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What's In Your Credit Score

Contributed by mm | March 18, 2005 9:31 AM PST

Not many people can tell what specifically influences your credit score. According to a recent survey reported on Cardweb, up to 45% of consumers think there is a connection between income and credit score.

The official FICO score, which ranges between 300 and 850, is actually decided by five and only factors.

- Timely Payments (35%)
- Debt Level (30%)
- Credit History Length (15%)
- Recent Credit Application (10%)
- Credit Types (10%)

Last time I check, my credit score is at 714. While it is not bad, it is only marginally higher than the national average. Apparently, I'm affected by my relatively short credit history, and a-bit-too-high credit application frequency (to exploit some hot deals). My credit score is gaining 5-10 points every month these days, and even at the current level, it is good enough to land me most of the best deals.

PFBlog Bonus: Check out NationalScore.com, a free web site by Experian that shows your the average US consumer credit profile, including credit score, debt, credit usage, minimal monthly payments, open credit cards, late payments and credit inquiries. (Check out PFBlog review too.)

More PFBlog Articles You Might Find Interesting ...


03/02/10 | A Price Hike from Citi and One Less Customer | (3)
02/04/09 | How Much Are Credit Card Issuers Charging Merchants? | (23)
01/03/09 | Free Credit Score for Everyone | (7)
04/12/08 | A $215 Refund | (26)
01/08/08 | Supercharge Your Frequent Flier Mileage Account by Applying for Co-Branded Credit Card | (3)




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This Post Has Received 1 Comment. Share Your Opinions Too.


Tex Commented on March 18, 2005

I believe the FICO credit scoring to be extremely flawed. I frequently float large amounts of "debt" (e.g. $10,000) on credit at 0% and invest that money in either my mortgage or high rate CDs. Because most credit cards only give you 0% for 12 months it becomes necessary to move on to a new card. So essentially, I get penalized for having "high debt" which is not really debt since I have the cash at hand and then get penalized for opening too many accounts too frequently. The only thing going is the fact that I'm never late on any payment.

Read More ... 140 Posts In The Same Category


03/02/10 | A Price Hike from Citi and One Less Customer | (3)
02/04/09 | How Much Are Credit Card Issuers Charging Merchants? | (23)
01/03/09 | Free Credit Score for Everyone | (7)
04/12/08 | A $215 Refund | (26)
01/08/08 | Supercharge Your Frequent Flier Mileage Account by Applying for Co-Branded Credit Card | (3)
12/26/07 | American Express: Winner of 2007 J.D. Power Credit Card Satisfaction Survey
10/17/07 | What A Year of 0% APR Arbitrage Has Brought Me | (22)
09/13/07 | Citi CashReturns MasterCard - Credit Card Deal of the Year | (9)
08/08/07 | 0% APR Introductory Credit Card Offers Still Exist | (10)
08/07/07 | My Credit Score Is Back To The 700s | (2)
08/05/07 | Capital One Finally Reports Credit Limits
11/06/06 | Am I Becoming A Credit Risk? | (16)
10/22/06 | Citibank's Online Lending Center Launched | (1)
10/21/06 | Credit Dispute Experience at Experian and Equifax | (6)
10/17/06 | American Express Blue Cash Now Offers Unlimited Rewards | (6)
09/06/06 | MasterCard to Cap Fuel-Purchase Fees | (2)
08/22/06 | Citibank Reduces Cashback Incentive for Cardholders | (3)
08/07/06 | In Praise of Our Credit Union's Credit Card | (4)
02/28/06 | The Value of A Great Balance Transfer Deal | (12)
11/25/05 | Postcard from China: Credit and Debit Cards | (6)
09/01/05 | Reminder: Free Credit Report Is Available Nation Wide | (3)
08/11/05 | How to Track (Multiple) Credit Card Promotions | (4)
07/14/05 | Survival Guide for the New Driver's Edge Card from Citi | (4)
06/09/05 | Good Reward Card Deals Drying Up? | (16)
06/01/05 | Cash Out Your Credit Score | (8)
05/31/05 | Reminder: Free Credit Report Rolled Out To Southern States On June 1st
05/23/05 | Do We Have Too Many Card Innovations?
04/29/05 | Citi Backpedaling Popular Credit Card Offer? | (9)
04/07/05 | Credit Card Rewards Distort Price System? | (9)
03/23/05 | Citi Is Still ... Generous | (9)
03/16/05 | Call You Tell Good Debt From Bad Debt? | (3)
02/28/05 | Your Free Credit Report, The Experian Way
02/16/05 | How High Can Credit Card Interest Rate Be? | (1)
02/07/05 | Why Do Credit Cards Expire? | (1)
01/08/05 | 10 Credit Card Tips for 2005 | (1)
12/29/04 | 5% Off Everything With Citi's Driver's Edge | (3)
12/27/04 | Average Size Of Credit Card Transaction | (2)
12/15/04 | How Should You Deal With Convenience Checks? | (1)
12/13/04 | Who Is Stronger? Visa or Mastercard? | (3)
12/09/04 | MBNA Customers, Be Aware | (2)
12/03/04 | Free Credit Report: The TransUnion Flavor | (1)
12/01/04 | Fresh Taste of Truly Free Credit Report (Equifax) | (6)
11/23/04 | Free Credit Reports Are On The Way | (1)
11/10/04 | Kmart Rewards
11/06/04 | MBNA Starts to Issue American Express Cards
11/04/04 | How MBNA Takes Away Your Benefits, Gradually | (2)
11/02/04 | October 2004 Credit Score: TransUnion/659, Experian/744
10/17/04 | The Radical Guide to Credit Cards
10/14/04 | Watch Out for Bad-Loan Signals
10/07/04 | Dirty Secrets of Airline Credit Cards
10/03/04 | With PremierPass, Citi Is Running Its Own Mileage Program | (2)
09/30/04 | September 2004 Credit Score: TransUnion/635, Experian/732 | (1)
09/18/04 | $20 Bonus for BankOne's First Protect Program | (3)
09/15/04 | Demystifying ARM Indices
09/13/04 | Doubling Up Credit Card Rewards | (1)
09/08/04 | TrueEarnings: The Better Amex/CostCo Card | (3)
08/30/04 | American DreamCard - Play Lottery by Charging
08/28/04 | First Citi Credit Protector Rebate Check Received | (1)
08/25/04 | August 2004 Credit Score: TransUnion/734, Eloan/666
08/24/04 | $1,000 A Year Just By Picking The Right Card
08/24/04 | Close Encounters of The Third Kind
08/16/04 | 3 Bureau Credit Report and Score for $1 | (3)
08/15/04 | Clever Wording from Fleet (And Shame on Me) | (4)
08/14/04 | Small Balance Adjustment | (2)
08/13/04 | Progress with Fleet Balance Transfer
08/11/04 | Another 0.25% Rate Increase and How It Will Affect You
08/10/04 | Phishing Is Becoming Epidemic | (1)
08/07/04 | HGW4 = 10% Off All Restaurant Bills (CFI)
08/05/04 | Free Money Still Abound | (3)
08/04/04 | Anti-Identity Theft Freeze Gaining Momentum
08/01/04 | Real Credit Card Debt
07/31/04 | Gasbates
07/28/04 | 0% Offers
07/28/04 | $126 Cash Rebate From Citi Received
07/26/04 | As Cash Fades, America Becomes A Plastic Nation | (2)
07/23/04 | July 2004 Credit Score: TransUnion/719, Eloan/710
07/22/04 | $30,000 HELOC Closed | (1)
07/21/04 | My First No-Fee 0% APR Balance Transfer Offer (CFI) | (3)
07/17/04 | Getting United MileagePlus Visa Signature Card (13 Cards and Counting)
07/09/04 | "Profit from Chase" Credit Card
07/07/04 | Applying a Home Equity Line of Credit
07/05/04 | Free Credit Report from Experian
07/05/04 | Rates Move Higher ... Now What? | (1)
06/27/04 | $100 Turns Out To Be $150 | (3)
06/26/04 | Debit Rewards Cards Expand Offerings -- And Come With Costs
06/23/04 | Bill Me Later�
06/23/04 | 4 Ways to Snag the Best Reward Card
06/23/04 | June 2004 Credit Score: TransUnion/730, Eloan/700
06/22/04 | Buying Gift Cards Thru Grocery Stores at 5% Discount?
06/11/04 | Everything is Negotiable | (1)
06/06/04 | Free Credit Reports Are Coming Gradually
06/02/04 | Credit Cards That Pay | (1)
05/31/04 | DebtSmart.com - A Great Personal Finance Site
05/26/04 | The 9th Card | (1)
05/25/04 | A Summary of Late Fees
05/25/04 | May 2004 Credit Score: TransUnion/704, Eloan/679
05/19/04 | Citi Dividend Card: Sweeter Deal After 9/1
05/14/04 | $15 Bait From Citi
04/29/04 | Refinancing Closed, Part II: A Sweet Deal
04/29/04 | Refinancing Closed, Part I: Closing Details
04/29/04 | Nodebt.com Pays You For Paying Your Bills On Times | (1)
04/25/04 | April 2004 Credit Score: TransUnion/710, Eloan/675
04/21/04 | Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card: The First Statement
04/17/04 | A Credit Card With $1,500 Annual Fee
04/15/04 | Fidelity MasterCard� Credit Cards | (1)
04/05/04 | Cashback vs Reward | (3)
03/30/04 | Heading for Refinancing
03/29/04 | Credit Card Companies Raise Penalties To $39
03/26/04 | Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card Received
03/23/04 | Monthly Credit Score Update - February 2004 (+7 -> 691)
03/22/04 | 5 Year Interest Only LIBOR ARM | (2)
03/20/04 | Providian Sweetens the Deal
03/17/04 | Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Card (CFI) | (1)
03/16/04 | Credit Line Increase Fee | (1)
03/15/04 | Refinancing Now?
03/14/04 | MBNA, Increasing Credit Limit Every Three Months?
03/06/04 | Surpassed 20,000 Mark in MBNA Reward Program
03/05/04 | Experian National Score Index
02/23/04 | Monthly Credit Score Update - February 2004 (+11 -> 684)
02/21/04 | Providian Real Rewards
02/21/04 | Blue Cash from American Express
02/18/04 | Visa Extras
02/15/04 | Scoring a Loan
01/28/04 | Why Debit Card? Why Cash?
01/28/04 | Redemption Value of Card Miles | (1)
01/24/04 | Monthly Credit Score Update - January 2004
01/09/04 | How Does Your Debt Compare?
12/29/03 | Monthly Credit Score Update - December 2003
12/10/03 | Comparison of Credit Card Sites
12/10/03 | MBNA Silently Increased My Credit Limit, By A Bit
12/08/03 | First Premier Bank Gold MasterCard: A Credit Card Too Expensive to Keep | (2)
12/03/03 | Profitable Card Issuers
11/28/03 | Providian Increased My Credit Limit
11/26/03 | 2004 New Conforming Loan Limit = $333,700
11/23/03 | Monthly Credit Score Update - November 2003
10/28/03 | FICO Score Estimator
10/25/03 | Monthly Credit Score Update - October 2003
10/01/03 | ShareBuilder Visa Platinum Card | (1)
09/24/03 | Eloan.com Credit Monitoring Service








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