Understand how credit scores work, what makes them rise or fall, and which versions lenders actually use. Learn how payment history, account age, new credit, credit mix, and reporting updates shape your score, then focus on the changes that matter most.
A FICO Score is calculated from information in your credit report, not from every detail of your financial life. Salary, occupation, employer, age, marital status, location, and the interest rate charged on an account are not direct FICO scoring inputs. […]
There is no single credit score that every lender uses. A lender can choose a FICO Score, VantageScore, an industry-specific FICO version, or another approved model, and the score can also differ depending on whether the underlying data comes from
There is no universal day when a credit score updates. A FICO Score is calculated when it is requested using the information in the selected credit report at that moment. Lenders commonly furnish account updates about once a month, but
A credit score drops when either the information being scored changes or you compare a different score than before. Common causes include a higher reported credit card balance, a late payment, a hard inquiry or new account, a lower credit
Applying for credit can affect your score twice. Lenders may first make a hard inquiry, which can have a small, temporary scoring effect. If the application is approved and a new account is reported, that account can also lower the
Paying down credit card balances usually helps your credit profile because it reduces revolving utilization and lowers debt. You do not need to carry a balance or pay interest to build credit. If your score moves down after a payoff,
Closing an old credit card does not usually erase its history overnight. A positive closed account can remain on your credit reports for years, so its age may continue to be considered while it remains. The more immediate issue is
Credit mix is one factor in credit scoring, but it is not a reason to borrow money you do not need. Credit mix accounts for about 10% of a typical FICO Score, and you do not need one of every
Payment history is the largest of FICO’s five general score-factor categories, at about 35% for the typical population. A payment can be late to the creditor before it becomes a 30-day delinquency on a credit report, so fix a missed
FICO and VantageScore are competing families of credit scores built from credit-report data. Most base consumer versions use a 300–850 range, but the same person can receive different numbers because the model family, model version, credit bureau, and date of
The fastest legitimate credit-score improvements usually come from correcting inaccurate report data and reducing high revolving balances before the next bureau update. Preventing a new late payment is even more important. There is no guaranteed number of points or universal
On FICO’s 300–850 base-score scale, 670–739 is labeled Good, 740–799 Very Good, and 800–850 Exceptional. Those labels are useful reference points, not lender approval rules: lenders choose their own score model, version, cutoffs, and other underwriting criteria. Experian’s 2025 Consumer
