Two of the five factors are 65% of the score, and one of them is measured on a date nobody tells you about. What FICO really counts, and what it ignores entirely.
One number, several versions of it
The score most lenders use is a FICO score, running from 300 to 850. You also have VantageScore, and dozens of variants tuned for mortgages, auto loans and cards. This is why the number in your banking app rarely matches the one a lender quotes — they are different models reading the same underlying file.
Do not chase the exact figure. Chase the band you are in:
- 800+ — exceptional. You will not be offered better terms for going higher.
- 740–799 — very good. Effectively the same pricing as 800 in most cases.
- 670–739 — good. Approved for most things, at ordinary rates.
- 580–669 — fair. Approvals get harder and pricing gets noticeably worse.
- Under 580 — poor. Expect declines, deposits and subprime rates.
Crossing from 690 to 760 can save real money on a mortgage. Going from 800 to 820 saves nothing at all.
The five things it measures
FICO publishes the weights, which makes this unusually knowable:
- Payment history — 35%. Do you pay on time? By far the largest factor, and the one with the longest memory. A single payment 30 days late can drop a good score sharply and stays on your report for seven years.
- Amounts owed — 30%. Mostly credit utilisation: the share of your available limit you are using. Below 30% is the usual advice; below 10% is better.
- Length of credit history — 15%. The age of your accounts, and the average across them. This one only improves by waiting.
- New credit — 10%. Recent applications and hard inquiries.
- Credit mix — 10%. Whether you have handled both revolving credit (cards) and instalment loans (car, mortgage, student).
Notice that two factors — paying on time and not using too much of your limit — are 65% of the score. Almost everything else is noise by comparison.
Utilisation is measured on a date you cannot see
This trips up people who pay in full every month and still see a mediocre score. Card issuers report your balance on the statement date, not after you pay. Charge 2,000 on a 3,000 limit and pay it off in full, and the bureaus may still see 67% utilisation.
Two fixes: pay part of the balance before the statement closes, or ask for a limit increase — which lowers utilisation without you changing anything about your spending.
Closing a paid-off card removes its limit from your utilisation calculation and eventually ages out of your history — hitting two of the five factors at once. If there is no annual fee, keep it open and put one small recurring charge on it. The instinct to "tidy up" before a mortgage application is exactly backwards.
Hard and soft inquiries
Checking your own score is a soft inquiry and does nothing. Applying for credit is a hard inquiry and costs a few points for a few months.
One important exception: rate shopping. Multiple mortgage or auto applications inside a short window are typically bundled as a single inquiry, precisely so that comparing lenders is not punished. Cards are not treated this way — those count individually.
What is not in your score at all
Your income. Your savings. Your job. Your debt-to-income ratio. Your age, race or where you live.
This surprises people, and it explains a common confusion: a high earner with a maxed-out card can score worse than someone earning far less who pays on time. It also means a great score does not guarantee approval — lenders check affordability separately, using your debt-to-income ratio, and that is a different test entirely.
Check your report, not just your score
You are entitled to free reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion through AnnualCreditReport.com — the federally authorised site, not one of the lookalikes that sell subscriptions.
Errors are common: accounts that are not yours, balances already paid, duplicated debts. Each bureau must investigate a dispute, and correcting a genuine mistake can move a score faster than any strategy. If you are planning to borrow, pull all three reports several months ahead so there is time to fix what you find.
What actually raises it
Pay every bill on time, without exception. Get utilisation down and keep it down. Leave old accounts open. Apply for new credit sparingly and deliberately. Then wait — the length factor cannot be rushed, and anyone promising to "repair" your score quickly for a fee is selling something you can do yourself for nothing.