Credit report

[jimnyc]

So I got my credit report and score for the first time in quite awhile. I guess my score is mediocre, if not leaning towards bad. My grades on all were A or B, but then a D in total accounts. When looking at the explanation, the more open accounts you have, the higher the grade. WTF? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Oh, and utilization. Huh? I only use 2 credit cards, the one tied to my bank account and an unlimited Amex card. I use the Amex non-stop, but pay it off in full monthly, if I can. Anyway, how does this look? I don't know shit about credit scores!

TransUnion® New Account Score. This score ranges from 300 to 850. It's calculated by TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus. The New Account Score is used by lenders to assess your creditworthiness, or the likelihood that you'll repay your debts.

695

TransUnion
Credit Score
-----------------------

VantageScore. This score ranges from 501 to 990. The VantageScore model was created through a collaboration by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It aims to make credit scoring more consistent and accurate across all the bureaus. The VantageScore grades your creditworthiness on an easy A to F letter scale.

913 - Credit rating - A
-----------------------

OVERALL

My Credit Report Card

[Abbey Marie]

I too always thought it was better to not have a lot of open credit cards. Is that not true?

[Nukeman]

I too always thought it was better to not have a lot of open credit cards. Is that not true?

The problem with "open" credit accounts is the availability to incur a large amount of dept quickly.

Look at it this way. If you have 10 credit cards with a 10,000.00 limit on each you have the potential to hit 100k in debt QUICKLY. Even if you only routinely use 1 or 2 cards. It's the potential debt that gets you.

We always try to only have 1 or 2 cards at a time that are active. This allows us to obtain a "store" card when they offer 12-whatever same-as-cash. (might as well use their money if its free). We cancel when the promotion is done.

Now our scores are pretty good
Wifes is 813
mine 775 (due to cosigning for kids college loans/line of credit) Was 805 prior to those pesky student loans for the kids

It is a good thing to keep your eyes on and learn how to manipulate if you need to..
One way to set your kids up right is to "sell" your credit to them if its good. All you have to do is place their name on a card in good standing. don't let them use it, just let them get the benefit of the credit. It helps build their's up nicely and quickly. My older two have credit scores in the mid to high 700's and they are only 20 and 18.....

[Abbey Marie]

Jim seems to be saying that not having a lot of open cards worked against him in his credit report.

[jimnyc]

Yep, I got a "D" grade on 'open accounts', and I have 2. It showed a graph in there, and like 15-20 open accounts was an A.

[fj1200]

Dave Ramsey calls it the I-like-debt-score.

[jimnyc]

I went back, here is what it states (it also states it has very minimal impact on the total credit score)

About This Factor: Total accounts is another measure of your creditworthiness. Consumers with more credit accounts typically have better credit scores because it means more lenders have granted credit. This metric represents the total number of accounts listed on your TransUnion credit report.