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How are points earned? Several payments or spending amount?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

How are points earned? Several payments or spending amount?

Hi,

I tried to research but can not find an answer.

Do i earn credit score points by paying multiple times my bills on time?

Or by spending big amounts?

 

example:  1000 times 1 dolar payment gives me 100 points

or

example: 10 000 dolars gives me 100 points

 

I am a very experienced credit user from europe but new to the US and need to understand how the system works, if you have some links where i can educate myself i thank you!

 

Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: How are points earned? Several payments or spending amount?

Neither gives you any points directly. It's too much for me to explain here, but there's a section of this forum that goes into great detail about how scoring works.
Message 2 of 6
UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: How are points earned? Several payments or spending amount?

Moving this thread to 'Understanding FICO Scoring' for additional exposure...

 

--UB

Message 3 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: How are points earned? Several payments or spending amount?

They score you for having a responsible use of credit lines.

The more credit lines(different types required for maximum points) you use responsibly for a long time the higher your score would be in general.

The actual scoring model is more complicated than that but the sort answer is get a bunch of credit cards(3-4 is fine, more than that is up to you) maybe an installment loan if you need it(eg car loan) and use them and pay them responsibly and your score will get better and better with time.

As for the amounts keep them <9% of each cards credit line and aggregate credit limit for maximum score. But in general you don't care about utilization unless you need to apply for another credit product or you're getting awfully close to the limits.

Message 4 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: How are points earned? Several payments or spending amount?


@AnonymousDo i earn credit score points by paying multiple times my bills on time?

Or by spending big amounts?


 


Neither of the above has any bearing on your credit score. 

 

Time is the biggest factor and one that you have no control over.  All you want to do over a period of time is simply pay all of your bills on time and keep the amounts you owe very small, while not applying for any additional credit unless you need it.  If you can follow those simple steps, your scores will continue to rise over any given length of time.  Don't think that additional spending or multiple payments will have any bearing on growing your credit scores.

Message 5 of 6
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: How are points earned? Several payments or spending amount?

OP if you are given a loan, commonly a credit card, you start with no score. After six months or so you typically get an average starting score, as long as no missed payments already.

You generate positive credit history by paying at least the Minimum Payment Due, by the due date printed on the statement. But you do not earn 1 for 1 “FICO score points” for these payments, nor for the charges to the card.

Rather, you can lose significant points for missing a payment, thus the importance of making at least the minimum payment on time.

The FICO score is a risk score. The lower your score, the higher risk of default. The higher your FICO the lower your risk of default, based on your past payment history. So pay at least the minimum payment on time. I repeated it three times, because it is all that really matters in credit scoring.
High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
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