What is my credit score based on?
Credit scoring is based on many factors that may include:
Payment history
Amount of available credit
Amount of credit currently being used
Length of credit history
Recent requests for credit
Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT), credit scoring may not use gender, martial status, national origin, race, or religion as factors.
Of course, lenders usually do not base credit decisions solely on credit scores. Lenders usually make other considerations, such as income and length of employment at current employer, when evaluating applications.
Also, many consumers do not realize that achieving the best credit scores may take 20 to 30 years because lenders consider older credit histories optimal.