I apologize if this is not the right place to post this- I did some searches for FICO and it led me to this section, so am posting here. If it needs to be moved, please let me know and I will move it to the right place.

Quick question I had is re my FICO score. For some reason my score drops about 20 points any time I apply for a card. It was at 790 and dropped to 770 when I first applied for a card. I waited for it to go back up (about two years) to 780 and applied for a card and it dropped by 20 points again. A year or two later, I downgraded a CSP to sapphire and cancelled and moved United CL to the sapphire and score jumped to 805. Waited for a year and applied for an AA Plat card and score dropped to 784. I honestly do not understand this. The only negatives I have on my score is amount of time accounts are open (3 years average) and lack of mortgage or loans. Why does my score drop like that?? I only have 2 inquires on Trans and 3 on Equifax in the last two years. Utilization is around 1%.

The calculation of a credit score is basically a trade secret.

If I can make this easier for you - Your score is simply a relative presentation of your creditworthiness. Your score does not matter as soon as you have not experienced any unfavorable decisions from the creditors.

FICO scores depend on many things, number of inquiries, age of credit history, utilization percentage and others. Even the source of the score (FACO vs FICO). There are forums like myfico and creditboards that delve into this subject at length.

Thank you both. Very much appreciate the feedback. The FICO score is off of what Discover is reporting.

You don't have just one. There are many FICO models used by creditors and for most models you have a score with each of the 3 major CRA's.

To determine the cause(s) of any scoring change you'd have to carefully review reports from before and after the change. However, given the standard factors and their typical weights:
http://www.myfico.com/crediteducatio...yourscore.aspx

Opening a new account reduces your AAoA (Length of Credit History). Applying incurs a hard pull (New Credit). There are certainly other factors that matter but those are common reasons to see a score drop. Additionally, it's not just the change(s) but your credit profile as well. A thinner profile and/or on with issues may see a bigger impact from some factors whereas a thicker profile in good standing may see less of an impact.

If you want to learn more then hit up the credit-specific sites. Don't just obsess over numbers but if you are going to worry over them then set a higher threshold. I recommend at least 20 points. Your scores will go up and down just from normal activity (probably mostly due to changes in reported revolving utilization). Educate yourself to understand how report data is generally assessed if you want to understand and focus on your reports and not just the numbers.

740-760 is generally the range with FICO 8 where best terms are offered. Anything above that is just gravy so stop fretting over it -- especially if you're not applying for anything. Even the lowest number you mention is still a very good TU FICO 8.

Always consider the specific model when referring to scores. Discover provides a TU FICO 8. Don't overlook Experian and TransUnion as well.

Not to go too deep into the woods, but there are ways to get free monthly (or periodic) FICO's from each of the credit bureaus. For instance, you can get a free Equifax FICO score by joining Digital Credit Union and opening a checking account/savings account. You can get an Experian based FICO from PSECU credit union (and AMEX too now I think). And Transunion FICO scores are available from Walmart, Barclays and Discover as mentioned. The FICO models used probably vary, but at least you can track your score to see any significant changes in direction.

In reality anything over 740 is prime, once your credit report is clean and a little thick you should get approved for anything(knock on wood).

Credit Karma.com.....Free...

The more CC you apply for seems the higher number you receive...

Thank you so much everyone for all the information and resources. I won't worry too much about it and dig deeper than what I've already researched. My utilization is around 2%, AAoA is 5 years, card open longest is 12 years. Only have 2 and 3 inquires in last 2 years on TU and EX. So nothing major...it just bothered me that the drop was so big (20 points) EVERY single time compared to what people say (5-6 points). I figured after so long the drop would be less.

In any case, thank you again for all the info. I'll try and dig a bit with reports (I already have credit karma, and get my free score from Discover).