I always assumed credit scores were an integral and historic part of the American financial system.
They were not, they are very recent，most of your parents didn’t have credit scores growing up, and as you can probably tell or at least intuit, it’s mostly just a b******* scheme for those with capital to accrue more capital by invading your privacy.
Nothing wrong with having 3 cards, in fact that seems to be the sweet spot. Closing cards is never good so you don’t want to just go around willy nilly opening up cards.
You are absolutely right in that you have to use it to have a good score, but you have to use it wisely. Maintain a low balance, don’t allow cards to go dormant, keep requesting increases to available credit every 6 months so that your utilization will be minimized, and diversify your portfolio with three cards, and at least one line of credit that you never use, and a revolving account like a car or home once you are ready. Sounds like you figured out their formula, congrats on the 800+.
I was 812 until I bought a house, and that knocked me down to 760. Everything I read indicates that It will take at least 5 years of making extra payments on my house for me to get back to 800+, not that it really matters because the only reason I needed a high score in the first place was to get the house.
I was 800 or so before refi in October '21 (which I am thankful every day for my 2.275%), and it dipped, but I’m back to 820 as of today. I dip from time to time when my wife gets spend happy on a shared card of ours, but for the most part I hang out there.
Unfortunately it’s meaningless now, because even though I want to do a home equity loan to make my house a little bigger, I can’t justify taking out an amount greater than my remaining mortgage, at a rate triple or more my remaining mortgage, for the equivalent of 180 square feet of living space. It’s all useless. But I’ll plod a long and pay my bills and do whatever.
My brother, though, is the kind of guy who goes and finds cards that are offering some incentives for opening, and he gets them, and then just hangs onto them. I don’t think he has 10, but at least five or six at this point, and he also has great 800+ credit. He just likes to work though. I like to not think about things.