FAQ

Your credit score is a 3-digit number on a scale of 300 to 850 that suggests how creditworthy you are—meaning, how good you are with credit and how much you can be trusted to pay back what you borrow. Potential lenders will use this number to decide what kinds of credit cards and loans to offer you. Generally, the higher the score, the better the offers.

There are a few different types of scores, but the two best-known are your FICO Score and your VantageScore. They’re calculated based on the information that shows up on your credit report.

Generally speaking, there are five tiers of credit score. A good credit score is anything above 670.

Anything below 670 is considered poor or only fair credit.

The three main credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. When lenders want to see your credit report, they will request it from one or more of these reporting agencies.

Your report and score can differ from bureau to bureau because they don’t always have the same information, so we recommend you check each report separately to confirm that everything is on the up-and-up.

There are five main factors to your credit score–payment history, credit usage, credit age, credit mix and recent credit. Your payment history is the biggest contributor on the list, and can be directly affected by credit repair.

Your credit report contains things like your identifying information, trade lines, credit limits, account names, credit history, credit inquiries, public records, collections, late payment information, and of course, and your credit score.

There are many factors that go into being approved for a mortgage, but you'll need at least a score of 620 to be approved for a traditional home loan.

The minimum accepted score for a car loan will depend on the amount of money being requested, but some lenders will approve scores as low as 500–assuming you don't mind paying extra money in interest.

Your FICO® Score is a three-digit number determined by the information on your credit report. While FICO® doesn't collect the data themselves, it's their algorithm that determines your score. Considering their score is used in 90% of all lending decisions, it's very helpful to know where you stand.

The credit bureaus have to provide you with a free credit report every 12 months–it's the law. You can claim this free credit report from http://www.annualcreditreport.com/, or by calling 1-877-322-8228. You will need to provide your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth to verify your identity.