Credit Score

Your score can impact everything from loan rates, credit card limits, and other benefits like lower car insurance.

A higher credit score saves you money. Lenders, including FECA, typically offer lower rates. Even a 1% lower rate can save you money over the length of your loan. Those with higher scores are often offered higher debt limits.

The lower the score, the higher your interest rate will be which costs you money as you repay the loan. In other words, those with lower credit scores will pay more to borrow money, if they are approved at all.

You don’t have one score. You have several from different companies, calculated differently, and each one changes constantly. The three big credit reporting companies are TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.

Each uses information like the number of accounts, total levels of debt, repayment history, and other factors to evaluate your credit worthiness. Over time each company’s score tends to rise and fall together.

Many lenders consider “good credit” anything over 670.

• Poor credit: 300-579
• Fair credit: 580-669
• Good credit: 670-739
• Very good credit: 740-799
• Excellent credit: 800-850

Absolutely! Raising your credit score takes time by establishing a new pattern of good habits. Credit restoration accounts such as our Restoration Visa and our Shared Secured Loan report your good payments to the credit bureaus. Also, our certified Credit Counselors work with FECA members to improve their scores.

• Payment History – Have you paid your debts on time? This can include credit cards, home, auto, and student loans. A history of on-time payments of paying the minimum due helps your score. Late or missed payments hurt your score.
• Credit Utilization – How much do you owe and can you handle that much? If you have “maxed out” your credit cards or have high balances, your score may be affected.  A good rule of thumb is not to exceed 30% of the total credit you have been given. That includes loans from credit cards, auto, and your home. (The FECA Premier Visa’s $100,00 credit limit can help boost your credit-to-debt ratio.)
• Length of Credit History – How long you have had and used credit? The longer your history of responsible payments, the better lenders can see your good payment patterns.
• Type of Credit – What different types of credit do you have? The mix of credit cards, home/auto loans, and retail accounts shows you can manage the different obligations.
• New Credit Inquiries – Are you about to take on more debt? Opening many credit accounts in a short amount of time looks risky to lenders. Each time you apply for a new line of credit, that application counts as an inquiry or a “hard” hit. Multiple inquiries can lower your score. Make sure not to run your credit until you’re ready to make a major purchase.

No. People just starting out don’t have a score at all. If you’ve never used credit, you won’t have a score. Having no credit can be difficult because banks and credit unions may not lend to you at all! That means it can be difficult to rent a car, get a credit card, get hired for certain jobs, or even get an apartment. For those who need help building credit, the FECA Secured Visa Classic can help.