 TITLE: What’s the Most Important Factor of Your Credit Score? CONTENT: Payment History Is the Most Important Factor of Your Credit Score\n-----------------------------------------------------------------\nPayment history accounts for 35% of your FICO® Score. Four other factors that go into your credit score calculation make up the remaining 65%.\nKeep in mind that there are as many as 28 versions of the FICO® Score, meaning you may have one score that's used to determine whether your credit card application is approved, another score for a mortgage application and yet another score for an auto loan application. When calculating these various scores, FICO weighs your payment history on your credit accounts most.\nWhy is payment history more important than the other factors? A lender wants to protect itself from risk. Therefore, it wants to know whether you've made timely payments on current and previous credit accounts. According to FICO, research shows payment history is typically the No. 1 predictor of whether you'll pay your debts on time, thus the heavier emphasis on this factor. END