r/CreditScore

I was denied an application in June because I didn’t meet the credit threshold, the report provided to me used the equifax vantage 4.0 model which is only available to equifax business customers. I was only tracking my vantage 3.0 score so I thought I could make the threshold by lowering my utilization but was denied again in July. Ive since learned by the 4.0 model tracks collection balances and negotiated eliminating 3/4 collection accounts and the last one is settled. I called equifax and they don’t sell the 4.0 model direct to consumers and my 3.0 is always 30-40 points higher but then gap isn’t consistent. Does anyone know how to get the 4.0 score without initiating another application or of online services that will sell the 4.0 score ? It feels very imbalanced that I can’t purchase the score that businesses are basing decisions off of and that the score I can access is effectively useless.

Edit- looking specifically for the equifax vantage 4, willing to purchase

My wife and I are debating about whether or not to add me as an authorized user on some of her credit cards. For context, they are all in the 8-15k limit range but only ever carry a couple hundred bucks, she’s run them up to about 50% and paid them off a couple times, and they’ve been open for 7-10 years.

I had a bankruptcy related to a business that closed about two years ago, and I’ve been working on rebuilding my credit, however my credit age is pretty low. If she adds me to her credit cards, does that entire credit history transfer over to me as well? How else could it benefit or hurt my score?

Credit score went from 790 to 435. $36K in debt, underwater on a car, and considering bankruptcy at 38. What would you do?
I’m 38 and finally at the point where I’m ready to face my financial situation head-on.
For years, I had excellent credit around a 790. I had Amex cards all the way up to the Platinum/Black Card level and never thought I’d end up where I am now. Between COVID, losing jobs, business setbacks, and honestly some bad financial decisions on my part, my credit has fallen to around 435.
Here’s roughly where I stand:
About $36K in personal/business unsecured debt
A vehicle that I’m roughly $21K underwater on
Around $1,200/month going toward the car
I still work, have income and some cash
I’m supporting a family
I’m not destitute or unable to survive I just cannot seem to get ahead
I’ve looked into debt consolidation/settlement companies, but they can only work with certain accounts, and I’m starting to question whether dragging this out makes sense.
Bankruptcy keeps coming into my head, but if I’m being completely transparent, my ego is fighting it. I spent years being proud of having great credit and being financially responsible, so accepting that I may need to file bankruptcy feels like admitting defeat.
At the same time, I’m tired of throwing money at debt and watching it follow me year after year.
I also don’t want to just stop paying everything and let accounts go into collections without understanding what I’m getting myself into.
At 38, my biggest priority is getting my financial freedom back and rebuilding correctly. I know I made mistakes. I let things pile up, avoided dealing with some of it for too long, and now I’m ready to face reality and make whatever decision gives me the best long-term outcome.
For anyone who has actually been in a similar position:
Would you buckle down and try to pay/settle the $36K, let accounts go to collections and negotiate, or seriously consider bankruptcy and rebuild from there?
Especially interested in hearing from people who filed bankruptcy while they were still working and earning money. How long did it realistically take you to recover financially and rebuild your credit?
Appreciate any advice even the tough advice. I’m ready to fix this.

Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to the whole credit building thing. I recently immigrated to the U.S., and I’m still a little confused about how all of this works.

I have a Capital One credit card with a $1,000 limit. My due date is the 5th of every month, and my statement date is the 10th. I don’t usually use the whole limit.

What I’m confused about is when I should actually make my payments and how much I should pay.

Should I pay off the card as soon as I make a purchase, or should I leave the balance until the due date? And when the payment is due, should I pay the full balance, or is it better to leave a small amount on the card?

Also, does it matter how much of my credit limit I use? For example, is there any difference for building credit if I only use $50 versus using most or all of the $1,000 limit, as long as I pay it off?

I’m mainly trying to build good credit long term and don’t want to accidentally do something that hurts my credit.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

My credit score recently dropped from ~760 to ~730 according to Equifax and Experian. According to Equifax, the things that could have hurt it are

1. my credit utilization went from 12% to 15%

2. my total balance increased (similar to 1)

3. the average age of my accounts decreased from 2.75 years to 2.4 years

Does this seem like a reasonable decrease based off of these things? I'm new to all of this so genuinely not sure.

Also, not too sure why my account age decreased this month since the last negative change to my credit card age was over 2 years ago when I deactivated a card?

I’m trying to see if anyone out there can give me any tips or do I need to just mope and be patient. I had a 735 credit score, payments on time (my husband and I have mostly everything on autopay). I make 6 figures, have maybe 2 past due payments from when I was like 18 and broke. I had two fraudulent credit card accounts opened in my
Name for synchrony bank (one store in February and another store AGAIN in April UGH!) and have been fighting with the bureaus to remove them even reporting it to the consumer finance bureaus to no avail. I finally paid for the premium option for Equifax and transunion to get the dedicated “identity theft restoration specialist” who removed them within 5 minutes *rolls eyes*. Whatever. Still reported to my state’s attorney general idc if it’s Karen behavior it’s the principle! Anyway, in the course of all this my score has tanked and my experian is a 663, eq is 685 and trans is 683.

I only found out about the first fraud card because I was in the process of applying for an Amex card. I already have a business platinum for work. I was denied because of the two hard inquiries which tanked my score. Since then my husband has gotten a green card and added me as an authorized user (he is new to credit cards and would not budge on a gold or plat due to the fee 😂) again whatever! I guess my TL:DR is what else can I do to quickly get my score back up so I can re-apply and get the Amex I want so we can get these points?! Credit card aside I’ve worked really hard to get my score up and this is really upsetting to have all of this happen and it take so long to get rectified!

I just got a new credit card that I’m planning to use strictly for my car insurance. I’m going to set it up on autopay and hopefully use it to help build my credit.

I’m currently around a 630 and really trying to get into the 700s.

My question is: when should I actually make the payment? ChatGPT is telling me to pay the balance in full before the statement date, but I’m not exactly sure what the statement date means or when that is.

Is that the best way to use the card to build credit, or is there a better strategy?

Any advice would be appreciated!

My FICO score just dropped from 780 to 640. I currently only have 1 credit card with Bank of America. I am in PA school and I took out grad plus loans in late May. That's the only credit pull. I've never had any missed payments for anything. My biggest purchase was a car, which has been fully paid off. Besides the recent grad plus loans, I have no other debt.

Couple questions:

1. Is that possible that my scored dropped 140 because I only have 1 line of credit? Would it have been better if I had other credit cards?

2. If / when I need to take out another loan for school, should I open another line of credit before to preserve score / switch banks?

Bummed about this dropping as I thought I've done everything right. Thanks!