A credit score is a three-digit number calculated to indicate your creditworthiness. The higher the score, the more creditworthy you are to a lender. A credit score is calculated from the information in your credit report and considers your on-time payments, the length of your payment history, your mix of different types of credit accounts, and other such factors. It is important to know that your score does not take your age, income, employment, marital status, or your bank account balances into account. You can learn more about credit scores and scoring models from the Consumer Financial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-credit-score-en-315/

A good score may mean you have easier access to more credit and lower interest rates. The consumer benefits of a good credit score go beyond the obvious. For example, underwriting processes that use credit scores allow consumers to obtain credit much more quickly than in the past.

Credit reports, also known as credit files, are composed of the credit-related data a credit reporting company has gathered about consumers from different sources. Credit reports include records of mortgage payments, credit card balances, credit card payments, auto loan payments, and credit inquiries. It may also include accounts that have gone into collections, public records, and other information from government sources.

Credit reports include the following about your debt accounts:
● A list of creditors that have extended credit or loans.
● Total loan amounts and credit card limits.
● Payment amount and history on all loans and credit lines.

Credit reports may also include:
● Inquiries, each time your credit report was pulled by a lender in the past 2 years.
● Your current and/or former address(es)
● Your current and/or former employers
● Other details of public record

Not sure about what’s in your credit report? Within the SavvyMoney tool in the LFCU mobile app, click over to “Credit Report” to review all your accounts, payments, and more. You can also receive a free Credit Report from each of the credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion once a year.

Under Federal law, you are entitled to receive one free copy of your credit report from each credit reporting agency every 12 months. You can obtain a free copy of your credit reports at https://www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. For more information visit https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-credit-report-en-309/.

VantageScore® was founded by the 3 leading credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This credit score model was developed by a representative team of statisticians, analysts, and credit data experts from each of the credit reporting companies, and is used by hundreds of institutions, including credit unions, banks, credit card issuers, and mortgage lenders. The VantageScore® 3.0, the score that is shown in SavvyMoney, is a newer and more popular version of VantageScore®. It is calculated on a scale of 300-850, with 300 being the lowest and 850 the highest score.