If you’re new to earning credit card rewards and sign up bonuses, this simple trick to double your rewards might just blow your mind!

I personally didn’t consider this trick until about a year after I started earning credit card rewards. However, once I discovered it, the trick opened up a whole new level of free awesomeness. So what is this simple trick you use with credit card offers?

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New FICO Score 9 To Improve Credit Scores Of Those With Medical Collections

On August 7th, 2014, FICO announced some new details about their new credit score rules, the FICO Score 9. Every so often, FICO updates their credit scoring analysis algorithms to help companies better determine the credit risk of the score holder. This latest update will help many consumers by raising their credit scores. Learn how medical bills affect credit score in this article.

What Changes Did FICO Make With The FICO Score 9?

There are three major changes FICO made in this newest score. The first difference in the FICO Score 9 is how paid off collection agency debt affects your score. In the past, if you had paid off a debt that went into collections, it remained as a negative factor on your credit score. However, with the FICO Score 9, once you pay off a debt that had been in collections it will no longer have an impact on your credit score. This could significantly raise your credit score.

The second major change FICO made with the FICO Score 9 is related to medical debt in collections. Since medical debt is very different in nature from conscious consumer debt, it doesn’t follow the same default risk patterns as normal debt. It also isn’t as strong of an indicator of a consumers’ ability to repay debt because there is a huge potential for billing disputes. In addition most medical debt isn’t voluntarily entered into due to medical conditions that can easily be outside of your control.

Due to these factors, the FICO Score 9 will differentiate medical debt vs. non-medical debt and the new score will not weigh medical debt as heavily as non-medical debt. FICO states in a press release that “The median FICO Score for consumers whose only major negative references are medical collections will increase by 25 points.” That’s huge news!

The final change helps lenders better evaluate people will little to no credit history, commonly referred to as thin-files. In the past, thin files were measured in absolute terms, such as whether or not a debt has been paid. Going forward, the FICO Score 9 will look at thin files in a more nuanced way to take into account more factors that accurately predict future payment patterns. FICO did not disclose what these factors are, but any credit evaluation that helps people with thin files will be much appreciated by those with little to no credit history.

When Will FICO Score 9 Be Available?

According to www.MyFico.com , the FICO 9 changes will be available to lenders starting in Fall of this year. However, just because it is available doesn’t mean that lenders will use the new FICO Score 9 immediately.

How Will The FICO Score 9 Affect Me?

Since FICO Score 9 has not yet been released to lenders it is difficult to predict how this change will affect consumers. On the surface, credit scores should increase which should benefit consumers. Better credit scores will qualify consumers for lower loan rates with everything from mortgages to credit cards.

The problem with the above is we must assume that lenders stick to the current credit score cut offs that they use today. However, if most people now have higher credit scores, lenders could just restrict lending to even higher credit score cut offs.

Instead of just needing a 740 credit score to get the best rate on a mortgage, the new FICO Score 9 might force lenders to change the cut off to 760. If this happens, there will be no major changes from the current lending environment. Alternatively, lenders may keep credit score requirements the same and instead pay more attention to other credit related factors.

When Will FICO Score 9 Affect Me?

Just because the FICO Score 9 will be released this fall to lenders doesn’t mean it will affect you immediately. The new scoring algorithm will be available, but generally lenders don’t switch to the new scoring systems immediately. Instead, companies test out the new scoring models on current loans to see how predictive they really are. When, if ever, lenders will switch to the FICO Score 9 is yet to be seen.

Overall, the FICO Score 9 makes some big changes to the FICO credit scoring model, but the affects of these changes won’t be known for months. These changes could greatly help those with medical debt and paid off collections debt, or it could just increase the credit requirements for the best rates. Only time will tell.

What do you think of the changes to the newest FICO Score 9? Do you think these changes will ultimately help or hurt consumers?

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FICO Scores Now Available With Certain Credit Card Companies

Have you ever wondered what your credit score is but didn’t want to pay $59.85 to order scores from all three credit bureaus at MyFICO.com? If you have, chances are you’ve found sites like Credit.com, CreditKarma.com or CreditSesame.com that claim to offer you your totally free credit score. Wouldn’t it be great if that was the case?
Unfortunately, these companies are not sharing the full story unless you read the fine print. These scores aren’t really FICO credit scores at all! They’re “FAKO” scores. Some consider them “free credit score scams”.

What Are These Scores If They Aren’t FICO Scores?

• Credit.com offers you both Experian’s National Equivalency Score and your Experian VantageScore 3.0.

• CreditKarma.com shows you your Transunion New Account Score and your TransUnion VantageScore.

• CreditSesame.com provides Experian’s National Equivalency Score.

Why A FICO Score Is Important

When you hear people talking about credit scores, the real score most people are referring to is your FICO score. Seeing what your real FICO scores are is important because most credit decisions are based on the real FICO score, not an Experian VantageScore or a TransUnion New Account Score. Luckily, some credit card issuers have begun to give you your FICO score for free.

Discover Offers FICO Scores On Your Statements

Discover is the first credit card issuer that has begun to print your real FICO score, not one of the “FAKO” scores listed above, on each and every one of your credit card statements.

Discover uses the TransUnion version of your FICO score based solely on the primary card holder’s credit information. They update it every month so you always have the latest information about your TransUnion FICO score on your monthly statement. They don’t offer scores from all three bureaus, but one real FICO score is better than three “FAKO” credit scores, right?

Barclaycard US Provides Your FICO Score Online

Barclaycard US is another credit card issuer that has begun to offer FICO scores to their customers. Rather than printing your FICO score on your statements, you can access your FICO score through Barclaycard US’s website. Like Discover, Barclaycard US offers the TransUnion version of your FICO score.

In addition to providing your absolutely free credit score information online, Barclaycard US offers up to the last twelve months of your FICO score history based on when you opened your account. However, they don’t receive a new FICO score every month so you may see months with no scoring data in your 12 month history.

It’s nice to see the history all in one place because you can look at the graph and see how individual credit events have affected your score over the last year.

How You Can Use This Information To Your Advantage?

FICO scores are one of the main determining factors in deciding whether or not you are approved for a particular rewards or cash back credit card. These cards offer very valuable benefits, including sign up bonuses, but most of these cards require excellent FICO scores to be approved for them.

You can use these free FICO scores to make sure you only apply for rewards credit cards when your FICO score is high. You can continue monitoring your FICO score after each application to see how opening new cards affects your FICO score.

This information is vital to make sure you don’t damage your credit with too many new inquiries in a short period of time.

FICO Score Isn’t The Only Factor In Credit Decisions

Keep in mind, your FICO score isn’t the only factor lenders consider when issuing new credit. If you’ve used tricks to inflate your score, such as being added as an authorized user on your parents’ oldest credit card, you may still be declined for new credit.

Issuers look at more than just your score to determine the real credit risk you represent and make their decisions accordingly. For example, Chase monitors the total amount of credit you have available through their company. If your credit line gets too high, they’ll deny you for a new card unless you offer to transfer some of your line of credit from an old card to the new card you’re applying for.

Another thing to keep in mind is some issuers don’t even use TransUnion FICO credit scores in their decision making processes. Each bureau, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, has their own FICO score based on their credit data for you. Most credit card issuers only pull one credit score from one bureau and it isn’t always the TransUnion score. Capital One, however, pulls a FICO score from each of the three bureaus.

That said, your FICO score is still a majority of most new credit decisions. Make sure to monitor it for free if you have credit cards from either Discover or Barlcaycard US. Just remember, it is only the TransUnion FICO score.
Do you currently have a credit card that gives you a totally free FICO credit score? If so, how do you use that information to your advantage? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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