Credit Score Factors
Payment History
What it means
The biggest factor in your FICO score, worth 35% of the calculation. It tracks whether you have paid your accounts on time, how late any missed payments were, and how recent they are. A clean payment history is the foundation of excellent credit.
Covered in the free course
- The 5 FICO Factors: Your Score at a GlanceUnderstanding Credit
- Who Sees Your Credit and Why It MattersUnderstanding Credit
- Why Payment History Rules EverythingPayment History
- Anatomy of a Credit Report: Section by SectionReading Your Credit Report
- Starting with No Credit HistoryBuilding Credit from Scratch
- Late Payments: How Bad Are They Really?Payment History
- Strategies to Drop Your Utilization FastCredit Utilization
- The Authorized User StrategyLength of Credit History
- Revolving vs. Installment Credit ExplainedCredit Mix
- When to Diversify (and When to Leave It Alone)Credit Mix
- Credit-Builder Loans ExplainedBuilding Credit from Scratch
- The Authorized User Fast TrackBuilding Credit from Scratch