Positive factors influence your credit score. The most important factors are listed below, in their order of importance. Remember, these factors vary in how strongly they impact your credit score.

Additional details are provided for some factors to help you better understand how they relate to your credit accounts.

Here are the top factors that make your score higher:

1. Payment history

Last reported month, you paid 100% of your accounts on time. Lost or stolen, transferred, or sold accounts may be excluded from this factor.

This is making your score higher. Missing payments is a negative factor. Some cases are worse than others. If you have not missed any payment recently, lenders may think you are, or have become, responsible and do not, or will no longer, miss payments. Lenders realize that many people occasionally miss a payment or pay late. Therefore, missing payments on one account may not be as harmful as missing payments on many. Similarly, missing a single payment may not be as harmful as missing several consecutive payments. Note that many lenders consider missing 3 or more consecutive payments to be an indication that you may never repay them. Finally, it may not be as harmful to miss payments on accounts with low balances as it is on accounts with high balances, because lenders stand to lose less money if they remain unpaid.

2. Credit accounts

You have 10 revolving account(s) listed in your credit report. Lost or stolen, transferred, or sold accounts may be excluded from this factor.

This is making your score higher. Having accounts listed in your credit reports is a positive factor because the accounts' payment history shows lenders how you pay your bills. However, having too many accounts may be considered a negative factor because lenders worry that you are spending (or preparing to spend) beyond your means, even if you have never missed payments. Also, if you do not currently have credit, getting your first few credit cards may be difficult and may involve high fees, high interest rates, and low credit limits. Note that finance trades (such as debt consolidation accounts) are often associated with troubled credit, and may therefore be considered a negative factor.

Here is an example of a list of all the credit records used to calculate this factor.

Date Opened	Lending Institution, Account Number	Comment	Last Reported Date
07/1991	ATL PO VSA 432977760102****		11/1999
07/1991	JCP CRD BK 6-19211941****		04/1999
12/1991	DISCOVR CD 601100460057****		12/1999

3. Credit usage

On average, you are using 1% of the credit limit on your revolving account(s). If the credit limit was not reported, your highest balance was used as the credit limit. This only includes accounts for which the credit limit or highest balance is reported.

This is making your score higher. High usage (such as balances above 50% of the credit limit) is usually considered negative, because lenders worry that you may be using more credit than you can reasonably afford to repay. Being "maxed out" or overlimit on a credit card (when your balance is close to, or above, the credit limit) is especially negative. The more accounts in this situation, the more it affects your scores. Note that in some cases, such as for very high credit scores, as little as 15% usage may have a negative impact, although minor. Low usage, on the other hand, is usually considered positive because it provides lenders with information on how you use credit. It also shows that you do not need to use all of the credit available to you. However, not using your credit accounts may be considered a negative factor, because it does not provide lenders with information about how you typically use credit and repay your debts.

Here is an example of a list of all the credit records used to calculate this factor.

% Used	Lending Institution, Account Number	Comment	Date Last Reported
96%	FIRST PREMIER CREDITCA 943362451574****	Credit limit is $350. Balance is $335.	06/2000
68%	CAPITAL ONE BANK 9119211941****	Credit limit not reported (highest balance used). Highest balance reported as $256. Balance is $174	07/2000
0%	MACYS WEST/FDSB 765489555****	Account not used. Credit limit not reported (highest balance used). Highest balance reported as $668. Balance is $0.	19/1996

Negative factors can influence your credit score. The most important factors are listed below, in their order of importance. Remember, these factors vary in how strongly they impact your credit score.

Additional details are provided for some factors to help you better understand how they relate to your credit accounts.

1. Payment history

In the past, you have missed a payment (or have become derogatory) on 4 account(s).Lost or stolen, transferred, or sold accounts may be excluded from this factor. This is making your score lower. Missing payments is a negative factor. Some cases are worse than others. If you have not missed any payment recently, lenders may think you are, or have become, responsible and do not, or will no longer, miss payments. Lenders realize that many people occasionally miss a payment or pay late. Therefore, missing payments on one account may not be as harmful as missing payments on many. Similarly, missing a single payment may not be as harmful as missing several consecutive payments. Note that many lenders consider missing 3 or more consecutive payments to be an indication that you may never repay them. Finally, it may not be as harmful to miss payments on accounts with low balances as it is on accounts with high balances, because lenders stand to lose less money if they remain unpaid.


Here is an example of a list of your credit records used to calculate this factor.

Payment Status	Lending Institution, Account Number	Comment	Last Reported Date
60 days late	JCP CRD BK 6-19211941****	Missed 2 consecutive payments in the past.	4/1999
30 days late	DISCOVR CD 601100460057****	Missed 1 payment in the past.	12/1999
30 days late	PROVDIN BC 2472402330****	Missed 1 payment in the past.	12/1999

2. Collection accounts and public records

You have at least one collection account or negative public record.

This is making your score lower. Having a collection account or a negative public record (such as a bankruptcy or a court judgment against you) on your report is a negative factor. Collection accounts show a pattern of not paying your bills. Negative public records are legal obligations that have priority over your debts, and so may impact your ability to repay them. They often result from unpaid bills for which creditors have to sue in order to get paid. Old collection accounts or negative public records are less harmful to your credit scores. If you have not had any new collection accounts or negative public records reported recently, lenders may consider that you have regained control over your financial situation. In any case, these records will significantly affect your ability to get new credit accounts, which may involve a deposit and/or higher fees and interest rates.

Here is a list of all the credit records used to calculate this factor.

Date Filed or First Reported	Institution, Reference Number	Comment	Last Reported Date
02/1992	US BKRT CT CALA 9219999	Public record	06/1992
12/1995	BONDED ADJUSTMENT BURE 94****	Collection account	03/1996

3. Credit history

On average, your accounts were opened 3 years and 3 months ago. This only includes accounts for which the date opened is reported.

This is making your score lower. Having had credit accounts for a long time is a positive factor because your credit history allows lenders to evaluate how you typically use credit and repay your debts. However, having a short payment history is a negative factor, even for accounts that have been open for a long time. This is because it does not give lenders the information to determine how you have repaid your debts. Accounts that were opened 30 or more years ago and have 2 or more years of reported payment history are considered optimal. Meanwhile, if your oldest account was opened up to 7 years ago, your credit history may be considered short, and less than 3 years ago is often considered too little. It is worth noting that because lenders can be slow to report new accounts to the credit bureaus, you may have accounts not yet recorded on your credit report that may be younger or older than your listed accounts.

Here is an example of a list of all the credit records used to calculate this factor.

Age	Lending Institution, Account Number	Comment	Last Reported Date
8 months	AMERICAN GENERAL FINAN 9299012929****	Account opened on 12/1/1999	06/2000
1 year	BALLY TOTAL FITNESS 9429021****	Account opened on 08/1/1999	07/2000