Timeline for How to build credit history in the USA?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
18 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jan 1, 2018 at 8:50 | comment | added | einpoklum | It's unbelievable that US citizens have to live under this weird regime of semi-arbitrary credit history "problems" reporting and collection. | |
| Nov 19, 2014 at 19:42 | comment | added | Loren Pechtel | Another approach on the secured card: A relative was recently doing this. He had a secured card from Wells Fargo--and in less than a year it became a regular card without changing the card itself. | |
| Apr 8, 2014 at 20:27 | history | edited | Philippe Leybaert | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 124 characters in body
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| Apr 8, 2014 at 20:23 | comment | added | Philippe Leybaert | @H.J.Buell No way you can get a zero down mortgage at 2.5% within the first few years when you're new to the country. And what do you do in the meantime? Rent? Talk about throwing away money. Missed investment gains are a little overrated because the highest yield 2-year CD's only give you 1.25% at most (before tax). And speaking of taxes: having a mortgage can mean a substantial difference in your taxes. Bottom line: if you have some money to put down, owning is always better than renting, even at a modest premium in interest rates. | |
| Apr 6, 2014 at 11:05 | comment | added | H. J. Buell | @PhilippeLeybaert I strongly disagree with your mortgage advice in #1. Calculating the median US home price of $200,000+ against your minimum 25% deposit of $50,000, on a 30-year mortgage at your 3.5% rate, versus my 2.5% zero down rate, means you lose at least $20,000 in added interest payments and missed investment gains. Much better to spread that $50,000 across four 2-year high yield CDs in different banks and get unsecured bank issued cards or lines of credit, then get a better mortgage rate. With $50,000, no need to stand in line with everyone else looking for credit advice. | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 18:22 | comment | added | Philippe Leybaert | @JonathanVanMatre I've updated my answer. | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 18:21 | history | edited | Philippe Leybaert | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
advice on old credit card accounts updated
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| Apr 3, 2014 at 16:32 | comment | added | Jonathan Van Matre | It would improve your answer to at least edit it to acknowledge that FICO says X, but your feeling is that it's still better to be extra cautious. We are a reference site, after all, and the references are clear. It's not a question of me being right, it's a question of providing the most accurate information we can to OP and to future questioners who come seeking information. This is an oft-repeated myth whose repetition will never cease unless reliable reference sites like this one begin providing better information. There is too much superstition in the world of credit advice. | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 15:52 | comment | added | Philippe Leybaert | I hope you're right. But I think it's safer to not take chances, so I still feel that closing your first (secured) credit card account within 6 months is a risk not worth taking. | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 15:45 | comment | added | Jonathan Van Matre | They're not going to give the exact formula, but they are happy to educate on the general principles. From FICO's own website: "The FICO Score considers the age of both open and closed accounts. When an account is closed, it usually remains on the credit report for many years. The FICO Score will continue including that closed account in its assessment of length of credit history." | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 15:38 | comment | added | Philippe Leybaert | With all due respect, I don't expect a former FICO employee to reveal all the details on how FICO scores are calculated. I've based my statement on what Experian tells me about factors lowering your credit score, which lists "The age of your oldest open account is too low". TransUnion is saying the same thing BTW. | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 15:31 | comment | added | Jonathan Van Matre | I've cited a former FICO employee and the consumer operations manager at myFICO.com...but apparently we won't know the truth until we see what happens to your score. ;-) | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 15:27 | comment | added | Philippe Leybaert | I'm talking about the FICO score. But I'll soon find out if it's a myth or not because I closed my secured credit card yesterday (which is my oldest account) and I'm curious to see if it will affect my score. I'll let you know when I find out :-) | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 14:29 | comment | added | Jonathan Van Matre | OK, let's make sure we are talking about the same credit score. I am talking specifically of the FICO score, which is the one actually used in a significant majority of lending decisions. Your PLUS score or CreditKarma score or whatever other score may be calculated differently, but your FICO score cares not whether the account is open or closed, only whether it is on your report. I have citations, do you? | |
| Apr 3, 2014 at 14:23 | comment | added | Philippe Leybaert | @JonathanVanMatre While a closed account will remain on your credit history, one of the factors to calculate your credit score is the age of your oldest open account. If your secured credit card was your first account, it will affect your credit score if you close that account. | |
| Mar 28, 2014 at 15:26 | comment | added | Jonathan Van Matre | The part about not canceling the secured card is a myth. Closed accounts will remain on your report for the next 10 years and are factored into the average age of accounts even if closed. Closing it will only affect your score inasmuch as it reduces your available balance, thereby increasing your utilization - the percentage of your available maximum balance that you carry. And if OP is following your advice to pay in full every month that will be of no concern. | |
| Mar 13, 2014 at 15:09 | history | edited | Philippe Leybaert | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 178 characters in body
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| Mar 13, 2014 at 15:03 | history | answered | Philippe Leybaert | CC BY-SA 3.0 |