FICO
5 questions
- Finance
How long does a hard inquiry affect your credit score?
A hard inquiry drops your score by fewer than 5 points on average and stops affecting it after 12 months — but stays on your report for 2 years.
- Finance
How long does it take to build credit?
You need at least six months of account history to generate a FICO score; reaching a good score (670+) typically takes one to two years of consistent on-time payments and low utilization.
- Finance
What is credit utilization and how does it affect my score?
Credit utilization is the percentage of your revolving credit limit you're currently using — it makes up 30% of your FICO score, and keeping it below 10% (not just 30%) gives you the best possible impact.
- Finance
What is a good credit score?
740 or above is where you qualify for the best rates on loans and credit cards. Getting from 650 to 740 saves far more money than getting from 740 to 800.
- Finance
What is the difference between VantageScore and FICO?
FICO and VantageScore are competing credit scoring models that use the same 300–850 scale but weigh factors differently — FICO is used by roughly 90% of top lenders for lending decisions, while VantageScore is what most free credit monitoring tools show.