LogFAQs > #978713186

Jupiter posted...

He's right. I never carry a balance either and also have a score in the 800s. I figured out how to game the system a few years ago and went from 650 (dropped from 710 when I opened a medical credit card to get basically LASIK) to 800ish. Highest I've been at was 817 or so. Things that matter for your credit score are:

* average age of all accounts (so opening a new account lowers your average age which brings down your score a little; once I pay off my last student loan, my credit score will actually drop since it's one of my oldest accounts)
* Amount of total credit (receiving a credit line increase on your cards will boost your score)
* Amount of accounts (more accounts is better)
* Credit card utilization (the lower the better with 0% being the best. If I forgot to pay it off completely or get a charge right before the statement date and have something like a $20 statement fee when the previous was 0, my score drops a little)
* Collections (this hurts your score a lot. I found out I had like $90 in collections from some medical bill I wasn't aware about years ago...paid it off and my score went up like 10-15 points...I'm sure it'd be even more for people with higher debts)
* Hard checks (the more hard checks, the more they hurt your score. I think they typically take 2 years to get off your record. Each check would drop my score by 1-2 points. I got 5 checks at once the first time I bought a car)

I'm sure there are more, but that's the gist of it.

Here is what you need to know about your credit score. This was in response to someone thinking you needed to carry a balance to your statement as opposed to having a statement of 0 balance.

Harpie posted...

One time I lost my credit card, and didnt realize til someone ordered over $300 worth of Dominoes

My dispute was approved very easily, just took a quick phone call lol

This is exactly why I have my credit card send me phone notifications for every transaction. I'd know right away if my card was compromised.