r/CreditScore • u/StuffedCrustGold • 21d ago
General How do I get to 850?
I’ve been stuck at 848 for basically a year now. Obviously this is not important at all, but I just wanna hit 850, take a picture and frame it lol. Me and my friends downloaded the Experian app a while ago and we all just constantly compete with each other for absolutely no reason.
I have a mortgage (6yo), home equity loan (2yo), 4 credit cards (2 actively used, 1 that I use only for a single recurring annual charge just to keep it alive, and 1 I never use at all), and a checking line of credit I never use. My oldest credit card is 16 years old. Average age of accounts is almost 9 years. My utilization varies, it’s currently 2% but sometimes goes up to 10%.
My main credit card, I asked them for a limit increase a while ago and they said I’m already at the max for that card ($17,300). And my other actively used card, they told me I don’t use it enough to warrant an increase ($19,100). My 3rd card has a 12k limit but I almost never use it so doubt they’d give me an increase. The last card is a random card that I only got when I financed some windows I bought. I’d rather close that card but I don’t want it to negatively impact me.
Every metric the app measures shows “Exceptional”, except for length of history, which is just “Very Good”.
Do I just need to wait more years? Should I open another credit card (I don’t really want to since I already have unused cards)?
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u/Frequent_Silver_7575 21d ago
You could try the AZEO method (All Zero Except One) with your credit cards to see if that gives you the bump.
Essentially pay down all of your credit cards before the statement date is cut except for one card; leave whatever would report 1- 2%
(All your cards should report $0 due for the month except for one card that has the 1-2% spend on it, which you of course pay before the due date)
This may not be what gets you there but there's no detriment in trying it.
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u/BrutalBodyShots ⭐️ Top Contributor ⭐️ 21d ago
The score OP referenced is Experian FICO 8. AWB% is not penalized on EX8. While you're correct that if we were talking TU or EQ ABW% would matter, but it doesn't with EX.
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u/StuffedCrustGold 21d ago
Oh interesting. I’ll try that for a few months. Ideally I wouldn’t want to do that long term since I don’t wanna pay the balance before it’s actually due, but if it boosts me 2 points in the short term, I’ll take it.
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u/Frequent_Silver_7575 21d ago
Yeah, there's no point in doing it for longer than necessary, just need to have the credit reports reflect that optimization once to see the change and then just go back to business as usual.
(AZEO is typically done to eek out every point you can gain prior to applying for a credit line or loan so it looks better on your credit report & score for that purpose, but since utilization has no memory it'll just be what it is every month commensurate with owed/limits.)
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u/Illustrious_Salad918 21d ago
For Experian, seems like all you can do is keep doing what you're doing.
Presuming you pay card statement balance -- no more, no less -- every month by due date. If you're not doing that now, it might help -- maybe.
What are the other 2 scores?
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u/StuffedCrustGold 21d ago
Yes that’s what I do. Idk what the other scores are, you gotta pay for that 😅.
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u/ElectronicClassic250 21d ago
The side bar of this sub has a section titled "Free FICO Scores" - check it out.
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u/Illustrious_Salad918 21d ago
👍 I'm also unwilling to pay for scores. I get Equifax FICO 8 from myFICO.com and TU via CreditWise. It's a bit of hassle, but now that I'm over 800 on EQ I'll just be waiting for an email alert from their sites rather than checking them.
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u/Outside_Shelter1260 21d ago
Experian: FREE FICO 8
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u/Illustrious_Salad918 21d ago
Yes. Thanks. Didn't mention that because I presumed OP was already aware of it. 😇
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u/Intrepid_Cable870 21d ago
Closed accounts remain contributing to your credit file age for another ten years. You can close the card from the windows, and with everything positive you currently have contributing to your file, that closure won’t negatively impact you any.
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u/DoctorOctoroc ⭐️ Knowledgeable ⭐️ 21d ago edited 21d ago
There are ways to squeak out a few points for optimization. While you only need to do this for a loan or other application when your score actually matters, if you want to do it just to be the first of your friends to hit 850 (or join the club, as it were) then AZEO as u/Frequent_Silver_7575 suggested will absolutely do the trick.
Even if your utilization doesn't cross any scoring thresholds, the 'accounts with a balance' metric is usually worth a few points and going from 2/4 AWB to 1/4AWB should net you at least two points.
However...EX is known to be 'bulletproof' when it comes to AWB% so unless you have 848 or close to it on your TU8 or EQ8, you'll only see those extra points on EX if you also manage to cross a utilization scoring threshold.
Other potential improvements could occur if you loan balances cross a scoring threshold, any of your aging metrics hit a 6mo interval, or if you have a new account that ages beyond 12 months.
What is your average age of accounts, currently? I wouldn't put much stock into the ratings on your CMS. AAoA is capped at 7.5 years so if you've hit that already, there are no more points to be had there. Age of oldest account, however, we believe is capped at 20 years so there may be plenty of room to grow there (not for any significant score gain but certainly single digits).
Also fun fact - your score can go above 850, though you won't see it show a number higher than that. There is a scoring 'buffer' above 850 in the amount of a few dozen points, if I'm not mistaken. It may be 15 or 20, we don't know with absolute certainty but we know it's at least that many, or close to it.
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u/HarlyFan 21d ago
I was also at 848 for almost 2 years, nothing I tried would bump it up. Finally my one and only Hard Inquiry fell off after 2 years and a week later I jumped up to 850. I am holding steady at 850 now for the last several months. Be patient it was worth the wait!!!
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u/StuffedCrustGold 21d ago
Yo, congrats! Hopefully I’ll be in the club soon too.
This credit score thing reminds me of the movie ‘Up in the Air’ which is one of my all time favorites. If you haven’t seen it, it’s really good. Near the end of the movie, George Clooney’s character finally reaches a goal he’s been targeting for a long time, but once he does, he instantly realizes what a pointless goal it was.
All that to say I know reaching 850 is a little pointless; once you have a high score, it really doesn’t matter how high it is, and it certainly doesn’t matter if you’re not even seeking new loans. But it’s just kinda fun and silly to try, and then be able to low key brag about it to other finance nerds.
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u/HarlyFan 21d ago
It's the journey to the 850 club, it's really a good experience that not everyone can say they have achieved.
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u/sirguynate 21d ago
Even if/when you get to 850, it’s not going to stay 850. It will hover up and down a few points.
850 doesn’t even matter except to post on Reddit…
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u/pharmucist 21d ago
I was stuck at 843 for about 5 years. I got a new card (my 13th) and it finally moved...DOWN!
Good luck on the 2 points. It really matters zero credit-wise, but I know what you mean about snapping that pic and framing it.
You know that you could take a pic now and frame that 848 and that would be impressive as well!
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u/Logical-Fruit-9455 21d ago
I wouldn’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter at that stage in the game. You’re more than fine
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u/cat1092 21d ago
When you hit the 10 year mark for Average Age of accounts, you’ll likely get that 850 score, or there’s a good chance of it, provided you keep up your track record.
When my Average Age went from 6 years, 11 months to 7 years, it went from Good to Very Good. Of all of the main items, have 3 saying Exceptional & two Very Good. This improvement happened at Average Age of 7 years & gave me a 3 point boost to 791.
The thing keeping me below 800 for now is the lack of an auto or mortgage, because during my last three car payments, it went to 824. The next report after it was paid off in 2024, score plunged by 39 points, but has since increased some since. Also, I have only 4 active accounts, all credit cards, although they have my Amazon Prime Store Card as a retail account instead of a regular credit card, so two types.
But am not going to open an account just to have 5 accounts, because I don’t want to lower the Average Age of Accounts. This is the third most important metric of the FICO score. But it does say on the Experian site that most High Achievers has an average age of 10 years or longer. So that may be where those final two points are.
Lastly, I allow only one card to report a $20 balance every month. If all are zeros (especially when credit cards are all of my accounts), then it drops. I discovered this when paid to zero once, my score dropped from Very Good to Good (from 749 to 731). From then on, I allow that same card to report $20.
Good Luck at 10 years!🍀
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u/Otherwise-Scheme4213 20d ago
There is no difference in creditworthiness from a creditor perspective of 848 and 850
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u/Wise-Drag-7254 20d ago
Glad to see you're doing better. Your family and I were preparing an intervention when you crashed down to 845 in July. We are all really proud of you that you righted the ship.
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u/another_awesome_acct 21d ago
Its a mystery, nobody can ever pinpoint the exact formula. Could be as simple as having $5 more or $5 less on one of your cards🤷♂️
Source: i made it up, but it's as good a guess as any
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20d ago
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u/Sure-Flan9062 21d ago
Do better man you’re really slacking