How you have made
payments to your accounts in the past
will affect
your FICO score. It carries the most weight with the
lenders. If they are to lend you credit they want to make
sure
they are paid as agreed. Late payments are not the only
factor,
but paying your bills on time will save you money in the end.
Amount
Owed.
The
percentage of available credit is the key factor in determining this
portion of your FICO score. The less debt to credit available
generally means a lower risk and a higher score. This
includes
not just credit cards but any installment loans as well.
Length of Credit.
The
longer you have accounts, the higher your score. FICO likes
to
see a history with consistency in your accounts.
New
Credit.
It's common
for people to shop for interest rates, but it will cost you in terms of
your score if you open up a lot of new accounts in a short
period. Credit analysis shows that when you start opening new
accounts, you are more likely to get in too deep and this will raise
your credit risk.
Types
of Credit.
Whether
you have
installment loans, mortgage loans,
credit cards or loans from
finance companies, or a mix of each will not be a factor in your FICO
score, but it is important that you have experience with each,
otherwise the only factors in determining your credit will be limited.
Other
Factors.
FICO
scores are not the only factor or the only scores in determining
whether credit is issued to you. There is another score that
was
developed by the 3 reporting agencies called VantageScore and it ranges
from 501 to 990 - kind of like a report card 501-600=F, 601-700=D etc.
This score takes into account other factors as well. Although the
credit reporting agencies are pushing this hard, many lenders and
consumers are very much used to the FICO system.
In addition to that, other factors to consider are your application
risk scores (length of employment etc.) and customer risk or "behavior
scores".