Mini-followup...

I got an updated score. Nothing changed from last month as far as how many cards have balances, etc.

The legend now says:

your FICO® Credit Score is 844
FICO® SCORE
844
As of 11/12/2014


Your FICO® Credit Score is affected by the Key Factor(s) below:

Congratulations!
Your FICO® Credit Score indicates to lenders that you're an exceptional borrower. Keep up the great work.




In other words, no "negative" factors cited.

And now, I'm done obsessing over this. FT is great therapy, I tell you!

My score has been a little over 800 a few times (including right now according to Barclay's). I've never had a mortgage nor a car loan. My average age of accounts is 6 years, 4 months, so I have room for improvement there.

At 844 it really doesn't matter. You're generally getting the best terms at 760+ anyway. You could possibly eke out a few more points by addressing the "negative factors" but it probably wouldn't be worth your while.

Depends on the scoring model. That range is more commonly used but there isn't just one FICO model and they don't all use the 300-850 scoring range.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducatio...yourscore.aspx

Generally speaking, 100% positive payment history, low utilization (Amounts Owed), long AAoA (Length of Credit History) and a good mix of credit. It's possible to break 800 without installments but it may be trickier.

It's a "true" FICO but relying solely on "true" doesn't mean much. Regardless of scoring model the score generated is only relevant to that particular model. I.e. you can't rely on a score generated by one model to determine a score generated by an entirely different model whether FICO or FAKO. The score provided by Discover won't tell you what score a creditor will pull if a different CRA's data is used to generate the score and/or if a different scoring model is used (or even if data has changed). Creditors use different CRA's and different FICO scoring models. Again, don't just rely on "true" as there is no such thing as a single true FICO.

Incorrect. The score provided by Discover is a FICO using TU data and the 08 model. TU does not generate FICO's. Only FICO generates FICO's.

Bank-provided does not determine whether or not a score is a FICO. Some are FICO's, some are not.

IIRC Barclay's also provides a TU 08 FICO and US Bank does not provide FICO's.

US Bank used to provide ExperianDirect's Plus, which I gather is not true FICO:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...-scores-6.html

but I can't find it at their site any more.

This is not quite technically correct. Each bureau does generate F I CO scores by an algorithm provided by Fico and for which the bureau remit a royalty fee to F I CO. The algorithm is specific to each bureau to utilize the uniqueness of their data. FICO scores are only generated at the bureaus. The bureaus also have their own algorithms to produce scores which they are free to sell to lenders.

How to Improve Credit After a Bankruptcy
 

A co-worker had a bankruptcy 4 years ago. Since then they have been handling their finances quite well, and just bought a $850K home, so they are doing things correctly. However, due to the BK she is being turned down for miles and points cards. All she has right now are Dept store cards, which aren't helping her credit score much at all.

Are there some cards she can get now, perhaps secured with a deposit, that will help her build up her credit again before the BK eventually drops off her CR?

It helps to know if she burned any banks in the BK, as well as what her current FICO Score 8 (standard non-"enhanced") for each of the three primary bureaus are.

What she has now
If she's not already doing it, every card but one should be paid off before the monthly due date. One card should report with at least $2. $1 is bad, as it will report as zero, and hurt her FICO scores. At least $2. Less than $10. Then pay that card off before the due date.

With regard to the store cards, stop applying for them. Once she has several regular cards, she should start closing them. Exceptions are for store cards that she actually uses, and cards issued by Synchrony (although no more than 3 Synchrony because their max exposure per person is $35K per card, and $100K total.)

Secured card stage
What she wants in a secured card is one that can graduate to unsecured, and that may be useful years from now when she has excellent credit again.

Assuming that no banks were included in the BK, is she eligible to join NFCU? If so, that's secured card #1.

Secured card #2 is a Bank of America cash rewards card. It's not offered on the website, but it is available. If she goes into a branch, she can put as much as $10K towards a card.

Secured card #3 is the Discover it. She needs to apply for the unsecured Discover it. If declined, she may be offered the secured version.

She should put as much money towards a high credit limit as possible. Once banks begin to approve her for better cards, the limits granted will have more to do with existing credit card limits than with anything else. Don't think for a second that a high income easily translates into a high limit. Banks will wonder why other banks won't extend a lot of credit to someone making a lot of money. Many on FT advocate lowering credit limits before applying. That's an advanced tactic that, in my opinion, is not suitable for someone who is rebuilding. Much more importantly, it's far easier to get approved for a CLD than for a CLI.

Moving on to unsecured cards
For unsecured cards, she should check out preapproval pages. If Chase will give her a Freedom, she should apply. Same with an Amex EveryDay.

Once past the secured stage, if she can't get a Chase or Amex, the Cap1 Quicksilver is a good option. If she can't get that, she might be able to get the QuicksilverOne. Don't get more than one Cap1 card because they don't combine limits. They also don't graduate their secured cards. They also pull from all three bureaus, which while bad, is not that big of a deal when rebuilding because the impact of inquiries will be greatly diminished after six months, and gone after twelve. Cap1, when bypassing their customer service, and going straight to their executive office, will waive an annual fee, and assist with CLIs without a hard pull.

Once she can get approved for better cards, I recommend that the first card with each bank (with the possible exception of Amex due to the way that they report dates) be a no-annual fee, non-cobranded card that is useful. The reason is that such a card can be kept open for a very long time. It's a good thing to have old and positive tradelines on a credit report. The CSP may be a better card than the Freedom, but it's also a card that might be churned. Get the Freedom first. Then she won't have to worry about paying to keep a card open because it is her oldest Chase tradeline. Co-branded cards can change banks, which is why they're not ideal first cards with a bank.

As for Amex, if she didn't burn them, and she had an Amex in the past, they will eventually become her BFF. Once approved, she can get her original member since date applied to all of her Amex cards (only the ones issued by Amex, not from other banks.)^ The word on the street is that the Costco Amex, when applying in a Costco, is the easiest Amex to get.

A possible next twelve months
Let's say that your friend can get secured cards from BoA and Discover, and a QuicksilverOne. That's the minimum of three real credit cards needed to start rebuilding. She should use them, and pay them off (except for $2 on one) each month.

Four months later, contact the Cap1 EO for a CLI and for the annual fee to be waived.

Two months later, or six months from now, apply for an Amex. To get two Amexes in one day off of one pull, apply for a charge card first, then for a credit card. If they'll approve her for a Green, they'll probably approve her for a PRG. The ED is a good first revolver. If she decides to close the charge card a year later, the ED will keep her MR points alive.

On the same day, apply for a Freedom. Pick out something from Citi and Barclays too.

Now, if approved, she has a positive relationship with Amex, Bank of America, Barclays, Chase, and Citi. That's where most of your miles and points cards are.

Six months later, or a year from now, she's in good shape to go nuts and apply for what she wants. No guarantee of approvals, but there's a good chance that she'll get some of what she wants.

Also, stay away from MS during this. There's no reason for her to risk raising red flags with banking relationships that she can't afford to lose. In a year or two, she'll be in a position where she can decide if MS is right for her.

Wow ! Thank You so much. That's great advice, and much of it would have taken me hours of research to find, if ever. Clearly, you spent quite a while writing it as well.

Some of it, like not fully paying a cc off before the statement, is so counterintuitive, we would never have guessed it.

I'm in awe of your willingness to help out. Again, thank you so much.

No problem. I've learned a lot about credit from creditboards.com. I'm still building up from a thin file, so I've done some of what I recommended. The stuff that doesn't apply to me, like dealing with a BK, I've learned a little bit about from reading over there. Some people with BKs have gone from FICOs in the 400s to The high 700s. At least one person got over 800 with a BK still reporting. Doing that takes a lot of research, a lot of work, and much diligence because it's not done in a few months.

I come to FT to learn about rewards and travel. I find the two sites complimentary and indispensable.