 TITLE: Your 9 Most Common Credit Questions, Answered CONTENT: What Factors Affect My Credit Score?\n------------------------------------\nThe scoring algorithms applied to calculate your credit score are complex—but the five factors used to determine your credit score are straightforward:\n*   **Payment history**: How you manage credit payments is the biggest factor in your credit score, accounting for 35% of your FICO® Score☉ .\n*   **Credit utilization**: How much of your available revolving credit (such as credit cards) you're using is the second most important factor in your credit score calculation, accounting for 30% of your FICO® Score.\n*   **Length of credit history**: How long you've managed credit makes up 15% of your FICO® Score.\n*   **Credit mix**: How many different types of credit accounts you manage makes up 10% of your FICO® Score.\n*   **New credit**: New credit accounts as well as the inquiries performed when you applied for credit make up another 10% of your FICO® Score.\nBuilding and maintaining good credit is as simple—and complicated—as using your credit responsibly in these five areas.\nFor more, see:\n*   Understanding Credit Score Risk Factors\n*   20 Ways to Improve Credit in 2020\n*   Tips for Improving Credit and Avoiding Pitfalls\n*   Find Out Which Accounts are Hurting Your Credit END