SavvyMoney
We’re giving you the 411 on credit inquiries because knowing how they affect you is a big part of being financially healthy. When you apply for credit or a loan a creditor will “pull” your credit. This check is called a hard inquiry but there are also soft inquiries, too.
Your credit score received from free soft pull sources like Savvy Money, Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, etc. may not accurately reflect your actual FICO credit score.
Get a real-time picture of your credit score an the factors affecting it.
Monitor unexpected changes to your credit score.
Stay on top of your credit health and keep your finances fit!
what you should know about your credit score
CREDIT PULLS
SOFT VS. HARD INQUIRIES
SOFT INQUIRIES
- Are commonly used for employment verification, to pre-approve you for offers, insurance quotes or when you are checking on your score and report.
- Show companies exactly what you would see if you were to pull your own credit report from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.
- Are accessible by companies without your permission - but don’t worry, it doesn’t affect your credit in any way.
- Won’t negatively affect your credit score and won’t appear on your credit report.
HARD INQUIRIES
- Are used after you apply for credit to determine whether or not you will get it.
- Will show up on your credit report, and will typically remain there for two years.
- Are commonly used for applications for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans and apartment rentals.
- Require your consent in order for companies to pull your report.
- Can lower your score, especially if you have too many pulls in a short amount of time (though pulls in a two week period for the same type of loan - like a mortgage - are viewed as a single one).
WHAT MAKES UP YOUR
CREDIT SCORE?
Want to raise your credit score or get a better understanding of what factors go into it?
Essentially what lenders want to know is whether or not you’re good about paying your loans on time (the better you are, they figure, the more likely you are to pay them).
Credit usage, also known as credit utilization, is the ratio between the total balance you owe and your total credit limit on your accounts. This is why closing accounts hurts your score; it shrinks your total credit limit. It’s best to have a lower utilization - below 20% percent.
The age of your oldest account, the age of your newest account, the average age of your accounts and whether you’ve used an account recently are all factors related to the length of the credit history. In general, the longer your credit history is the better.
Your score also takes into consideration how many total accounts you have and what types of credit you have. Your score will likely be higher if you have experience with different types of credit, like mortgages and installment students loans, and not just a credit card.
Opening multiple credit accounts in a short period of time could represent a greater risk for lenders - those who see that you have multiple recent inquiries may worry that you are applying to so many places because you are unable to qualify for credit - or because you need money in a pinch.
TIPS
- A history of multiple missed payments can seriously tank a score, so one of the best ways to bump up your credit score is to make consistent and timely payments.
- Paying off your balance each month doesn’t hurt the ‘Credit Usage’ component of your score.
- Inquiries within a two-week period for a specific purpose, like a mortgage, count as one - so this doesn’t excuse you from shopping around for the best credit deal.