^^^ Perfectly Said ^^^
Same here and the cards I use are for cash back on top of it, what you describe is what my wife and I do. Right now we just finished off a car payment so that was gone maybe last year. (14 months ahead of time making extra principle payments steadily meaning not lump sum, not more one month and less the next, steady I think is key) We do treat our 30 year mortgage as a 15 year mortgage and automatically every month, the same extra amount of money to be applied to principle is paid. All set up in my online bank bill pay.
True story, Ive been on this planet for a long time been in some way dealing with finances in my own life and other peoples indirectly. Im not in anyway saying this to boast about it, I was just taken by surprise and I didnt even know or think it could happen.(or would ever happen to me)
We run the same scores you do, but not more then two years back for 3 months a row (and only 3 months) my score was reported as 850 on the 850 FICO scale. (these days they have other scales too)
It doesnt matter that it did hit that but it was cool that it happened to me since I am into these things, sometimes like a competition with my wife. Fun thing for us. But it never hit that again and now I get frustrated! *LOL* and that's ok though at least I can remember one time in my life that it did.