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📊 How Credit Scores Really Work

The five hidden factors behind your three-digit number, and how to move it.

2
lessons
~15 min
to learn
🔢 Math
subject
Adults
level
Start the course →

What you’ll learn

  1. Explain the FICO score range and the two factors that drive two-thirds of it.FICO scores run 300 to 850; 670+ is good. Payment history (35%) and amounts owed/utilization (30%) together account for about two-thirds of the score and are the fastest levers to manage.
  2. Describe the remaining FICO factors, how VantageScore differs, and concrete steps to raise a score.Length of history (15%), new credit (10%), and credit mix (10%) round out FICO. VantageScore uses the same range but different weights. On-time payments, low balances, keeping old accounts, sparing applications, and disputing errors reliably improve credit.

Questions this course answers

What is the standard range of a FICO credit score?

FICO scores run from 300 to 850, with higher meaning lower risk to lenders.

Which factor makes up the largest share (about 35%) of your FICO score?

Payment history is the single biggest factor at roughly 35%.

With a $10,000 limit and a $3,000 balance, your credit utilization is:

Utilization is balance divided by limit: $3,000 / $10,000 = 30%.

Payment history and amounts owed together make up roughly what share of your FICO score?

At 35% plus 30%, these two factors account for about two-thirds of the score.

Why can closing your oldest credit card hurt your score?

Length of credit history (about 15%) benefits from older accounts, so closing the oldest can lower it.

How does VantageScore differ from FICO?

VantageScore weights utilization around 20% vs FICO's 30% and needs only about one month of history.

Grounded in trusted sources

  • myFICO, 'What's in my FICO Scores?', https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score
  • Experian, 'What Is a Good Credit Score?', https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/score-basics/what-is-a-good-credit-score/
  • Experian, 'The Difference Between VantageScore and FICO Scores', https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/the-difference-between-vantage-scores-and-fico-scores/
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 'What is a credit score?', https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-credit-score-en-315/
  • NerdWallet, 'FICO Score: How It Works', https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/learn/fico-score

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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