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If you need to access credit for any reason, checking your credit score first can be an incredibly smart move. After all, where your credit score currently stands can make an impact on whether you can get the credit you need, as well as the interest rates and fees you’ll have to pay.
With that in mind, you should find out how to check your credit score and the factors that impact it the most. Read on to learn if you have a good or a bad credit score, the steps you can take to improve your credit score, and where you can check your credit score for free.
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Your credit score is a three-digit number that represents your overall credit health, but you should know that each person has multiple scores assigned to them.
In fact, there are different types of credit scores out there, including the FICO score and the VantageScore. Every consumer can also have different credit scores from each of the credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Since the FICO score is the most popular type of credit score used by 90% of top lenders, we’ll focus on how it works for the purpose of this guide. Generally speaking, FICO credit scores fall between 300 and 850, and higher scores are better overall.
The credit bureaus use several criteria in order to assign consumers with a FICO credit score of their own.
These factors are all weighted based on their level of importance, as we explain below.
Payment history (35%): This factor is the biggest determinant of your FICO score, and it is based on your history of making on-time payments across all credit accounts you have. Where a long history of early and on-time payments can help your credit score, late payments can negatively impact your credit score in a big way.
Amount owed (30%): This factor is determined based on how much debt you have in relation to your credit limits, or your credit utilization ratio. To secure the best score in this category, you should strive to keep your revolving debt at 30% of your available credit or below.
Length of credit history (15%): The length of your credit history makes up another 15% of your FICO credit score, and the longer your history the better. Also note that opening a new credit card or another credit account will automatically shorten the average length of your credit history.
New credit (10%): New credit makes up another 10% of your score, and this factor is impacted the most when you apply for a new credit card or a loan. Each application for new credit results in a hard inquiry on your credit report, which can negatively impact your score in the short-term and cause bad credit.
Credit mix (10%): Your credit mix is determined based on the different types of credit you have access to. Generally speaking, you’ll score better in this category if you have a mix of different types of credit on your credit profile such as installment loans, auto loans, revolving credit lines, a mortgage, and more.
While the factors we outlined above can impact your credit score over the long run, there are plenty of factors that won’t impact your score at all. For example, the number of credit cards or lines of credit you have open won’t negatively impact your score as long as you have a low credit utilization ratio and you make monthly payments on time.
Checking your credit score is crucial for a few reasons, including the fact it’s the only way to know where you stand.
By checking your credit score, you can find out whether you’re in good shape or if you need to take steps to improve it.
Another reason to check your credit score and your credit reports is to find errors you may not otherwise discover. If you keep debt levels low and you always make on-time payments but notice that your credit score has plummeted, for example, that could be a sign of incorrect reporting on your credit reports, or that you’ve become a victim of identity theft.
Where your credit score is a three-digit number that represents the health of your credit, your credit report is an ongoing account of all the credit moves you have made over the years.
As an example, your credit report lists information such as all of the accounts you have open, how much debt you have, and whether you have made all your monthly payments on time.
Your credit reports also list considerable personal information about you, such as your full name, your address, and your gender.
The information in your credit reports is compiled by the three major credit bureaus, and it’s common for each credit report to have slightly different information. Either way, your credit reports are accessed by lenders and other creditors each time you apply for a credit card, a loan, or a line of credit.
Your credit reports can also be accessed by employers who request to see a modified version of your report for hiring purposes.
Just like you should check your credit score on a regular basis, you should also get a free credit report using the website AnnualCreditReport.com.
This website lets you see your credit reports from each of the credit bureaus, and you can check them at no cost several times per year.
Checking your credit reports is the best way to find reporting errors, such as incorrect credit balances, falsely reported late payments, and more. You may also uncover accounts you don’t even recognize on your credit reports, which is one of the most common signs of identity theft.
Checking your credit score typically will not lower it, but this depends on what you actually do to see your score.
If you apply for a mortgage loan and receive a listing of your credit score in the mail, for example, the hard inquiry that resulted from your mortgage application can impact your score. If you use a free service to see a version of your credit score, on the other hand, this will only result in a soft inquiry on your credit reports that does not impact your score.
We already mentioned how you have multiple types of credit scores, and you may have different scores with each of the credit bureaus.
If you just want to get an idea of where your credit health falls and whether your score needs some work, the score you check won’t make much of a difference.
The most important thing you can do is check any of your credit scores using one of the methods we recommend below. From there, you’ll be in a position to figure out your next best steps.
Because your credit score is calculated independently by each of the credit bureaus, you may see a different score with each one.
With that in mind, you don’t have to stress if your credit score is listed higher or lower on a few different mediums.
Here are a few ways to check your credit score without any impact or damage to your score:
Some credit card issuers (including Discover) offer a free credit score to nearly all of their clients on their credit card statement each month. Many cards from other issuers also offer free credit scores, but especially student credit cards and credit cards for building credit. With that in mind, it makes sense to check your credit card statements or your online banking account to see if a credit score is listed automatically. If it is, you’ll have a general idea of where your credit health falls without any extra work on your part.
Several different programs make it possible to check your credit score for free, including Capital One CreditWise, Chase Credit Journey, and Discover Credit Scorecard. You can also see a version of your credit score for free by creating an account on Credit Karma or Credit Sesame.
It’s possible your bank may have a version of your credit score available, particularly if you have used them for credit cards or loans recently. Either way, calling your bank to inquire about your credit score is a good way to find out.
Non-profit credit counseling agencies can also help you learn and understand your credit score, although the methods they use to procure your score can vary from company to company. If you need to know your credit score but you are also aware that it’s poor, working with a credit counseling agency can help.
When it comes to how credit scores are calculated, you should know that higher scores are always better across the board.
This is true regardless of the scoring method being used, whether you are focusing on FICO scores or looking at your VantageScore.
While both the FICO scoring model and the VantageScore use the same scale of 300 to 850 to express credit health, they both set up their scoring process slightly differently.
Using the FICO scoring model, you can check the level of your credit health by seeing where your score falls within the following categories:
The VantageScore offers similar ranges, and you can see where you stand using the following categories:
Your credit score has the potential to change on a day-to-day basis, and almost certainly from month to month. This may be due to the amount of debt you have in relation to your credit limits at any given time of the month, or on new credit or your most recent payment history details reported by the credit card companies.
With that in mind, you shouldn’t fret if your credit score drops a few points or seemingly jumps up out of nowhere. Your ultimate goal should be increasing your credit score incrementally over time, then keeping it in the best possible shape once you reach your goal.
There are several websites you can use to check your credit score for free. Some of the most popular include Capital One CreditWise, Chase Credit Journey, and Discover Credit Scorecard.
You can find out your credit score by creating a profile with one of the programs we already mentioned. You may also get a free credit score on your monthly credit card statement or within your online banking account.
The best place to check your credit score is whichever program is most convenient for you. Generally speaking, this includes free options like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame, as well as the credit score programs offered by the major credit card issuers.
The majority of the time, checking your credit score won’t impact your credit in a negative way. This is due to the fact that most credit checking programs only do a soft pull, not a hard inquiry.
That said, applying for a mortgage or auto loans and seeing your credit score that way can result in a hard inquiry on your credit reports and a temporary impact to your score.
If your credit card offers a free credit score each month, that’s a good place to track your progress on a regular basis without signing up for anything new. Otherwise, you can try calling your bank.
You can not check your credit score with a Social Security Number. However, your SSN is needed to open an account and update your credit reports
Holly D. Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer who covers topics like insurance, investing, credit and family finance. As a leading voice in the travel and loyalty space, Johnson has traveled with her family to more than 50 countries over the last decade.
The author has also written extensively on the power of household budgeting, and she even co-authored a book on the topic. Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You’ll Love was originally published in 2017, and it teaches families how to use zero-sum budgeting to reach their financial goals. She is also the co-owner and founder of the family finance and travel website, ClubThrifty.com.
Johnson’s 10+ years of writing have focused on helping families make important financial decisions at each stage of their lives. The author also applies the financial principles she teaches to her own life, and she is currently on track to retire in her late 40’s with her partner. She currently lives in Central Indiana with her husband and children, and she is a regular contributor for Bankrate, CNN, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report Travel and many other notable publications.
* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
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