A credit score can be one of the biggest debates anywhere when it comes to deciding what really affects it.  The truth is that it’s hard to determine 100% of what actually affects it.  Everywhere you go whether it’s online, a newspaper or just from word of mouth, you will get a different answer every time.  The purpose of this article is to show you a few things that affect your credit card score for sure.

Payment history

Your payment history is the biggest thing that affects your credit score.  The reason is because this shows the creditors how you’ve paid in the past.  Obviously, if you don’t pay your bills on time or you don’t pay them at all, no one is going to lend to you.  This is why it’s important to pay your bills off on time, all the time.

Your amounts owed

The more debt you have, the less likely you’re going to be approved for a new credit card.  If you only make forty thousand a year and have one hundred thousand dollars in debt, credit card companies are going to less likely work with you because you’ll be a big threat.  Their reasoning is that chances are that bankruptcy will be around the corner and they will be out there money.  Even if you have high debts and you pay your monthly minimums, this will still affect your credit score greatly.

Length of your credit history

This is a given and everyone will agree with this one.  The longer you have credit, the more appealing you are to credit cards companies.  This is why it’s tough for a first time credit card applier to get a credit card.  When you have no credit, it’s tougher for a credit card company to approve you because you’re new to the game.  While credit card companies will accept new time appliers, you will find that the credit limits and fees will be outrageous.  Now, If you’ve been in the game for twenty years and have great credit, your score will be slightly higher than someone that only has had credit for three years.

New credit showing up

Creditors typically hate seeing you sign up for a bunch of new credit cards, etc at the same time.  This may be a sign that you’re in hard times and are in need of cash.  Once again, they will look at this as a bad situation and this could drop your credit score because you’re opening up so many new credit cards which make your prone to more credit.  The simple solution is to limit your credit cards and any other type of credit.  If you need to, cancel old accounts that you haven’t used in a while.

These are four main points that defiantly affect your credit score, no questions asked.  The next time you check your credit score and find that your credit card score is low, make sure that you browse over these points and see if you’re a victim of any of these.  If so, make sure you take the appropriate steps to improve your score.

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