 TITLE: How Does Length of Credit History Affect Your Credit? CONTENT: How to Improve Your Length of Credit History\n--------------------------------------------\nImproving the length of your credit history often requires a little action and a lot of patience.\nIf you don't have any credit accounts, you'll want to open new accounts so you can start building your credit history. Because getting new credit when you have none can sometimes be challenging, credit-builder loans and secured credit cards are often a good place to start. Having several accounts can also be better than only having one account on your credit report, as long as you manage them responsibly and always make on-time payments.\nOnce you have open accounts, you'll need to be patient as they slowly age over time. One potential shortcut is to become an authorized user on a family member's credit card. As an authorized user, you get the benefit of the primary cardholder's credit history with the card and can use the card to make purchases (if the primary account holder agrees). As long as the primary cardholder pays all the bills on time and keeps a low balance, your credit scores can benefit.\nJust be sure the credit card issuer reports authorized user status to the credit reporting companies so the account is included on your credit report—not all do. Or, if you're the one with an old credit card, you might want to help a spouse or child with their credit by adding them as an authorized user on your account.\nConsidering how long it can take to build a long credit history, you might not want to frequently apply for new loans or credit cards. Each new account you open will lower the average age of your accounts.\nHowever, if you need a loan or see a great credit card offer, don't let length of credit history keep you from applying. While age-related factors can impact your credit scores, they're not as important as other scoring factors. FICO® says its length of credit history category only accounts for about 15% of the average person's FICO® Score. Similarly, VantageScore gives its age of credit history a \"less influential\" weighting. END