NJChas

I must say that I did get scores from CreditKarma, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and myFICO.  For the most part, they do use different scoring methods/models and if one or more creditors are/are not listed in each of the reports, it can really change the numbers.  That being said, CreditKarma and TransUnion did have the lowest scores for me however the closest to each other.  Experian and Equifax had scores at about 40-50 points higher than CK and TU.  myFico (True FICO scores as per myFICO) had me at another 40-60 points higher (I paid for the Equifax and Experian FICO scores from them as well).  I'm not trying to brown nose here however, CreditKarma is great for (free) with the level of detail it provides versus the $45 (approx.) I'm paying a month for the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion monitoring service.  I really appreciate CreditKarma's website (free access) and its' level of detail that it provides "for free!"  As long as that chart/points keep going up on CreditKarma, it's the greatest credit tool out there with no strings attached. ;-)  *If anyone knows of a better website for continuous free credit monitoring website than what CreditKarma contains, please share.  I remember years ago a great CEO of a company told the managers in the meeting I was in... Tell me about the problems AND OFFER SOLUTIONS.  If you wish to just whine, just leave or shut up.  This is not directed at anyone so no offense to anyone, I thought it was a great philosophy.  In the interim, I will unfortunately continue to pay Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, myFico.  I would even donate a few $'s if CreditKarma had one of those soft little donate here button, if it could benefit from a little extra funding for its' day-to-day operations. Thank you CreditKarma!!!

*When asked for my score, I can say as low as 586 as per Equifax's Model TU score for me and as high as 720 TU by TU's model and seen as a liar or confused.  -- Typo in original message*

One of the best detailed recommendations in one place.  Thank you :)

Well, thanks to so many great sites like Credit Karma with such great tips, I've been helping friends, family and myself improve credit scores. I must share one tip in an article that I found on a different site really enlightened me or, at least it looks like it did. I've seen most websites posts stating, "keep it under 30% utilization." Well, I called up a few credit card companies and they said, no, just use your credit as much as you want, pay it off at the end of the month or make the minimum payments and you're fine with us. So, here I'm thinking, what's really true to get the best score and almost max out the card and pay it off monthly to demonstrate that you can handle $xxx payments a month, in hopes of getting a higher limit faster? I was thinking with lets' say $1,000 limit and only charging $100 for x months and asking for an increase might be silly. Well, going back to that great tip I think I found... The "credit expert" advised something that I haven't seen on any other website/book. She said, fine, run it up high if you want however, pay it off within enough days of closing to make sure that you're 1 to 10% of utilization. This way you're showing that you can handle higher level of charges and responsible enough to pay it off in about 30-45 days. The rest of the remaining 1-10% you can pay off after the statement closes. Okay, I tried it and yes, it works. Credit card companies usually post the closing balance onto the credit reports. I've been testing this theory with friends, family and my scores and, it works! ;)

So, it shouldn't hurt since I only have 2 open credit cards (1 Public Savings Bank Secured $600and 1 unsecured CapitalOne $500 and $1,500 left in student loans) correct? Can only help me? ;) Every month, I've been trying to send another $200 to PSB for an increase ;) I will be adding an UltraVX Secured because PSB has and promises to freeze my account if I make more than 3 payments a month. I've been charging it up to about 70%-80% and paying it off in 2-3 weeks. I asked them about the 20-30% utilization and they said that they wouldn't mind and could be BENEFICIAL for me to use it to a higher utilization rate, as long as I'm making payments. Since I don't trust them, I'll keep increasing my credit line. ;) CapitalOne said that they have a similar policy however, it may vary, depending on its use. It was embarrassing to go to dinner and my PSB was frozen/declined for a $40 dinner when I had a $0 balance. I had to call to unfreeze it. (They make you submit bank statements with charges listed prior to unfreezing). Luckily, I had a second credit card and a bank debit card on me.

I've been really trying to raise my credit quickly. I'm at about 590/610 depending which credit reporting agency. I shot it up some buy opening a Public Savings Visa and Capital One card (about 40 points so far). Both limits combined is about 1,100. I've been running up the cards and paying them off in days or two weeks max. I know running beyond 20-30% is not good however, I'm wondering if my mother with $2K+ credit cards adds me onto her AMEX, Citibank VISA/MC and other Visa/MC, would that affect/lower my credit utilization percentage and get my scores higher? Would let's say her $6K cards "as an additional card holder" for me, drop my utilization level and increase my scores because of the high credit lines on my report? My mother offered to add me on as an additional card holder on all 3, if it would help my scores.

Hi all, first off, thanks for the website and all you valuable commentators! Current scores: Exp624/TU611/Equi-unknown I don't want small credit lines so, no, not going for a regular bad-credit-unsecured card at this time for just a $300-$500 limit. I'm planning to open a "secured" account with Public Savings Bank because, I cannot with "HSBC/Orchard, First Premier and a few others." I was planning on opening the account with $200, then increasing the limit by at least $200 a month. Will that be noticed on credit report by companies, if they run a credit report on me let's say at the $800 credit line and see I started at 200 and increased it monthly? Also, does Public Savings really report "unsecured" as they claim? I saw "Ultra VX Visa Card up to $25,000. . Yes, I'm working on negotiating the collection accounts so, I know that will help some. :) Also, should you really not charge more than 10, 20 or 50% even if you pay in full at the end of the month? If I'm 90% hitting the card month after month and paying it in full, that's still not good? TYVM for any/all good/great input. I promise to update results. :)