FICO - Your Credit Score

FICO is the best-known and most widely used credit score model in the United States. It is calculated statistically, with information from a consumer's credit files.

Five Parts to Your FICO Credit Scores

1. Your payment history makes up about 35% of a FICO score Have you paid your credit accounts on time? Late payments, bankruptcies, and other negative items can hurt your credit score. But a solid record of on-time payments helps your score.

2. How much you owe counts for about 30% of a FICO score, which looks at the amounts you owe on all your accounts, the number of accounts with balances, and how much of your available credit you are using. The more you owe compared to your credit limit, the lower your score will be.

3. Length of your credit history is about 15% of your score. A longer credit history will increase your score. However, you can get a high score with a short credit history if the rest of your credit report shows responsible credit management.

4. New credit equals about 10%. If you have recently applied for or opened new credit accounts, your credit score will weigh this fact against the rest of your credit history. FICO scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur. If you need a loan, do your rate shopping within a focused period of time, such as 30 days, to avoid lowering your FICO score.

5. Other factors probably count for about 10% of a FICO score. For example, having a mix of credit types on your credit report – credit cards, installment loans such as a mortgage or auto loan, and personal lines of credit – is normal for people with longer credit histories and can add slightly to their scores.

FICO Score Ranges

Credit Card Score