Your credit score affects whether you get approved for a loan or card, the rate you pay, and sometimes whether a landlord rents to you. What impacts your credit score hasn’t changed much in years, and two factors carry most of the weight: paying on time and how much of your credit you use.
What impacts your credit score: the five FICO factors
FICO, the most widely used score, weighs five categories:
- Payment history (35%): whether you pay on time. One payment 30 or more days late can stay on your report for seven years.
- Amounts owed (30%): mostly your credit utilization, the share of your card limits you’re using. Lower is better. Many people aim for under 30%, and people with top scores tend to use far less. Check yours with the credit utilization calculator.
- Length of credit history (15%): the age of your oldest account and the average age of all your accounts.
- New credit (10%): recent applications and newly opened accounts.
- Credit mix (10%): having both revolving accounts (cards) and installment loans. This matters least, so don’t take on a loan only to improve it. See what credit mix is.
With two cards, a combined $5,000 limit, and $1,500 in balances, your overall utilization is 30%. Pay the balances down to $500 and it drops to 10%. Scores look at both your overall utilization and each card’s, so one maxed-out card can hurt even if the others are empty. The balance that counts is usually the one on your statement, so paying before the statement closes can lower it.
VantageScore, the other main scoring model, uses similar factors with different weights.
What your score doesn’t consider
myFICO says FICO Scores don’t use your race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or marital status, and federal law bars those from credit decisions. Scores also leave out your age, salary, occupation, employer, where you live, and whether you’ve used a credit counselor. A lender may still ask about income on an application, but it isn’t part of the score itself.
You have more than one score
There isn’t a single credit score. FICO and VantageScore each have several versions, and each is calculated from one bureau’s report at a time. A mortgage lender, a car dealer, and your bank’s app may all show different numbers on the same day. That’s normal. Watch the direction your score moves, not small differences between apps.
If you’re just starting out
To get a FICO Score, your report generally needs at least one account that’s been open for six months or more and at least one account reported to the bureau in the past six months. Until then, you may be “credit invisible,” which makes approvals harder.
A few ways to get started:
- A secured credit card: you put down a deposit, often a few hundred dollars, and it usually becomes your limit.
- A credit builder loan: the lender holds the loan amount in a savings account while you make payments, then releases it to you at the end.
- Becoming an authorized user: a family member adds you to a card they pay on time. Make sure the issuer reports authorized users to the bureaus.
Use any new card for a small, regular bill and pay it in full. After six months to a year of on-time payments, many people qualify for a regular card.
Rent and utility payments
Most standard scores still don’t include rent, utilities, or phone bills, because most landlords and utility companies don’t report on-time payments to the credit bureaus. Some services let you add those payments to your file, and some newer scoring models can use them. Check which score and which report a service updates before you pay for one.
Unpaid bills are a different story. If a bill goes to a collection agency, that collection can show up on your report and hurt your score.
Medical debt
The three bureaus changed how they report medical debt in 2022 and 2023. Paid medical collections no longer appear on reports, unpaid medical debt doesn’t show up until it’s a year old, and medical collections under $500 are left off. If you see medical debt that should have been removed, dispute it.
Why scores drop
The same things that affect your credit score can also pull it down fast:
- A payment 30 or more days late
- High balances on your cards
- Several credit applications in a short time
- Closing an old card, which can raise utilization. See what happens when you close an account.
- An account sent to collections
- An error or fraud on your report
How long negative items last
- Late payments: up to seven years
- Collections: up to seven years from the original missed payment
- Chapter 7 bankruptcy: up to 10 years
- Hard inquiries: on your report for two years, but FICO counts them for only 12 months
Their effect fades over time, especially if newer accounts show on-time payments.
How to recover
- Bring every account current. Call the lender if you need a payment plan.
- Pay down card balances, starting with the card closest to its limit or with the highest rate.
- Hold off on new applications until your score recovers.
- Check your reports for errors. You can see all three for free every week at AnnualCreditReport.com. The FTC explains how to dispute errors.
- Set up autopay for at least the minimum on every account.
Once you know what impacts your credit score, recovery is mostly about time and habits. If your file is thin or damaged, a secured card or a credit builder loan can add positive history. See how to recover from a credit score drop and the Credit Center.
Revised: September 2026
Sources
- myFICO: What’s in my FICO Scores?
- myFICO: What’s not in my FICO Scores?
- FTC: Disputing errors on your credit reports
- FTC: You now have permanent access to free weekly credit reports
This article is general education, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Your situation may differ, so check the details with the lender, agency, or a qualified professional before you act. How we research and review articles.
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