Credit Score Basics
This number ranges from 300 to 850 and determines how likely you are to repay loans.
What is a Credit Score?
A credit score under 550 is generally classified as this.
What is poor or bad Credit?
This is the largest factor in determining your credit score, accounting for 35% of the score.
What is payment history?
One way to improve your score is to always pay these on time.
What are bills?
This type of credit score is often needed to get approved for premium credit cards with the best rewards.
What is excellent Credit?
What is the percent that Amount Owed affects your credit history?
30%
Checking this regularly for errors can help prevent incorrect information from lowering your score.
What is a credit report?
This company is one of the three major credit bureaus that calculates credit scores.
What is Equifax/Experian/Transunion?
This financial institution might charge you a higher interest rate if your credit score is poor or bad.
What is a Bank or Lender?
The ratio between total amount you
owe and credit limit on all revolving accounts
What is utilization rate?
Reviewing your credit report at least once a year can help you catch this kind of mistake or unauthorized activity.
What are errors or fraud?
This financial behavior can negatively impact your credit score if done too often, especially when using loans or credit cards.
What is missing a payment?
What is a benefit of getting a lower interest rate on a Loan or Mortgage?
Lower monthly payment or save money over the life of the loan.
This factor considers the average age of all your credit accounts and can help or hurt your score.
What is Length of Credit History?
One thing you should do if a company
mistakenly reports that you haven’t
paid them.
Contact the company/the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau