Personal Finance · Explainer
What actually moves a credit score
Scores are built from a small number of inputs, weighted unevenly. Most 'credit repair' advice targets the wrong ones.
The short answer
- Payment history and amounts owed dominate mainstream scoring models.
- Utilisation is measured at a point in time, so timing a payment changes the reading.
- Checking your own report is a soft search and does not affect the score.
A credit score is a statistical estimate of the probability that a borrower falls seriously behind. It is not a judgement of character, wealth or income — income is not in the file at all. Understanding the inputs explains why some intuitive actions help and others do nothing.
The inputs, roughly in order of weight
- Payment history: whether accounts have been paid as agreed, and how recently and severely they were not.
- Amounts owed: balances relative to limits, on revolving credit in particular.
- Length of credit history: the age of the oldest and average account.
- New credit: recent applications and hard searches.
- Credit mix: revolving and instalment accounts.
Utilisation is a snapshot
Card issuers report the balance on a set date, usually the statement date. Someone who clears the card in full every month can still show high utilisation if the statement lands after a large purchase. Paying down before the statement cuts, rather than before the due date, changes the number that gets reported.
What does not help
Closing an old, unused card can shorten average account age and remove available limit, pushing utilisation up. Checking your own report is a soft search with no effect. There is no lawful way to remove accurate negative information; time is the only remedy, and its weight fades as the item ages.
Sources
- Credit reports and scores — CFPB
- Free statutory credit reports — AnnualCreditReport.com
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