A credit report includes a lot of information about you but it's not always easy to sort out
what's most important. A free credit rating score can cut through the clutter and give you
an objective result. A creditor may look at your entire report, but focus on just a few key
items. And this is what a free credit rating score does with a single number.
As the use of credit has become increasingly important, creditors have turned to credit
scores to objectively rate your credit. Hundreds of thousands of credit reports are analyzed
to find out which items in a credit report have are the most significant. Each item is given a
weight or degree of importance and your free credit rating score is simply the total.
Generally the major factors are in five areas:
- Your payment history - were your bills paid on time and for the full amount?
- Your outstanding debt - how close are you to your credit limits?
- Your credit history - both the total length and individual account ages.
- Recent new account activity - have you opened several new accounts recently?
- Account type mixture - do you have a variety of kinds of credit accounts?
To improve your free credit rating score, concentrate on bettering your record in these
five areas. Paying your bills on time is a top priority. Pay down accounts with high balances.
Close unused accounts with the newest ones first, since this increases the average account
age. Numerous recent requests for your credit report is seen as a sign of either poor credit or
a potential overextension of credit. So don't apply for several new accounts at once. And if you
have only one type of credit, credit cards for instance, add a different type of credit
such as an installment loan.
To get your free credit rating score, free credit report and free 30 days of credit
monitoring, please go to
free instant credit reports.
