These are the main factors in determining your Score:
                

Our Purpose

The three credit bureaus now applies the identical Score model to a consumer’s financial data including payment history, outstanding debt, number and type of accounts, length of credit history, etc., to calculate his or her credit score.

Businesses use the score to help determine if an individual is qualified for a loan or credit and at what rate. Even though credit score is not the only factor, virtually no loan is granted today without it. FICO’s traditional 300 to 850 scale, the Vantage Score goes from 501 to 990

It is important to recognize that credit scores are not just about derogatory credit history. They are about determining credit risk associated with a particular borrower, and points are added or taken away based on many different factors related to your credit profile.
 
For example, once you start using credit accounts, you are usually going to have a credit score in the 565 to 580 range. Why so low? Well, you are just starting out, and you have no credit history to rate.

Once you have 12 months of usage on your accounts, you will begin adding points to your credit history. However, if you mess up, you will destroy your credit quickly, and then you really face a tough uphill climb.

Payment/Credit History

The average consumer's oldest obligation is 14 years old, indicating that he or she has been managing credit for some time. In fact, we found that 1 out of 4 consumers had credit histories of 20 years or longer. Only 1 in 20 consumers had credit histories shorter than 2 years.

Utilization

About 40% of credit card holders carry a balance of less than $1,000. About 15% are far less conservative in their use of credit cards and have total card balances in excess of $10,000.

Balances/Performance

On average, today's consumers are paying their bills on time. Less than half of all consumers have ever been reported as 30 or more days late on a payment. Only 3 out of 10 have ever been 60 or more days overdue on any credit obligation.

Number of Credit Obligations

On average, today's consumer has a total of 13 credit obligations on record at a credit bureau. These include credit cards (such as department store charge cards, gas cards, or bank cards) and installment loans (auto loans, mortgage loans, student loans, etc.).

Inquiries/Recent Credit

When someone applies for a loan or a new credit card account - in short, any time one applies for credit and a lender requests a copy of the credit report - this request is noted as an “inquiry” in the applicant's credit file.

Available Credit

More than half of all people with credit cards are using less than 30% of their total credit card limit. Just over 1 in 7 are using 80% or more of their credit card limit.