What goes into your Credit Score?

Ever wondered what goes into building your credit score?

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Building Credit

A good credit score can open many doors and lead to great opportunities -- but building credit can seem like a mystery at times. It's not as straightforward as building savings, and the dots you have to connect can be tricky. Here's a closer look. 

 

What goes into your Credit Score?*

40%

Payment History 

Do you pay your bills on time? 

23%

Credit Usage or Utilization

How much debt do you have? 

21%

Account Age

A combo of your oldest account, newest account, and their average age. Longer is better. 

11%

Mix of Credit

You want to show you can handle a mix of loan types. 

5%

Recent Activity

Applying for too much credit in a short period of time shows you need money. 

Do's And Don'ts To Maintain A Good Score

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Keep your credit usage or utilization - the percentage of credit you have available to you that you're actually using - low. 

←DO

DON'T→

Miss a credit card payment - it can lower your score by 100 points or more. 

Make it a point to pay your bills on time. 

←DO

DON'T→

Open credit cards you don't need (just to get the store discount). 

Check your credit reports from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Transunion) annually at annualcreditreport.com to be sure there are no errors or fraudulent accounts in your name. 

←DO

 

$45,000

The amount a good credit score can save you in interest over a lifetime assuming you buy a home and car and have both student loans and credit cards.

 

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- Jean ChatzkyDirector of Education, Editor in Chief

*Factors that are considered in making of a credit score using the VantageScore 3.0 model. 


Monitor your credit score from our mobile banking app.

With Credit Sense an all-new FREE tool for members to view your credit score, tips on how to improve or maintain credit, credit report details and more.

Access Credit Sense from either your online banking or our mobile app.

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