Why is this credit score not higher (see details)?

StephenWeinstein: Why is this credit score not higher (see details)?
According to the information below, (1) the only reason that I do not have a perfect credit score is because of one inquiry, and (2) my score is 68 points below perfect. A single inquiry should not affect a score by 68 points. Why is the score not higher?

“The Following Records are Based on Your [my] Equifax Credit Profile”
No Public Records Found
No Collection Items Found
4 Revolving credit cards, credit limits from $ 9000 to over $ 40000, and 1 utility company account. All 5 “Account Status: Pays account as agreed”, no delinquencies. Combined balance less than $ 500.
1 Inquiry.
3 addresses (1 current and 2 former).
“on a scale of 350 to 850 points, you have a score of: 782”
“You have never been late with your payments, and no collection accounts or negative public records are listed…”
Average credit limit over $ 17000.
Using “1%” of available credit.
Only listing under “top factors that lower your score:” is
“applied for credit 1 time(s) in the past 12 months”.
My oldest account is from 1994. The length/age of the credit history is over 10 years.

The only closed account on the credit report is the utility company account that I mentioned. I did close some other credit card accounts years ago, but they do not appear on the credit report used to calculate the score.

I did not apply for any type of credit. I applied for an HSA (a deposit account with unusual tax implications) and the bank checked my credit report. It is misreported on the credit report as a credit application, when it was actually an application to deposit money, not to borrow money.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Slimick
Only the top 1% of the population breaks the magic 800 barrier in the FICO score….I would not be concerned with a score of 782. FYI, although the main factors behind the FICO score are known…the exactly calculation method is proprietary…so it’s impossible for anyone to say for sure which factor or sets of factors will cause your score to go up by X points….In your case I’m guessing that it’s the age of your credit history that is keeping you down a tiny bit….The passing of time will remedy this… Regardless, any FICO score over 780 is A+ credit…so don’t sweat over this issue….

Answer by tngandhkm
The length of the credit history? Maybe your history is only 5-6 years old? The only other thing I can think (and this may be stretching and don’t answer on the boards…LOL) is do you have the income to cover the potential debt you could incur if you chose to max out everything? I’m wondering if there is a magic credit to income ratio they are looking for to get that perfect credit score.

Answer by Keith_dude
Hi there!

Your score is excellent, and it is very difficult to achieve a perfect credit score.

I would suggest reading this:
https://www.myfico.com/Downloads/Files/myFICO_UYFS_Booklet.pdf

It’s a pdf file from the MyFico.com site – it’s very informative. I see that you only have 4 open accounts? Do you have any past accounts that you’ve closed? How long have you had these cards?

Remember that an inquiry usually only lowers your credit score by 5 points or so, but maybe because you only have five open accounts (and I don’t know about past accounts) that the inquiries has a greater effect on your score.

This is what it says on the MyFico pdf:
“For most people, one additional credit inquiry will take less
than five points off their FICO® score. However,
inquiries can have a greater impact if you have few
accounts or a short credit history. Large numbers of
inquiries also mean greater risk: People with six
inquiries or more on their credit reports can be up
to eight times more likely to declare bankruptcy than
people with no inquiries on their reports.”

It might also depend on the type of credit that you applied for iin the last 12 months. If you took on this credit, then it would be a new account, and new accounts do not have their own history, and this might have brought your score down too.

Your credit score is excellent, and you’re in the top percentile. You shouldn’t have any trouble securing a mortgage or excellent interest rates.

Hope my answer was helpful.

Answer by financegal27
Its pretty much impossible to have a perfect credit score. Length of credit history, total amount of available credit. Honestly anything over 750 is A+ credit and really isn’t worth worrying about.