Why is DH's credit score higher than mine?

[Anonymous]

You are being dinged because of your light credit history. Your husband must have more credit in his name. You can try to beef up your credit history by opening a few cards, using them and paying them off in full every month.

Is it worth it? Some people would say so. If your financial position suddenly changes, then you might need more credit or to get a better rate on your own credit. On the other hand, if you're solvent and you have savings and a good asset pool, then why worry about it?

Also, 80 points is contextual. The difference between an 830 and 750 is much less detrimental than the difference between a 700 and 620.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are being dinged because of your light credit history. Your husband must have more credit in his name. You can try to beef up your credit history by opening a few cards, using them and paying them off in full every month.

Is it worth it? Some people would say so. If your financial position suddenly changes, then you might need more credit or to get a better rate on your own credit. On the other hand, if you're solvent and you have savings and a good asset pool, then why worry about it?

Also, 80 points is contextual. The difference between an 830 and 750 is much less detrimental than the difference between a 700 and 620.

OP here. I get that's why mine is getting dinged ... But he does not have any other accounts. Literally every single thing is joint, and has been for 20 years. He's only 2 years older than me and we started everything at the same time. For those who suggested that perhaps he has a credit card open that I don't know about - nope, we sat and compared out credit reports side by side, they listed the exact same accounts. But for some reason, mine gets dinged but his doesn't.

It only bothers me on principle. I want to understand why he gets a pass for the same things that get me a ding. I don't want to open a new credit card just to game the system, that's just one more thing that'll be susceptible to hacking. I have enough for my needs. And it still doesn't explain why there's a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I both have great credit and have a similar story as OP. But my score has always been just a bit higher than DH. We assume it is because I had a credit card 4 years before him. That is really the only difference.

The age of your oldest credit line matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My wife and I both have excellent credit. Hers is insanely high- in the 840s, nearly perfect. Mine is in the 820s. My salary is twice her salary.

Salary <> credit score

Hopefully she’s smarter than you.

That was pp’s point. I’m sorry if it was too subtle for you.

[Anonymous]

I work at a credit union. We recently (5 years ago) stopped with co- owners on credit cards. One person is primary and the other is auth user - and being reported that way. Maybe there was a change in how a joint card is being reported .

[Anonymous]

You say he’s 2 years older than you, so maybe that’s enough to make a difference in your FICO score. His credit history is longer than yours, though not by much. Did your DH have higher student loans than you, or a car loan or rental apartment when he was single? All of those can factor in to his score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been married 20 years. Other than our individual 401Ks, everything we have is joint. We both entered the marriage with decent-but-not-fabulous credit ratings, mainly because we were both in our mid twenties without a lot of credit history. No bad history for either of us, just not a long record.

We have:
A joint mortgage - 18 years, refinanced once. First and only home purchase for both of us.
One joint HELOC about 10 years ago for a remodel, paid off and closed 7 years ago
One joint credit card, limit $20K, we charge most expenses to it and pay it off every month
Joint savings, checking, investment accounts, etc
Mostly joint bills, although some are in his name or mine, nothing significant or vastly different
No car loans. Had one in both our names about 5 years ago, paid it off in 3 years.
No other debt for either of us
Our individual incomes are within 2% of each other. This year mine is slightly higher, but it's bounced back and forth over the years.
No individual assets other than the aforementioned 401Ks, which are pretty similar.

And yet, his credit score is 80 points higher than mine.

When I look at mine for suspicious activity, there is nothing. The only "dings" on my report are:
- Not much credit history (apparently one long-term mortgage and one credit card isn't much)
- High credit usage (i.e. I don't have a bunch of unused credit lines sitting out there; we charge $10-15K of the $20K limit every month, but pay it off every month)
- Not enough credit accounts
- I get "excellent" marks for paying everything on time, and having stable debt (same mortgage & credit card for many years),.

My credit report literally lists all three of these dings as "areas for improvement". It says I should open a new credit line (but not use it!) if I want to improve my score. Aside from the idiocy of how completely ridiculous that is... Those factors should all be identical for DH ... And yet, his credit report says nothing about them. His score is 830, mine is 750. Which is still perfectly good, but the difference annoys me.

What am I missing??

You spent your Friday night writing this dissertation? Get a life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work at a credit union. We recently (5 years ago) stopped with co- owners on credit cards. One person is primary and the other is auth user - and being reported that way. Maybe there was a change in how a joint card is being reported .

This was my guess. DH is an authorized user on $65k of credit of mine. I have the higher credit score.

[Anonymous]

I don't know why people are being so hard on OP. I think it is a valid question.

I actually had the same question. My DH of 23 years has a credit score that is usually about 50-60 points higher than mine. My credit is still in the high 700s, but I have been wondering what leads to the difference. It irks me (very mildly) since I have been handling the finances for our entire marriage. DH and I joke about it (I manage the money, and he gets the great credit score; he is not great with deadlines). We are both listed on mortgage. No other debt. He had the more recent car loan that we paid off three years ago. I am guessing it is because he is the primary on the Amex card that he has had since right after college. Our only other credit card has me as the primary, but the limit isn't particularly high ($22,000). I asked to increase the limit on that card to perhaps help my credit score, but they denied my request since we do not use the card that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work at a credit union. We recently (5 years ago) stopped with co- owners on credit cards. One person is primary and the other is auth user - and being reported that way. Maybe there was a change in how a joint card is being reported .

This was my guess. I think most institutions have gone away from truly joint CC ownership.

Also, OP, your utilization rate is CRAZY high. If you needed credit and they pulled your report when you had 75% utilization you'd have a problem. You should open a new CC, as should your spouse. You need to get that utilization down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why people are being so hard on OP. I think it is a valid question.

I actually had the same question. My DH of 23 years has a credit score that is usually about 50-60 points higher than mine. My credit is still in the high 700s, but I have been wondering what leads to the difference. It irks me (very mildly) since I have been handling the finances for our entire marriage. DH and I joke about it (I manage the money, and he gets the great credit score; he is not great with deadlines). We are both listed on mortgage. No other debt. He had the more recent car loan that we paid off three years ago. I am guessing it is because he is the primary on the Amex card that he has had since right after college. Our only other credit card has me as the primary, but the limit isn't particularly high ($22,000). I asked to increase the limit on that card to perhaps help my credit score, but they denied my request since we do not use the card that much.

You can stop guessing. That is precisely why his score is higher. Average age of credit is a major factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been married 20 years. Other than our individual 401Ks, everything we have is joint. We both entered the marriage with decent-but-not-fabulous credit ratings, mainly because we were both in our mid twenties without a lot of credit history. No bad history for either of us, just not a long record.

We have:
A joint mortgage - 18 years, refinanced once. First and only home purchase for both of us.
One joint HELOC about 10 years ago for a remodel, paid off and closed 7 years ago
One joint credit card, limit $20K, we charge most expenses to it and pay it off every month
Joint savings, checking, investment accounts, etc
Mostly joint bills, although some are in his name or mine, nothing significant or vastly different
No car loans. Had one in both our names about 5 years ago, paid it off in 3 years.
No other debt for either of us
Our individual incomes are within 2% of each other. This year mine is slightly higher, but it's bounced back and forth over the years.
No individual assets other than the aforementioned 401Ks, which are pretty similar.

And yet, his credit score is 80 points higher than mine.

When I look at mine for suspicious activity, there is nothing. The only "dings" on my report are:
- Not much credit history (apparently one long-term mortgage and one credit card isn't much)
- High credit usage (i.e. I don't have a bunch of unused credit lines sitting out there; we charge $10-15K of the $20K limit every month, but pay it off every month)
- Not enough credit accounts
- I get "excellent" marks for paying everything on time, and having stable debt (same mortgage & credit card for many years),.

My credit report literally lists all three of these dings as "areas for improvement". It says I should open a new credit line (but not use it!) if I want to improve my score. Aside from the idiocy of how completely ridiculous that is... Those factors should all be identical for DH ... And yet, his credit report says nothing about them. His score is 830, mine is 750. Which is still perfectly good, but the difference annoys me.

What am I missing??

He probably has some credit cards he uses for his other family.