700+ is my goal, advice appreciated

[HomeDreams]

I've come a long way in the past few years after a bad divorce and some money issues. Looking for some advice on a few things. Here is a snapshot of my current credit situation. 

646 current Fico 8 

30% of credit used 

100% on time payments in the last two years 

all open accounts in good standing. 

My questions are these: 

I have a few accounts (will list below) that are still being reported as accounts and are updated regularly. Should they go away after 7 years? Should I pay them off or let them fall off? Some report 0 and some report a balance. 

Collections / charge off 

Merrick bank 1,100 (updates every month but 2017 is the date it was closed and charged off) 

Kohl's 600 (closed 2018)

Nordstrom 558 (also updated monthly closed 2017)

JPMCB 834 (updated monthly closed 2017) 

all of these say "charged off canceled by credit grantor" but still report as open accounts? 

it's been almost 7 years. Should these go away soon or will they stay since they are updated monthly? 

also curious if I should apply for more cards to up my available credit? If so, what's a good one for my score? I have the following:

Apple 2,000 limit 

AMEX gold 1000

Discover 2000

Target red card 300

pottery barn 1000

Amazon Store 400

any advice will be greatly appreciated! 

[Horseshoez]

@HomeDreams, until those charge offs fall off of your reports, hitting 700 is pretty much not going to happen, regardless of how many new cards you add.  Speaking of new cards, pretty good  bet in the short term, adding new cards will only reduce your credit scores, not improve them.  With that said, if you okay with a score reduction until your COs fall off, and you are able to open new cards now, by the time the last CO falls off, your AoYA will be a year old and your scores should pop nicely.

[HomeDreams]

Thank you! Do you think those CO will fall off this year? It's been 7 years since they were closed but the fact they still report monthly confuses me. 

[Horseshoez]

@HomeDreams, yes, they'll fall off; the fact they're reporting is irrelevant.  If you want them to stop reporting before the 7-year reporting deadline (technically 7.5 years, but the credit bureaus have adopted 7 as their standard), call them and settle the debts either in full or strike a deal to pay a certain percentage. 

[JoeRockhead]

I'd recommend you don't try to add any new credit right now, and instead focus on the accounts you have by maintaining good payment history and go for a lower utilization (try to get to under 10%) and try to get CLIs on your current line up as they allow.

Once the COs start coming off your reports, you should see some healthy score gains. Then you can look forward to some better cards, and approvals.

[HomeDreams]

Thank you!!

[mademan0890]

I really like this response

[mademan0890]

---

@Horseshoez wrote:

@HomeDreams, until those charge offs fall off of your reports, hitting 700 is pretty much not going to happen, regardless of how many new cards you add.  Speaking of new cards, pretty good  bet in the short term, adding new cards will only reduce your credit scores, not improve them.  With that said, if you okay with a score reduction until your COs fall off, and you are able to open new cards now, by the time the last CO falls off, your AoYA will be a year old and your scores should pop nicely.

---

I really like this response

[CorpCrMgr1]

Agree with those that say ride it out until the baddies drop off. It won't be long.

[HomeDreams]

Thanks so much everyone!!