Is my credit score of 766 lower than it should be?

Question

I'm a 25-year-old recent college graduate in the US with a full-time job. My credit score is 766, grade C, 43rd percentile (VantageScore formula, not FICO).

My TransUnion report lists the following factors that impact my score:

1. You have too few credit accounts
2. Time since oldest account opened is too recent.
3. You have no retail revolving accounts that can be used in determining a credit score.
4. You have no real estate accounts that can be used in determining a credit score.

In the credit report, my 2 accounts are listed as "Satisfactory": my Bank of America credit card (open since 2006), and my car loan (opened last year and fully paid off).

The only thing that stands out for me is that on the Bank of America account, 5 of the month boxes are marked "X", which is listed as meaning "Unknown", although I don't know what this means:

Legend:

Does my score sound lower than it should be for someone my age who has been reliable with his accounts? Would it be worthwhile for me to meet with my financial adviser to troubleshoot this?

Answer 1

The reasons that TransUnion gives make sense. You simply do not have enough of a credit history to qualify for a higher score. This should not prevent you from qualifying for new credit as long as your income supports the credit line.

The X's on your report mean that Bank of America did not report your payment status for those months. There are lots of reasons why this can happen, but it should not be held against you. It should be assumed that they are OK's, since you have zero late payments.

I don't think there is any real troubleshooting that needs to be done. Young people with little to no credit history do not get outstanding scores. If you want to improve your credit report, I would recommend getting a retail charge card account at one of your favorite stores. Use it whenever you shop there, and pay it off each month. That will give you an additional credit account and a retail revolving account, knocking out two of the four criteria from TransUnion.

Answer 2

I don't know anything about VantageScore, but in general, unless there are negative items on your credit report, this should be ok. The four factors that you list are lack of positive items, but aren't negative in itself. The 'X''s are probably just information that BofA didn't report. Basically, you need to successfully use more credit, and wait. I think that any loan officer who actually looked at your credit history, rather than just a score, would realize that there is nothing bad in there.

Answer 3

Take a look at this Q&A regarding VantageScore vs. FICO score. According to the formula they use in that answer, the FICO equivalent of your VantageScore would be around 659. As mentioned in your question, and by previous responses, you don't have enough of a track record from a credit perspective to have a higher score. You shouldn't worry at all, unless you're intend to seek a new loan or credit account in the very near future.

If you're still concerned about your credit score, follow Erick Robertson's advice about the type of account to open and pay it off in full each month.

You could also use a less-formal gauge of your creditworthiness--how many new credit card offers show up in your mail each month. If you're seeing multiple offers for gold or platinum credit cards each month, your credit is just fine.

Keep on doing what you've been doing.

Answer 4

A little late to the discussion, but I'm in a similar position - fairly recent college grad, not too many accounts, not quite enough credit history. My score is around the same as yours, and I'm not too worried about it.

We just have to keep making payments on time, and our scores will go up as we have accounts open longer, as well as open new ones (when needed) and successfully manage them.

I did hear from a BofA rep that even department store cards are useful for increasing your number of lines of credit, so next time you get that offer for 20% off at a store if you sign up for their credit card, might be worth thinking about. Of course, opening new accounts can cause a temporary decrease in your credit score, but it will help diversify your lines of credit, increase your overall credit, and decrease your credit utilization (if you're diligent about paying them off), all of which should help your score in the long run.