What Is Your FICO Credit Score?

Answer 1

Credit scores are extremely important. This number is what people will look it before determining if you will get a house, buy a car, and land a job. Many people know the basics of FICO credit scores, but not everyone knows how the number is computed. Before you apply for new credit, it is a good idea to pull your credit report. By knowing how your credit score is computed, you can learn what steps to take to improve it. Here is how the FICO credit score is computed.

Payment History - 35%

This is the biggest component of your credit score. This looks at how you have made payments on your credit accounts over time. Late payments hurt your score. The more severe a delinquency, the worse your score will be. Once you bring your accounts current, your FICO credit score will start to improve. As negative items age, they lose their edge. If you have charged off accounts or collections accounts, they will count in this area as well.

Amounts Owed - 30%

There are two big considerations for this component. One is the amount you owe on installment loans in relation to how much you originally borrowed. The second part is the utilization of your credit cards. This means the balances you carry in relation to your credit limits. High credit utilization will lead to lower scores. You want to keep your credit card balances as close to zero as possible.

Age of Credit History - 15%

This scoring component looks at how old your accounts are as well as recent you have had activity on them. FICO credit scores usually look at the average age of your credit accounts. This is why it is never a good idea to close an account that is in good standing. The older the average age of accounts, the better your FICO credit score will be.

Types of Credit - 10%

In order to optimize your FICO credit score, you should have a variety of accounts. If you have all loans and no credit cards, your FICO score will be lower. You should have a good mix of installment accounts, revolving accounts, and retail accounts.

New Credit - 10%

The last part of your FICO credit score looks at how many new credit accounts you have opened. The presence of a lot of new accounts will hurt your credit score. This is why you want spread new accounts out. Also, your credit inquiries will count here. Any credit inquiry you initiate will affect your credit score for up to two years.