Learn What Influences Your Credit Scores.

What Is a Credit Score?

A credit score is a three-digit number that summarizes the information in one of your credit reports at a single moment in time. Lenders use it as one input, alongside income, employment and the rest of your application, when they decide whether to extend credit and on what terms.

It is not a permanent grade. It is a snapshot that moves as the underlying report changes. And because you have a separate report at each of the three nationwide credit bureaus, you do not have one credit score. You have several.

How Is Your Credit Score Calculated?

No scoring company publishes its exact formula. FICO does publish the approximate weight it gives to five broad categories. These weightings describe FICO scores specifically. They are not universal percentages that apply to every scoring model.

FICO notes that the importance of each category can vary from one person to the next. For someone with a short credit file, length of history may carry different weight than it does for someone with decades of accounts. Treat these percentages as direction, not as arithmetic you can apply to your own file.

VantageScore uses its own methodology and does not assign these percentages. See the comparison below.

Credit Score Ranges

Both FICO and the current VantageScore models use a 300 to 850 scale, but they are different models built by different companies. The same number does not necessarily mean the same thing in both, and the category labels are not interchangeable.

VantageScore publishes its own ranges and descriptions. Lenders also set their own thresholds, so there is no single cutoff that guarantees approval anywhere.

FICO Score vs. VantageScore

FICO and VantageScore are separate companies with separate models. VantageScore was created jointly by the three nationwide credit bureaus. The two treat some information differently, including how soon a new file can be scored and how certain collection accounts are handled.

Many lenders use a FICO model. Many free consumer apps show a VantageScore. That is one of the most common reasons the number you see at home differs from the number a lender quotes you.

Why Can You Have Different Credit Scores?

Seeing more than one number is normal. The usual reasons:

• Different bureaus. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion each hold their own report, and not every creditor reports to all three.
• Different models. A FICO score and a VantageScore are built on different formulas.
• Different versions. FICO 8, FICO 9 and FICO 10 can produce different results from the same report.
• Different dates. Reports update throughout the month, so two pulls days apart can differ.
• Industry-specific models. Auto lenders and card issuers may use versions tuned to their product.

Factors You Can Control

You cannot control the formula. You can control the information that feeds it.

• Pay on time, every month. Payment history is the largest FICO category, and a single late payment reported at 30 days can stay on a report for years.
• Keep revolving balances low relative to limits. This is the part of a score that tends to respond fastest, because balances update with each billing cycle.
• Apply for credit only when you need it. Each application can add a hard inquiry.
• Review all three reports for inaccuracies. You can request them free at AnnualCreditReport.com, the site authorized by federal law.
• Keep established accounts open when it makes sense. Closing an old card can reduce your available credit and shorten your average account age.

Related guide: Why Did My Credit Score Drop?

Results vary by individual credit profile. No company can promise a specific score increase, a specific number of points, or a specific timeline, and you should be cautious of anyone who does.

Sources: FICO (myFICO) for FICO scoring categories and ranges; VantageScore for VantageScore methodology; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for consumer guidance; AnnualCreditReport.com for free credit reports.