Credit Score is free to use for Belco Members in our Money Manager app. 

40% Payment History
Essentially, lenders want to know whether you’re good about paying your loans on time.

23% Credit Usage
Credit usage, also known as credit utilization, is the ratio between the total credit used and your
total credit limit on your revolving accounts. It is best to keep your credit usage below 30%.

21% Credit Age
The average of your oldest open credit accounts to your newest open credit accounts determines your credit age. In general, the longer your credit history the better, particularly
accounts with a good payment history and no late payments.

11% Credit Mix
It’s important to have a mix of different types of credit like revolving credit and installment loans.
Your score will likely be higher if you have a good payment history with both, installment loans,
like student loans and mortgages, and revolving credit, like credit cards.

5% Inquiries
Any time you apply for a credit card, or a lender checks your credit for a loan, it’s known as an
inquiry. Hard inquiries show on your credit report when your credit is pulled by a lender for a car
loan, mortgage, or credit card. However, soft inquiries don’t show on your credit report and
occur when you check your credit, or a lender pre-approves you for an offer.

Applying for several credit cards or opening multiple credit accounts in a short period creates hard inquiries and could signal an increased credit risk to a lender.

A good score may mean you have easier access to more credit and lower interest rates. The consumer benefits of a good credit score go beyond the obvious. For example, underwriting processes that use credit scores allow consumers to obtain credit much more quickly than in the past.

There are several ways to improve your credit score. However, it’s much more important to focus on improving what’s in your credit report rather than your overall credit score. Here are some
quick tips to help:

● Pay Your Bills on Time, Every Month. Payment history is the largest factor in your
credit score.

● Apply for Credit Only When You Need It. Try not to open too many accounts too
frequently. These frequent inquiries can ding your credit.

● Keep Your Outstanding Balances Low. Keep balances below 30 percent of the credit
limit on each of your revolving accounts.

● Reduce Your Total Debt. It is not necessarily bad to have debt as long as it’s manageable. Too much debt at high interest rates can get out of hand if a financial emergency comes up. Consider paying down some of your outstanding loans.

● Build Up Credit History. Maintaining a timely payment history for a mix of accounts
(e.g., credit cards, auto, mortgage) over a long period can improve your score.