Part 2: How to fix my credit score (FICO)? Why it is important?

• Part 1: Why Apply? Myths about Credit Card Sign-up Bonus Offerings
• Part 3: What are the best credit cards for Beginners interested in credit card bonus miles? Chase Sapphire (non-Preferred), American Express Hilton 50000 points, Citi Hilton 40000 points
• Part 4: What is the Difference between an Authorized Card User and an Joint Account Holder?
• Part 5: Are Credit Card Bonus Miles and Points Taxable? Mostly No, says Chase, Citi, AMEX

I have been using CreditKarma.com, which,

1. Provides a good estimate about my credit score
2. Is completely free of charge.  (A typical credit report from my mortgage agent costs $25)
3. Does not lower my credit score. (Each official credit report request takes away some points)
4. Provides a credit simulator tool, free of charge again, to test different credit activities scenarios.

The one-time free credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion do not have enough details.  CreditKarma.com is not a scam site.

#1. Is CreditKarma.com completely free of charge?

Yes.  The website offers many services. You are not required to purchase them. The credit card tool is completely free.

#2. Would using CreditKarma.com tool lower my FICO score?

No.  CreditKarma.com uses soft inquiry, not hard inquiry, into the user's credit score.  If one applies new credit card via CreditKarma website, it will lower FICO score, just like a normal credit card application.

#3. Am I required to provide my social security number to CreditKarma.com?

Yes. It is safe. 

#4.  How can I use CreditKarma.com to improve my FICO score?

First, the site is not perfect.  I tested the following three questions:

1. What credit cards do I currently possess which I may not need or do not know?
2. Does my credit account show any hard credit inquiries?
3. What is my current approximate credit score? I like to stay above 740 which most banks require for excellent mortgage interest offering.

Use credit simulator.

Using my case as an example,

#4-1.  I thought my Macy credit card was already cancelled. Apparently, it was not.   Then I called to cancel it.

#4-2.  Hard credit Inquiry due to mortgage refinance is acceptable to me, or say, not my choice.  But credit card application via GE Capital Retail Bank also pulled hard credit inquiry. What is GECRB/BANREP, GECRB/TJX?  They are GE Capital Retail Bank/Banana Republic and TJX/Marshall respectively.  I will apply no more retail clothing credit cards from GE Capital Retail Bank (GECRB).

#4-2.  All of my AMEX credit cards including both old and new ones have the same starting year.  That implies the more AMEX credit cards I have, the higher average card history would be calculated into my FICO score

#4-3.  I used my wife's score as an example.  To improve my wife score, the credit simulator suggests that, to reach a higher score, she would need to raise her existing credit line at least $15000 in allowed credit, or through a combination of applying new credit cards.

Update:
She called American Express to increase the credit from $5,000 to $10,000.  She was also approved of Citi Hilton Reserve Card with $14000 credit, on her way to have credit score ~740.

#1. Should I trust CreditKarma.com 100%?
No.  CreditKarma pulls data from TransUnion only.


Take-away:

• Do not cancel your credit card which has the longest history.
• American Express treat all AMEX cards with the same starting year of the earliest AMEX card
• I will not apply any credit cards which would use GE Capital Retail Bank.
• Having a long-history bank account does not seem to help much.