Guide to Credit Score
and Credit Reports
Learn more about your credit
score and how to manage it.
FEATURED ARTICLES
How to Remove Late Payments from Your Credit Report
Late payments stay on your credit report for years and can only be deleted if they’re incorrect. Here’s how to remove erroneous late payments from your credit report.
FICO Score 8 is currently the most popular of many FICO scoring model versions that businesses use to size up a borrower’s risk.
Credit Score Ranges: What is an Excellent, Good, or Poor Credit Score?
Learn about credit score ranges from FICO and VantageScore, and how they classify Excellent, Good, or Poor credit scores.
WHAT'S NEW
What Is a Tenant Credit Check?
A landlord may run a credit check on a potential tenant to see how well they handle money. Tenant screening may include rental history, income, and background checks.
Can You Remove Collections from Your Credit Report?
Collection accounts may stay on your credit report for up to seven years and can lower your credit score. Learn how you may be able to get them taken off your report.
10 Signs Your Identity May Have Been Stolen
Identity theft is fairly common, but it may take time to spot it. Here are 10 warning signs of identity theft and what to do if your identity is stolen.
ALL CREDIT REPORT ARTICLES
It’s good to know how to remove hard inquiries from your credit report because they can ding your credit score – or be an early warning of identity theft.
When anyone – including you – checks your credit report, that inquiry may get noted as part of your credit history. It can be either a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ inquiry.
Credit reporting errors can sometimes happen, potentially lowering your credit score. Learn how you can take action to remove incorrect items from your credit report.
Understanding what a credit report is could be confusing. Learn what information a credit report contains and how to get your credit report for free.
Some employers do credit checks before hiring to help limit their risk. Here’s what they look for, your legal rights, and how to maintain a positive credit profile.
Technically, FHA loans require a minimum credit score of 500. But many lenders require higher credit scores – especially if you want to qualify for a 3.5% down payment.
Applying for a car loan? Lenders will check your credit history and credit score. Read about the score you need to buy a car—before applying.
Enroll with MyCredit Guide to get a free monthly credit report that you can access at any time or you can request a copy of your credit report from 3 credit bureaus once a year.
Your credit reports are put together by three national agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Learn all about them here.
Late payments stay on your credit report for years and can only be deleted if they’re incorrect. Here’s how to remove erroneous late payments from your credit report.
FICO Score 8 is currently the most popular of many FICO scoring model versions that businesses use to size up a borrower’s risk.
Learn about credit score ranges from FICO and VantageScore, and how they classify Excellent, Good, or Poor credit scores.
A landlord may run a credit check on a potential tenant to see how well they handle money. Tenant screening may include rental history, income, and background checks.
Collection accounts may stay on your credit report for up to seven years and can lower your credit score. Learn how you may be able to get them taken off your report.
Identity theft is fairly common, but it may take time to spot it. Here are 10 warning signs of identity theft and what to do if your identity is stolen.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Average Credit Scores by Age, State, and Income
Average credit scores tend to change based on age, state, and income. But none of these are actually used to calculate your score. Good credit habits matter most.
Is It Possible to Get a Perfect Credit Score?
Getting a perfect credit score is a notable financial goal. Learn what you can do to improve your credit score – and what it takes to get a perfect 850 FICO score.
How Long Does It Take to Establish Good Credit?
Establishing credit from scratch takes at least six months, but using that time wisely can help you build a strong foundation for your credit future.
WHAT'S NEW
Can You Get a Car Loan with Bad Credit?
It’s possible to buy a car when you have bad credit, but it can be harder to qualify for a loan. These tips may help low-credit buyers improve their financing options.
How Do Store Credit Cards Affect Your Credit Score?
Store credit cards can impact your credit score positively or negatively. As with general-use cards, the effects ultimately depend on your financial habits.
How Does a Balance Transfer Affect Your Credit Score?
Learn how making a balance transfer can affect your credit score and what you can do to make sure any negative impact is only temporary.
ALL IMPROVING YOUR CREDIT SCORE ARTICLES
Learn about the different ways to build your credit, like the benefits of managing credit utilization, having a clean credit report, and more.
Paying a rent or phone bill late usually won’t affect credit scores, but if your debt goes into collections, scores may nosedive.
Your credit score is composed of five main factors, two of which matter more thanothers. Knowing how these factors are calculated can help you boost your credit.
Some of the reasons your credit score can go down are obvious, but other times it’s less evident. Learn what could cause your credit score to drop.
Earning a top credit score takes time. Learn the different factors that affect your score and four strategies that may help to improve it.
So, you have no credit history? Find the best credit card to help build your credit by following these expert tips.
Credit cards can help you build your credit, but also lower your score if not used responsibly. Learn how you can rebuild your credit, starting today.
Your credit score can play a key role in whether or not you’ll be approved to rent an apartment, but it’s not the sole determining factor.
Learn how credit score simulators can help you estimate the ways various financial decisions can boost or burden your credit score.
Average credit scores tend to change based on age, state, and income. But none of these are actually used to calculate your score. Good credit habits matter most.
Getting a perfect credit score is a notable financial goal. Learn what you can do to improve your credit score – and what it takes to get a perfect 850 FICO score.
Establishing credit from scratch takes at least six months, but using that time wisely can help you build a strong foundation for your credit future.
It’s possible to buy a car when you have bad credit, but it can be harder to qualify for a loan. These tips may help low-credit buyers improve their financing options.
Store credit cards can impact your credit score positively or negatively. As with general-use cards, the effects ultimately depend on your financial habits.
Learn how making a balance transfer can affect your credit score and what you can do to make sure any negative impact is only temporary.
FEATURED ARTICLES
How to Freeze Your Credit at All 3 Bureaus—For Free
If you choose to freeze your credit, you have three options. Learn how to freeze your credit online for free.
A credit tradeline is the credit bureau term for an account on your credit report. Here are the three types of tradelines and what information each includes.
What Credit Score Is Needed for a Credit Card?
There’s no minimum credit score needed for getting a credit card. Whatever your credit score, you’re likely to have multiple options to get a card.
WHAT'S NEW
How Long Does a Repo Stay on Your Credit Report?
A repossession, or repo, happens when a lender seizes property after a debt goes unpaid. Learn more about what a repo is – and how and why to avoid one.
How Many Credit Inquiries Are Too Many?
While there’s no such thing as too many hard credit inquiries, each hard inquiry can drop a credit score by a few points – and make the borrower appear riskier to lenders.
Does Breaking a Lease Hurt Your Credit?
If you have to break a lease, there are ways to do it without hurting your credit. But if your landlord sends any unpaid debt to collections, it can have negative effects.
ALL MANAGING CREDIT ARTICLES
Understanding how "credit score" is defined, how credit scores work, and how they’re calculated can help you establish a positive financial future.
Your starting credit score might surprise you – it’s not zero. Using credit responsibly can help you begin with a good credit score and maintain it long term.
Credit history is the record of how you repay your credit cards, loans, and other debts. Learn what it takes to establish good credit with this intro to credit history.
Millions of Americans lack access to credit. A new DIY credit reporting tool is among the initiatives aiming to give them a new chance.
Myths persist about what a credit score is, how scores can be improved, and who can see them. It pays to separate fact from fiction.
Economic swings typically add to the challenge of protecting your credit score. But there are steps you can take to help maintain your credit – or even improve it.
If you choose to freeze your credit, you have three options. Learn how to freeze your credit online for free.
A credit tradeline is the credit bureau term for an account on your credit report. Here are the three types of tradelines and what information each includes.
There’s no minimum credit score needed for getting a credit card. Whatever your credit score, you’re likely to have multiple options to get a card.
A repossession, or repo, happens when a lender seizes property after a debt goes unpaid. Learn more about what a repo is – and how and why to avoid one.
While there’s no such thing as too many hard credit inquiries, each hard inquiry can drop a credit score by a few points – and make the borrower appear riskier to lenders.
If you have to break a lease, there are ways to do it without hurting your credit. But if your landlord sends any unpaid debt to collections, it can have negative effects.
EXPLORE TOPICS BY LIFE EVENT
The material made available for you on this website, Credit Intel, is for informational purposes only and intended for U.S. residents and is not intended to provide legal, tax or financial advice. If you have questions, please consult your own professional legal, tax and financial advisors.
