CNBC Reporter Alexandria White Says You Should Close Your Oldest Account - Really?

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 22:59:00 GMT

There are times when information is disseminated which is just simply not true. CNBC’s Alexandria White’s writes that closing your oldest credit card will not have a substantive impact to your FICO Scores. Let's take a closer look at her analysis and how closing your oldest credit card can impact your FICO® scores.

You can read her article here - this is bad advice.

https://www.cnbc.com/select/how-closing-an-old-credit-card-affects-your-credit-score/

Although utilization ratio is a factor. The offset is having an account open for an extended period of time. This will offset any loss in some points by having an account open for such length. The difference between a 700 FICO score and an 800 FICO score is how long the accounts on average are open. The longer they are open, the better chance you have 800 FICO scores.

Reporters State Your FICO® Score is Going to Drop 20 Points. Umm. Not True!

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:52:00 GMT

Talk about REALLY REALLY BAD Information.

Fox Business News, CNN Business and CNBC have all blown it. How embarrassing! They have told millions of consumers the wrong information. This is critical for you to recognize what is true and what is false as you try to improve your credit scores. I’ll explain.

FICO® 10

FICO just announced that the arrival of FICO 10 – their latest version of their credit score. They have announced to everyone that many consumer’s FICO scores will decline by upwards of 20 points by how they are going to calculate this new FICO score.

Really? Rush for the exits!

FOX Business Reporter Liz Claman incorrectly stated the following about the new arrival of the FICO 10 that was rolled out in January 2020::

“This matters to all of you who are looking to apply for a mortgage, student loan, a home loan, HELOCs (Home Equity Loans), what have you. They’re (FICO) changing it (FICO Scores). They do it every couple of years. It’s called modernizing it (your FICO scores), and that is a good thing. However, what they’re doing to do is really stress your credit worthiness in a different way. They are going to look month over month, but is your debt level higher and higher. That may hurt your credit score. Some may go down as much as 20 points.”

FOX Business Reporter Megan Henney wrongly wrote the following:

“The most widely used credit score in the U.S. is changing the way it calculates consumers’ scores and could make it more difficult for some Americans to obtain loans.”

CNN Business Reporter Anna Bahney inaccurately states:

“The new changes are due to go in effect this summer.”

CNBC’s Megan Leonhart says;

“Your FICO credit score may soon be changing.”

CNBC’s Alicia Adamczyk reports,

“Consumers can expect many lenders to start using it next year (2020). Many lenders, in fact, still use the FICO 8, which debuted in 2009.”

THEY ARE ALL WRONG!

Let me refer you to Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac written guidelines for credit scores – who do the majority of mortgage loans:

“Fannie Mae requires the following versions of the Classic FICO score for both DU and manually underwritten loans.”

“The following credit score models are currently accepted via Loan Prospector Advisor (Freddie Mac):”

Also called Classic FICO Score models

Experian Fair Isaac Risk Model 2
Equifax FICO Classic v5
TransUnion FICO Risk Score 04

This is stunning! Terrible reporting from several business reporters that have no idea what they are talking about.

Did these reporters talk to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or any other major mortgage lender? No!. Did they talk to the companies who compile the credit reports for all the auto, credit card and personal loan lenders like Credco, Certified Credit, CBC, or Credit Plus? No.

So how can you say your FICO score is changing? It is not. The FICO 8 score was introduced in 2008 actually and was not used by many lenders until 2014. And that was just for a minority of credit card and auto lenders.

These major home lenders (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) have not changed their FICO credit score models in 24 years – yes, 24 years. Most lenders use the Classic FICO Scores. That includes all mortgage lenders and most credit card and auto lenders, according to the credit bureaus who supply the credit reports to lenders.

NOTHING IS CHANGING!!

The only time something is being changed when Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (Federal Housing Administration), VA (Veterans Administration, and USDA (also called rural housing loans). They have made no such announcement – so nothing has changed.

Your FICO scores are not going to drop 20 points!

Want to know your actual Lender’s Classic FICO Scores, go to MyCreditPlan.org.

My Credit Plan Blog

CNBC Reporter Alexandria White Says You Should Close Your Oldest Account - Really?

Reporters State Your FICO® Score is Going to Drop 20 Points. Umm. Not True!