One man’s attempt to get a perfect 850 credit score
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Steve Michell had one of the best credit scores in America. But he wanted a perfect 850.
So the 52-year-old Texan started tinkering with his 840s score. He followed tips on his banking app, then came to believe they were bunk. He closed credit cards, tweaked balances and adjusted when he paid his bills.
He would make a change, then wait a month to see how his score rose or fell. He adjusted again. He waited again.
“I’m an engineer by trade, so everything has to be perfect," he said. Michell spent five years trying to crack the formula on his credit score. In doing so, he put an exclamation point on America’s growing obsession with the three-digit grade of financial health.
Like many, Michell felt that the ups and downs in his score defied explanation. Yes, paying bills on time helps and maxing out cards hurts. But financially responsible moves such as closing old accounts can ding your score, while opening more credit cards can boost it.
Credit histories vary so much that what helps one person might not help another. Credit scores are also playing a more influential role in our lives right now. No longer just a tool to help lenders decide whether to approve loans and how much to charge, credit scores are now an all-purpose ranking system.
They are used to decide whether you can rent a home, what your insurance premiums should be and even if you can get a date. Credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and scoring companies like FICO and VantageScore say they help consumers understand their scores. Meanwhile, tools like Credit Karma and banking apps have made monitoring the score that was once nearly invisible to consumers as easy as checking your phone.
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