Read the instructions below to learn how the Tradeline Calculator works. For an in-depth article about How to Choose a Tradeline, click here.
How to Use the Tradeline Calculator
Step 1: Get a recent copy of your credit report.
Step 2: Identify which accounts are your revolving accounts, including closed revolving accounts. (Revolving accounts are typically credit cards.) Do not enter other types of accounts such as auto loans, student loans, installment loans, mortgages, etc.
Step 3: Calculate the age of each account so that it can be expressed in a number format such as 2.5 years, 3.2 years, etc. Enter this data onto the Tradeline Calculator in the column titled “Age of Cards.”
Step 4: This is optional, but you can enter the name of the card under the column “Card Description” in order to label and identify each of your accounts.
Step 5: Enter the credit limit under the column titled “Credit Limit.”
Step 6: Enter the current amount that is owed on each account under the column titled “Amount Owed.”
At this point you have all your revolving account information entered and you can see where you currently stand as far as the average age of accounts and utilization ratios.
Next, you can begin entering hypothetical new accounts into the Tradeline Calculator to see how new numbers may affect the results.
