googaloo

e-Savings: $1,000 Minimum balance to open a new e-Savings account; interest earned on $1. e-Savings Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) are as follows: $1 - $99,999.99 - 4.00% for the first 90 days. Balances of $100,000 or more earn Standard APY. After the first 90 days, 4.00% APY reverts to standard tiered rate for balance on deposit after that time. This is a tiered account and the rate for each tier will be applied to the balance within that tier. Standard e-Savings tiered rates are as follows: $1 - $99,999.99 - 2.50%APY; $100,000 or more - 2.50%APY. This is a 7-tiered account. At any time, interest rates and APYs offered within two or more consecutive tiers may be the same. When this is the case, multiple tiers will be shown as a single tier. Limit of one e-Savings account per person. Interest begins earning on $1. Standard Rates may change at anytime after account is opened. Fees may reduce earnings. e-Savings APYs accurate as of 8/8/2008

I. REASONS FOR WANTING LARGER LINES

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's chuckled at the number of recent posts asking how to get lines that are "large enough", without any details about what the poster's goals are. Before deciding what your targets will be for your line sizes, please consider this list of reasons and refine your questions accordingly (Also, please help me refine this list of reasons, as I'm sure I'm missing some.)

A. More purchasing flexibilty. This one is the most obvious. If I have a $25,000 rewards line, I probably don't have to worry about going over the limit regardless of how much spending I do in a month. Indeed, if this is the main reason for a larger line, $5,000 would be more than adequate for probably 90% of FWF members.

B. A bigger emergency "reserve fund." A great feature about credit cards is that they allow you to get quick cash when you really need it, without getting approved for a loan application. (Of course, a person who does this in a naive way could set themselves up for very high interest, but that's another discussion.) If I have $20,000 in unused, unsecured, reasonable-rate credit available, I can rest a bit easier knowing that if a medical or other tragedy should strike, I have that to fall back on.

C. Lower "credit utilization" at any given usage level. As discussed in detail on the score thread, lower utilization helps your scores and your overall credit profile. So even if you'll never "need" a $10,000 limit on your card, it's MUCH better to have this limit than, say, a $3,000 limit if you cycle often closes at $2,500 a month.

D. Better return from investing promotional-rate money. The
"Investing w/ credit lines" thread goes into plenty of detail about how one can make money useing their promotional rates. For our purposes here, it's enough to observe that bigger lines = bigger profit for essentially the same hassle factor. Indeed, it's even better than that once tranfer fees are introduced. It probably doesn't make sense to do a 12 month at 0% offer on a $2,000 line if there's a $75 fee. But if it's a $20,000 line, there's a MUCH GREATER than 10x return available.

E. If you raise one, others may follow. I've seen dozens of instances in which creditor A was willing to increase a line to $x only after creditor B already did so. This is especially true with limits of $50,000 or below. There is some logic to this: if other creditors have found you worthy of $10K, then that is one reason for thinking it wouldn't be imprudent to for us to grant you $10K as well. And beyond logic, banks and creditors love to play follow the leader. (And after all, while they can't see or easily confirm your income, they can see your (reported) credit limits based on the inquiry they just did.)

After mulling these over, one should have a better sense of what their goals for line sizes are. Having explored that, let's move on to:


II. HOW TO MAKE YOUR LINES LARGER

A. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! Yeah, yeah, you say...but this isn't just a nag. Believe me, you will be FAR better equipped to obtain large lines if you have spend the time needed to familiarize yourself with various line-increase tactics discussed here and elsewhere. Card issuer policies differ, sometimes dramatically, and careful searching and reading here will familiarize you with which strategies should be most promising and along with possible pitfalls to avoid (like American Express's dreaded "Financial Review"). Moreover, posters at FWF and elsewhere will be far more inclined to give you useful help if it's clear you don't need to be "spoon fed." One useful step, especially if you've got five-figure lines already, is to see what has actually worked for other FWF members at the LARGE credit lines thread.

B. Cover the basics: keep the report flawless and scores high. Following the rules in the scores thread won't guarantee you high limits, but they'll make it MUCH, MUCH easier to do so.

C. Report your income as generously as the apps allow. While it's against the law to lie about your income for purposes of obtaining credit, there's no reason you can't report income in the manner most favorable to your situation. The classic case is when the application form asks for "household income" only. Well, if you live with roommates or parents, it isn't technically inaccurate to include an estimate of all that income. Of course, if they asked you to document YOUR income, that would be a different matter. But 99 times out of 100, they won't. And if they do, you can answer truthfully.

D. Consider requesting balance transfers at application time. This is hard to track, but many issuers have seemed to give larger initial credit increases if you're willing to transfer a balance at the time of application. These practices vary considerably, even with the same issuer, so YMMV...but if you have a good "destination" elligible for a balance trasfer (sometimes even a checking account will do), this is a strategy to consider as well. (Thanks SecondCor521 for the reminder).

E. Strategically "spend" credit inquiries on increase requests. FWF contains untold paragraphs waxing enthusiastic on getting NEW lines of credit. But few seem to think carefully about how to bolster current credit lines. Why not get your credit in tip-top shape, along the lines of the credit line thread; and then submit several line increase requests at once, "AOR style"? The great thing is that unless your utilization has grown so high that your lines are cut, you will only be BETTER off 6 months from this "application spree". Why? (a) the significance of the inquiries will fade away, ( all your lines will be six months older, and © at least some of them will almost surely be larger than they otherwise would have been....further boosting your credit score/profile.

F. Watch for "hard inquiry free" line increase opportunities. Some issuers will give you a chance online or over the phone to "see if you're elligible" for a line increase. Often, when you indicate your assent, you'll be prompted that a credit inquiry/check/evaluation will be needed. This ALWAYS means a "hard inquiry". But sometimes, it will instantly approve you without such a prompt. Usually in such cases, you'll get the approval without the "hard inquiry". There's a data thread maintained by dlr3 about what as worked here (thanks markkundinger).

G. Selectively reallocate and consolidate your lines. I explain on the credit score thread that generally, reallocation (moving part of the credit line from card A to card is better than consolidation (closing card B and moving it all to card A). But either way, when done carefully, this can be the most rapid and reliable way to crack new "limit tiers." For example, many FWF members haven't cracked $25K on any one line, but have well over $25K with a single issuer...especially after all the mergers (MBNA & BofA; First USA & BankOne & Chase, et cetera). If you're in that situation, then after DOING YOUR HOMEWORK per above, why not see if you can reallocate and consolidate your way to $48K on one and $2K on the other? That might be just the thing to start cracking $25K on your other lines too. For info on which card issuer has been/is allowing which consolidation, please visit SIS's reallocation data-points thread.

H. A special note about AU status and line sizes. In the credit score thread I discussed the strategic use of "authorized user" status. In the context of getting larger lines, it can be even more helpful. For example, suppose your largest line is $5K, but your parents have a 10-year old line with their credit union for $25K. Well, odds are that if you're made an AU on that line, creditors will be much more willing to move your other lines closer up to that $25K...especially if you can provide decent sized income numbers to match. (I've actually done this for a couple of close friends, and it's worked like a charm.) Are your parents/friends/siblings wary of trusting you with that much credit? That's not mean of them, they're just being smart! What we did was, I made them AU, but they never even saw the card or the number, as it was sent to my address. They had no plastic to charge up, and literally didn't even know who to call to find out their number. Now of course I'm not suggesting that this will be much of a deterrent if someone's determined to charge up their new AU card. But if you proposed to Mom or Dad, "hey, if you make me an AU, it will help me, and I don't even want you to give me the card or number...", it might provide the assurance they need to get you that coveted status.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT MY CREDIT SCORE?
A. The Importance of "Adequate" Credit Scores
B. "Adequate" vs. "Super" Credit Scores
C. Why would a "Super" credit score be helpful?

II. GENERAL FEATURES OF CREDIT SCORING
A. Credit scoring models are intentionally ambiguous
B. Scoring model complexity prevents extrapolation
C. Scoring Depends on Reporting--which can vary considerably.
D. Scoring models and their key "inputs" are evolving significantly.
E. Scoring seems headed towards consolidation.
F. Scoring is always individual, not "joint".

III. RULES FOR KEEPING CREDIT SCORES HIGH
A. Do not EVER pay late.
B. Keep your apparent credit "utilization" low.
C. Seek higher credit limits.
D. Keep your "credit quality" high.
E. Cultivate a long credit history and an old average account age.
F. Avoid excessive "hard inquiries".
G. Avoid frequently changing your "official residence".

IV. TIME-TESTED TACTICS FOR FOLLOWING THE RULES
A. Establish credit early.
B. Be choosy about the quality of your credit applications.
C. Use "authorized user" status strategically.
D. DO NOT CLOSE ANY CC UNLESS YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC REASON
E. Time credit applications strategically.
F. Think through your "official" address.

V. MONITORING YOUR CREDIT
A. Why Bother?
B. Getting FICO, FAKO, Vantage, and other "scores"
C. Getting Access to your Report and Score

VI: RELATED ISSUES AND LINKS

Appendix: A Credit Glossary
___________________________________________


SECTION ONE: WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT MY CREDIT SCORE?

A. The Importance of "Adequate" Credit Scores

Clearly, having an acceptably high credit score is more important in recent years than at any time since scoring models were developed. If your score is not sufficient, you will:

-pay more to get mortgages, car loans, and other credit;
-be less likely to get offered a job;
-be unable to get many brokerage or bank accounts;
-pay more, perhaps much more, for insurance;

and those are just the effects that are widely documented. Because the increasing use of credit scores by various agencies is controversial, we often don't hear about their use.

B. "Adequate" vs. "Super" Credit Scores

A grading analogy might help demystify the importance of credit scoring. For most people, a credit score is more like a "high pass / pass / fail" grade than a letter grade. If you score a "high pass"--roughly, between a 680 and a 720, depending on the model--then that's "Adequate" for all practical purposes. Further improvements simply aren't important, and won't benefit you. Moreover, the higher into the 700 range one gets, the more difficult it is to raise them still further. The bottom line is that in the vast majority of cases, once one's true scores are well into the 700s, it simply isn't worth worrying about them anymore. The key is keeping a "high pass" or "Adequate" score.

C. Why would a "Super" credit score be helpful?

I can think of three reasons. First, super scorers sometimes receive the tastiest "by invitation" pre-approvals for new credit. Capital One has been especially aggressive about this, sometimes offering superb terms and huge lines to >760 credit scorers. Second, a very few lenders save their best rates for super scorers. Farm Bureau Bank, for example, will give a no-fee prime + 0 business LOC to super scorers (generally 760 or better) Finally, it's nice to have a "margin for error." For example, my credit profile is WAY too active to keep a score much above 750 on any sustained basis. But it's very important to me that it's always at least "adquate", as I earn several thousand a month from my credit lines and would suffer real losses if some snafu shipped me into "sub-prime" status. So, I like to shoot for the 740-760 range, so that I know that the minor issues (wrongly reported lines, unexpected inquiries, etc.) won't drop me below 700.


SECTION TWO: GENERAL FEATURES OF CREDIT SCORING

A. Credit scoring models are intentionally ambiguous.

The three major credit reporting companies / agencies (CRC or CRAs) are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. They are private, for profit entities. They all maintain the position that their scoring models are "trade secrets," and they fight tooth and nail to reveal as little as possible about their details. Moreover, they are regularly tweaked, in ways that are not publicized. This is one reason why there can be no reliable answer to precisely how much a certain factor would affect a given person's credit score. This also explains why there is so much misinformation floating around on credit scoring, even from journalists and others who should know better.

B. Scoring model complexity prevents extrapolation.

Theoretically, two identical credit profiles, when faced with the same pertinent change (a new line, late payment, whatever) should have their scores change in the same way. But in practice, no two credit profiles are ever alike. There are simply too many relevant factors. The age of each credit line, its type, its payment history, its size, the degree to which it's used, and many other factors are get put into the "black box" of credit scoring. When all these factors are considered no two people are really alike. That's why you should be suspicious of anyone claiming that "doing x will increase (or decrease) YOUR score by y points." There is NO WAY that they or ANYONE else could know that information.

C. Scoring Depends on Reporting--which can vary considerably.

First, if a credit grantor doesn't report the use of the credit, then it isn't considered in your score. Most business credit lines don't report to one's personal credit at all--which is why business lines can be a great way to "hide" use of credit. Most personal cards do report the limit, the balance (generally as of the close of the last billing cycle), and the minimum payment due (at that cycle close). A few do not. Capital One is probably the most prominent exception, reporting the "high balance" instead of the limit to the CRCs. Counter to popular belief, such exceptions are rather easily worked around, provided one knows they are there. (Note: Cap1 in particular is almost always willing to offer no fee balance transfers, and they will sometimes even offer "purchase checks" that allow you do deposit your CL into a bank account. Simply pay the balance off before the cycle closes, and your new "highest use" will be your credit limit, while your balance (which is measured as of the close) may be as low as zero.)

D. Scoring models and their key "inputs" are evolving significantly.

The ambiguity of scoring models and the changes in reporting mechanics complicates the tracking of changes in CRC scoring models. Even so, anecdotal evidence and occasional industry comments confirm that major changes have occurred over the past few years. Here are a few worth noting:

-Inquires are often sent to the CRCs much more quickly than previously. Years ago, it wasn't uncommon for all 5 inquiries made on a Monday to not show on one's report until Tuesday or later. Now, most of them will show up almost instantly. Needless to say, this has implications for credit application strategies. In particular, huge "App-o-Ramas" don't hold quite the attraction they once did.

-Secured revolving lines are more accurately reported AND less damaging than they once were. Along with the HELOC boom of the early 2000s came many consumers whose credit was badly hurt by their >50% utilization on their equity lines. Gradually, equity creditors began to more precisely specify their lines as "secured revolving," "heloc", and the like, rather than the simpler "revolving" that all CCs are coded. Also, CRCs began treating them differently, recognizing that high use of a HELOC (at the prime rate or thereabouts, and secured by real assets) was a much lesser risk factor for creditors than similar balances on credit cards.

-Multiple loan inquiries within short time frames are more often bundled. Not long ago, "rate shopping" for a mortgage or a car could really hammer one's score, since every inquiry by each lender one spoke with would knock it down another notch. Now, CRCs allow for multiple inquires for certain products (generally mortgages and car loans) to count as one, provided they are done within a 14 or 30 day period. This more lenient treatment does NOT apply to CCs, however.

One key point can be inferred from the observations in the last couple of sections. That is, DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOUR CREDIT SCORING EXPERIENCE DICTATES WHAT OTHERS WILL EXPERIENCE. I've seen MANY people make claims like, "credit scoring doesn't work that way--I know because it didn't happen to me." Well, THAT SIMPLY DOES NOT FOLLOW.

E. Scoring seems headed towards consolidation.

The big recent news in credit scoring is the arrival of the Vantagescore . Among other useful revisions, this score will use an "Identical scoring algorithm and leveled credit characteristics across all three national credit reporting companies." That will make monitoring one's score much easier, and using the score significantly fairer to consumers. There is debate over how long it will take before this revision is phased in. Thanks to ksd for pointing out that consumers can get access to this score for $5.95 (as of July 2006) at vantagescore.experian.com .

F. Scoring is always individual, not "joint".

Unlike income taxes, where spouses can file "jointly" as one unit, credit scores are always individual. So, a wife can pay a household's bills on time for 40 years, and if she's never established credit in her own right, it WILL NOT MATTER if her husband dies, and she needs to get a mortgage or buy insurance on her own! Thus it's crucial that every adult establish the credit that they might need IN THEIR OWN RIGHT.


SECTION THREE: RULES FOR KEEPING CREDIT SCORES HIGH

While the subject of credit scoring is quite complex, the most important "rules" for credit scoring are simple and well known. You don't know what magic formula will get you an "A" on a UNKNOWN professor's term paper. Yet you do know that bad grammar, misspelled words, the wrong subject, and missing the page limits will keep you from getting a high grade. And you also know that if you do a serviceable job of following the guidelines of the assignment, and make sure you observe any firm rules, you'll probably do OK. Well, credit scores are similar. Follow the rules, and you might not get "straight A's", but you'll do just fine--and soon will get "high pass" grades. (If you have already "broken" the BIG rules--e.g., a chargeoff, bankruptcy, et cetera--then you need a credit repair strategy first. Other forums like creditboards.com are better suited for this. Please note that this isn't meant as a brush-off at all--just an acknowledgement that (1) I'm less informed on such issues, and (2) credit repair really is its own subject, and (3) sites that specialize in these issues do a better job than we could here.)

So, here are the key "rules," roughly in order of importance:

A. Do not EVER pay late.

Paying bills late enough so that they report as "30 days late" or worse is quickest way to drop your scores. OTOH, if you don't have any late payments, and all lines are marked "paid as agreed", it's difficult to get much lower than the 600s, regardless of what else you do. If you need to beg, borrow, etc, to make payments on time, do so! Do note that being a couple of days late on a payment will almost never result in it being reported as "late"...OTOH, going oversees and forgetting to pay that last Visa bill before you leave probably will, so BE CAREFUL.

B. Keep your apparent credit "utilization" low.

BOTH the percentage use REPORTED to the CRCs (which may differ from what's actually USED) on EACH available line, AND the total (aggregate) percentage used across ALL your REPORTING lines, are the crucial factors here. The degree to which these respective factors will matter varies considerably. I'll offer my more subjective opinions below. But it's safe to say categorically it's best NEVER to go above 90% on any line, especially a large line--and never to go above 50% on all your lines combined. Below the 90% threshold, there's ample evidence that 50% is a key level, and somewhat less evidence that 70% and 30% are used as "break points" for credit scoring models as well.

C. Seek higher credit limits.

Since low utilization is always better for one's credit score, it follows, that given the same credit usage patterns, higher limits will always generate higher credit scores than will lower limits.

D. Keep your "credit quality" high.

The best accounts are a single home mortgage (ideally infrequently re-financed), and one or more major UNSECURED bank cards (Visa, MC, AMEX, Discover, etc.), and perhaps one or two store credit cards. Car loans, personal loans, more store credit cards, etc. need not be big negatives, but they generally will do more harm than good. SECURED cards are to be avoided whenever possible.

E. Cultivate a long credit history and an old average account age.

The more established your credit profile, the higher your score. This is determined primarily via the age of your oldest REPORTING line (closed or open; credit card or mortgage, doesn't matter) and the AVERAGE age of ALL your REPORTING lines. Of course, there is only so much one can do to change this...it's largely a matter of time. But there are techniques that help. For example, lines in which you are an "authorized user" (AU) will often (but not always) report on your credit file.

F. Avoid excessive "hard inquiries".

Most credit-granting companies, and some banks/brokerages/etc. will "pull" a credit report from one or more of the three CRCs. (Customer service reps are often unreliable on whether and which reports get pulled.) They then remain on your report from that CRC for two years. Having more than one or so of these at a time is a negative, and having too many (generally 5-7 or more) may disqualify you for a particular credit product. Generally, the significance of these as a credit scoring factor declines after they are 6 months old. Once on, they are difficult to remove. One loophole: "bumpage", which results from generating numerous "soft" inquiries through such means as pulling your own credit via commercial services like PrivacyGaurd and through the solicitation of "pre-approved offers by other companies. Bumpage can remove inquiries from Equifax or TransUnion, but not Experian.

Note that while a few issuers pull credit at more than one CRC (notably cap1, which does all three), most will do only one. However, IME it's often tough to predict which one of the three it will be. I'm frequently told it will be x and instead it's y. One reason monitoring is can handy is because it lets you know how your previous inquiries are "distributed." For example, if you have 6 recent inquiries, but only two per CRC, you're not in bad shape. OTOH if all 6 are at one CRC, it would be best to avoid new inquiries that would pull yet another one from that same CRC.


G. Avoid frequently changing your "official residence".

One factor that makes a minor but measurable difference is how long you've remained at one residence, with longer periods being better. You don't have to keep physically living at the same place, of course (not that it would be feasible for many anyway)--just keep the address you list as your "official residence" for credit, bank, etc. purposes consistant where feasible.

OK, now that we've discussed the key rules, let's move on to some well-proven tactics.


SECTION FOUR: TIME-TESTED TACTICS FOR FOLLOWING THE RULES

A. Establish credit early.

Shortly after one graduates from high school, it's a good idea to seek out one or two high-quality bank cards with favorable terms and get approved for them, even if one doesn't intend to use them. After those report successfully for a year or two, then line increases and many more attractive offers may come your way...at that point, picking the cream of the crop and upping the mix to a few more cards can be a good idea. AS ALWAYS, the big caveat here is that one should only apply for credit if they have the self-discipline to use it responsibly.

B. Be choosy about the quality of your credit applications.

For example, one shouldn't "ghettoize" themselves by showing "secured" credit cards (NOT to be confused with "secured lines", like equity lines), rather than unsecured ones. If you are recovering from credit problems, it may be difficult to get unsecured bank cards, but in that case one should look for cards that will be eligible for conversion to unsecured cards within a reasonable period of time.

C. Use "authorized user" status strategically.

Many credit grantors will report AUs to the CRCs just as they would a primary cardholder. OTOH, if someone is removed as an AU, then they are required to stop reporting activity on that line. This opens up a world of opportunities for managing one's credit profile. For example, if you have a parent, spouse, etc. with a an older account and perfect payment history, it might help a great deal if you were to become an AU on that account--particularly if you have no or a short credit history. Also, if you're carrying a large balance on a card in which there are AUs, then have the AUs removed from the card until the balance is paid off. That way, the AU's utilization will come off much more favorable. The AU tactics are one more reason it's generally a bad idea to apply for "joint" credit. Far better to have one person apply as primary, and have the other apply as an AU.

D. DO NOT CLOSE ANY CC UNLESS YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC REASON.

Open credit cards that don't have any negative payment history only grow older with time, helping your "average age", payment history, and overall utilization factors. Counter to popular belief, closing the card won't remove it quickly from one's credit profile. It will fall off eventually (generally in 7-10 years from closure), but by that time it would almost always have been old enough to help your larger credit profile.

E. Time credit applications strategically.

If you are interested in, say, 3-10 new credit products, it's generally desirable to make sure that your credit report is at its short-term best, and then quickly submit all the applications at once--ideally the same day. This is the rationale behind the "AOR" / "App-o-Rama" / "application spree" strategy that's so often mentioned at FWF. There are several reasons for this. First, multiple same-day inquiries mean that one credit issuer often can't see that you've just applied elsewhere too. Second, some CRCs have not counted same day inquiries as more than one(!), which obviously helps that factor. Third, this "bunching" means that all the new credit grantors don't see the new "unseasoned" credit on your report, since it won't be reported to the CRCs until after their decision to grant you credit has been made. Forth, getting the "damage" of multiple applications over with in batches will give the report time to "heal" (inquiries will drop off, new lines will season, etc.), meaning that within a year or two one's score can be as high or even higher than it was previously.

F. Think through your "official" address.

For example, one who is renting an apartment for a year or two only near their college campus might apply for credit from their parent's address, and not switch that address for several years until they have a stable place of their own. (It goes without saying that this requires that you have complete trust with your parents!) Another example: if you have two homes, and spend part of the year at each, it's probably best to only apply for credit at the address that's been associated with you the longest.


SECTION FIVE: MONITORING YOUR CREDIT

A. Why Bother?

There are several reasons to monitor one's credit report and score. First, credit grantors and CRCs both make errors all the time, many of which can reduce your score. The only way to keep this from happening is to check the reports regularly, and dispute anything that's outdated or otherwise in error. Second, monitoring one's report identity theft is a growing problem

B. FICO, FAKO, Vantage, and other "scores"

For purposes of this FAQ, I'll stipulate that one's "true" credit score is simply what the inquirer will receive from the CRC at the time they submit their request. I DON'T mean that it's what one's credit score "ought" to be, or even that the score is derived from correct data.

It can be maddeningly difficult to obtain your "true" credit score. Virtually all of the credit scores sold through monitoring services are "FAKO" scores: made up scales that correlate only very loosely with true credit scores. Moreover, even if you can get a "true" score, it may very likely be a different score than the one your prospective lender will receive, since they may pull a different CRC's report or even a different version of the same CRC's "true" score.

For these reasons, it's a good idea to politely ask the lending officer to provide you with the score they received upon your applying for credit/insurance etc. Many are not supposed to share this with you, but in my experience they often are willing to. Some lenders (e.g. PenFed mortgages) even send you a written statement with the scores they received on you.

C. Getting Access to your Report and Score

Note that obtaining your own score directly (vs. through a lender) is never counted as a "hard" inquiry, and thus DOES NOT negatively impact your score.

While you can't get your scores for free, you are entitled to get one free report from each of the CRCs every twelve months.

I know of several monitoring services that provide credit reports and "FAKO" scores. Examples include Privacyguard and Truecredit . I subscribe to both, at around $100 yearly, but only because they both allow me to pull new credit reports every day. Other FWF users have reported that they are no longer given access to new reports each day.

Providian/WaMu credit cards provide you with a free "Bankcard Industry Option FICO score", and update it monthly. This perk is one reason we picked up the otherwise unexciting WaMu card. (See CreditGuy's posts below for more on this.)


SECTION SIX: RELATED ISSUES AND LINKS

My hope is that we can try to limit this thread to issues of getting and keeping high scores, as that is more than complex enough on its own terms (as the length of this OP demonstrates.) For related matters, please visit the following:

-Strategy and rationale for getting higher credit limits is here.

-Making money from credit via invested proceeds is discussed in detail here

-Getting LARGE credit lines is discussed here.

-Reallocation possibilities for credit lines are discussed here

-A useful list of 5% rewards credit cards is here.

There are also many, many threads that discuss great credit card offers and individual AORs, and new ones are constantly popping up.


Appendix: A Credit Glossary

This subject is complex enough so that a glossary seems warranted. Please suggest added terms:

-Credit Inquiry (also called "hard pull" or "hard inquiry" ) This is a request from some institution to access one form or another of your full credit report from one or more of the CRCs. By law (namely the FCRA), it can only be done for a "permissible purpose". Basically, this amounts to your asking to begin or continue a business relationship with the institution.

-Credit Report The list of information that a CRC compiles concerning your personal (or business) credit history. It will include personal information, open and closed credit, and balances, and payment histories.

-Credit Reporting Companies (CRCs or CRAs) For-profit companies to whom credit grantors report data about your credit lines and loans, payment history, and balances. The "big three" are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and they are typically the only ones that matter.

-Credit Score Generally (but not always) a 3-digit number assigned by a CRC to a credit profile. There are many different flavors of scores, and significant differences between flavors are common. Also note that there are many "scores" generated by CRCs that never get issued to a third party--so their practical effect is nill. These are sometimes billed as "FAKOs".

-FCRA, or Fair Credit Reporting Act. The major piece of federal legislation that spells out the rights and obligations of consumer creditors and debtors.

-Secured Credit Card A credit card which has a limit equal to funds set aside by the borrower that guarantees repayment. Usually, this takes the form of a bank deposit. For example, ABC credit union says, we'll give you a $500 visa limit if you give us $500 up front that "secures" the card. These are generally offered to people with poor or no credit. Some can be converted to more desirable unsecured credit once a good payment history of a certain duration is established.

-Secured Credit Lines. While this is sometimes used misleadingly to refer to a "secured credit card", it is commonly (and more accurately) used to refer to credit lines secured by physical property owned by the borrower, such as real estate or business equipment. A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is the most common form of secured line available to consumers.