cancelling might shorten your credit history. That might
hurt. Get rid of newer, smaller-credit-line cards.
Second, your "debt ratio" counts: how much debt you have
vs. how much credit you have. If you have no balances at
all, then your "debt ratio" won't be hurt. --PeterM
\_ Debt ratio and total overall debt are the most
important things. Do not roll over a balance
on your credit cards if you want a high score.
\_ This makes no sense. Do you mean 'carry a balance'?
\_ Yes, they mean the same thing, really. You are
rolling the loan over every month. Sorry, I
guess I have been reading The Economist too
much lately. I forgot what normal people
call it.
\_ I have a low 800s credit rating score? Is that low or high?
\_ That's really good, since the max score is 850. Check out
this article from http://bankrate.com: http://csua.org/u/aas
\_ In fact, my mom has worked at banks (credit card
industry, branches, you name it) for 40+ years and says
that she didn't come across many 800+s in that whole
time. 'Excellent credit' (where you will be offered
the best-available rate) is around 760-780. That 11%
number (800+ people) seems high, but that's probably
because those people also apply for credit less often.
\_ You can get home loans at the best rate with a
credit score of 700 or so. Perhaps there are
other kinds of loans that you can get with a higher
score, I dunno.
\_ Home loans are rather easy to get, being secured
by an asset that tends to appreciate. However,
I will say that if you want a 'no doc' loan then
700 won't get it done with the best rate.
\_ Okay, I can believe that. What kind of
score do you need to get a no doc home
loan at the highest rate? I also see that
\_ 760-780, depending on the lender. Another
feature with a high score is that you can
often borrow more than you can 'afford'.
Back when I could only afford a $300K
house they let me borrow up to $500K 'no
questions asked'. This is similar to 'no
doc' in that they are trusting you.
the FICO site says you need a 720 to get
the best interest rates. That was not my
experience when I bought a home, but that
is close enough.
\_ OT: You can check your Credit Report at link:www.annualcreditreport.com
for free, but they charge you $7 to see your actual score. That
sounds awfully dodgy.
\_ The only reason they provide anything for free is because (as
of December 1st) the FTC requires them to. They don't have to
tell you your score for free, and the different credit bureaus
charge different amounts for that.
\_ GODDAMNFUCKINGEQUIFAX
Their site is so damn broken. Failed to serve up the report,
then wouldn't re-serve. Has NO email address contact for
support.
\_ I use the actual FICO site, which costs more but isn't
dodgy. http://www.myfico.com
\_ doesnt checking your credit affect your credit? anyone know
by how much?
\_ checking your own credit does not affect your score according
to the many articles that have been written about this in the
last couple of years. if you have not done this, do it now.
*every* person I know who has checked their score found
errors - probably because the credit checking companies have
almost no incentive to keep things correct. I'm kind of
waiting for this to become a court case since it places
proving "innocence" as the burden of the "accused" and credit
affects just aobut everybody sooner or later.
\_ Well, I checked my credit and found no errors so
there's an exception.
\_ Be a little grateful, then. It took me a couple of years
to completely iron out the three credit cards they said
I still had open - including one that I had closed seven
years previous and that one required a letter from the
issuer. Fair disclusure is that these probably had no
more than 10 points effect on my score. The real fun
was a parking ticket that went to collection that I
never knew existed until it had eaten a hole in my score
for two years. The collection agency never tried to
contact me because they knew I would have to come to
them as soon as I pulled my first report on myself.
\_ I used to have an Amazon card by Nextbank. Then the
bank went bankrupt and never bothered to forward the
last batch of information to the credit agencies,
so I was stuck with a $4000 balance on my credit reports
even though I had paid that off immediately like all my
credit card charges. I was a lazy fuck, so I never
bothered to go correct it. After a few years, the
credit agencies finally figured it out and things are ok
now. |
| 5/26 |
|
| csua.org/u/aas -> www.bankrate.com/brm/news/credit-scoring/20031104a1.asp Ever wonder why you can go online and be approved f or credit within 60 seconds? Or get pre-qualified for a car without anyo ne even asking you how much money you make? Or why you get one interest rate on loans, while your neighbor gets another? Your credit score is a number generated by a mathematical algorithm -- a formula -- based on information in your credit report, compared to infor mation on tens of millions of other people. The resulting number is a hi ghly accurate prediction of how likely you are to pay your bills. If it sounds arcane and unimportant, you couldn't be more wrong. Credit s cores are used extensively, and if you've gotten a mortgage, a car loan, a credit card or auto insurance, the rate you received was directly rel ated to your credit score. People with the highest scores get the lowest interest rates. The vast majority of people will have sco res between 600 and 800. Your credit score will determine if you get credit at all, and the intere st rate on that credit, says Ed Ojdana, president of Experian Consumer D irect, part of Experian, the largest of the three major credit-reporting agencies. "The better the score, the lower the interest rate and that c an save you a ton of money." The difference in the monthly payment alone would be about $235. Powerful little number If you rented an apartment, got braces, bought cell phone service, applie d for a job that involved handling a lot of money, or needed to get util ities connected, there's a good chance your score was pulled. If you have an existing credit card, the issuer is likely to look at your credit score to decide whether to increase your credit line -- or charg e you a higher interest rate, according to a credit scoring study by the Consumer Federation of America and the National Credit Reporting Associ ation. The score has made it easier for many people to get credit, Kurilko says. Before, it was up to individual lending institutions to come up with thei r own criteria, he says. "They would hedge their risk and tend to go con servatively. Consumers' rights Until recently, many Americans didn't even know this number existed becau se it was a closely guarded secret in the lending industry. In fact, len ders were prohibited from telling borrowers their credit score. The line of reasoning: The number was the result of analyzing complex financial data that the layperson would have difficulty understanding. Plus, if pe ople knew their score (according to the industry mindset at the time), t hey might be able to change their behavior to manipulate the score and t hrow off the whole model, rendering it useless. |
| www.myfico.com Certified FICO Score Seal The median FICO score in the US is 723. FICO^ Deluxe Get all 3 of your current FICO scores and credit reports from the 3 credit bureaus. Suze Orman's FICO^ Kit Get 3 FICO scores and credit reports plus advice on actions you can take to improve your scores, buy a home or car, and get out of credit card debt. Shop for a loan the smart way with FREE Loan Center Save time and money - Get competitive loan rates from national and local lenders based on your geographical area and your FICO score. Protect yourself against identity theft Millions of Americans are victimized by identity theft each year - and it can cost hundreds of dollars and take countless hours to repair the damage. Privacy Policy Copyright 2001-2006 Fair Isaac Corporation. FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax credit report(TM) is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. Fair Isaac does not guarantee any particular results from the use of myFICO products. |
| bankrate.com -> www.bankrate.com/brm/default.asp Bankrate's personal finance guide to Las Vegas -- Bankrate, the site all about helping consumers save money, visits Las Vegas, the city all about helping consumers spend money. Make a serial killing in real estate -- Buying and selling a primary residence every few years could result in tidy tax-free profits. Have fun at the mall without spending a bundle -- You can get out of there with your wallet intact, but think about what you're doing. Graduation gifts that keep giving -- For some grads, a nice card is in order. For others, you can buy a meaningful gift that lasts for quite some time. No free lunch with company credit cards -- It may be a convenient way to get expenses reimbursed, but you might be stuck with the bill if your employer pays late or goes under. Bankrate Digest This weekly newsletter brings you the best of Bankrate: money-saving tips, news, rate updates, and more! Today's new stories Bankrate has created a new way for readers to access Bankrate's award-winning personal finance stories: RSS feeds. Click here Reader Testimonials Bankrate's information allowed me to monitor national average rates and compare the rate locally. |