How Often Does My Credit Score Update?

Your credit score is a key factor in financial decisions like loan approval and interest rates. So, how often does your credit score update?

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How Credit Scores Are Updated

Your credit score is like a snapshot of your creditworthiness at a particular point in time. It’s a number that lenders use to help them decide whether or not to give you a loan, and if so, what interest rate to charge you.

Types of credit scores

There are a few different types of credit scores, and lenders use different types when considering loan applications. The most common type of credit score is the FICO® Score, which is used by about 90% of lenders, according to Fair Isaac Corporation. FICO® Scores range from 300 to 850, and the higher the score, the better.

Other types of credit scores include VantageScore®, which was developed by the three major credit bureaus (Equifax®, Experian® and TransUnion®) and ranges from 501 to 990, and NextGen Score 2.0, which ranges from 150 to 950.

How often your credit score updates depends on the type of score you’re using. FICO® Scores are updated monthly, so you can check your score as often as you want without hurting your credit. VantageScore 3.0—the latest version of VantageScore—updates every month, too. Some NextGen Scores update daily or weekly, but others may only update every 30 days or so.

Factors that affect credit scores

Your credit score is updated constantly, with changes reflectings new information on your credit report. How often you score changes depends on how often the information on your report changes.

Here are some factors that can cause your credit score to rise or fall:
-Payment history: One of the biggest factors in your credit score is whether you pay your bills on time. Late or missed payments will damage your credit score, while timely payments will boost it.
-Credit utilization: This is the amount of debt you have compared to the amount of credit available to you. It’s important to keep your utilization rate low — ideally below 30% — because high levels of debt can damage your credit score.
-Length of credit history: A longer credit history will generally result in a higher credit score, because it shows lenders that you’re a responsible borrower who can be trusted to repay debt.
-Credit mix: A mix of different types of debt (e.g., credit cards, mortgages, auto loans) can boost your score because it shows lenders that you’re capable of managing different types of debt responsibly.
-New accounts: Opening new accounts can lower your average account age, which can have a negative impact on yourcredit score.

How Often Credit Scores Are Updated

Most credit scores are updated on a monthly basis, however, some credit scores update more frequently than others. For example, FICO scores update every 30 days, while VantageScore update every 14 days. The reason for the difference is that FICO scores are based on information from the consumer’s credit report, while VantageScore is based on a simulation of credit data.

Soft inquiries

How often your credit score is updated depends on the type of inquiry being made. “Hard” inquiries, such as those made when you apply for a loan or credit card, can stay on your credit report for up to two years and will generally cause your score to drop a few points. “Soft” inquiries, such as those made when you check your own credit score or when a creditor checks your score in order to give you a preapproved offer, won’t have any impact on your score and won’t appear on your report.

Hard inquiries

Your credit score can drop after a hard inquiry, and this fall will generally last for about one year. In most cases, hard inquiries won’t have a significant impact on your credit scores. However, if you have several inquiries in a short period of time, the inquiry could have a greater effect.

There are two types of inquiries: soft and hard. Soft inquiries occur when you check your own credit report or when creditors check your report for business purposes without you initiating the pull (like when you’re pre-approved for a credit card). Hard inquiries occur when you’re seeking new credit and initiate a pull yourself, like when you apply for a loan or open a new credit card account.

Negative information

Negative information typically stays on your credit report for seven years. However, some types of negative information may stay on your report for longer. This includes bankruptcies, foreclosures and collections.

Credit scores are updated periodically to reflect changes in your credit history. The frequency with which your score is updated depends on the scoring model used by the lender or company that you’re applying for credit with. For example, FICO scores are updated every 30 days, while VantageScore 3.0 scores are updated every month.

Lenders may also choose to update your credit score more frequently if they see changes in your credit report that could impact your eligibility for a loan or line of credit.

What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit Score

Your credit score is a number that represents your creditworthiness. It’s used by lenders to determine whether you’re a good candidate for a loan and what interest rate they’ll offer you. credit scores are based on information in your credit reports, which detail your credit history.

Check your credit report for errors

Most people assume that their credit score is based on their bill-paying history, but 35% of your FICO® Score is actually based on your credit utilization ratio — in other words, how much of your available credit you’re using.

“Credit utilization is one of the easiest things to improve because you have total control over it,” says John Ulzheimer, a nationally recognized credit expert formerly of FICO and Equifax. “If your balances are too high relative to your credit limits, bring them down. It will immediately improve your credit utilization ratio and thereby improve your credit scores.”

You can get free copies of your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you see any errors — like an account that isn’t yours or late payments that you actually made on time — dispute them with the credit bureau right away.

Make payments on time

The most important factor in your credit score is your payment history. If you make all of your payments on time, you will see a significant improvement in your credit score.

One late payment can drop your credit score by 100 points or more, so it is important to make sure that you are always making your payments on time. If you have trouble remembering to make your payments on time, you can set up automatic payments through your bank or credit card company.

Use credit wisely

One of the best ways to improve your credit score is to use credit wisely. That means using it sparingly, repaying your debts on time and keeping your balances low.

If you have a lot of debt, you may want to consider consolidating your debts into one lower-interest loan. You can also work with a credit counseling service to get help with debt management.

Making your payments on time is one of the most important things you can do to improve your credit score. delinquencies can stay on your credit report for up to seven years, so it’s important to make sure you’re paying all your bills on time.

Keeping your balances low is also important. Your credit utilization ratio — which is the amount of debt you’re carrying divided by the amount of credit available to you — should be below 30 percent. That means if you have a $1,000 credit limit, you shouldn’t owe more than $300.

If you have a poor credit score, there are still things you can do to improve it. By following these tips and using credit wisely, you can gradually improve your credit score over time.