The credit score that matters the most is the score that your potential lender is using to determine your creditworthiness.

Knowing where you stand is easy, harmless, and usually free Andrew Martins is an award-winning journalist who has performed thousands of hours of research on small business products and services and ...

Jerry Brown is a personal finance writer based in Baton Rouge, La. He's been writing about personal finance for three years. Financial products he enjoys covering include credit cards, personal loans, ...

Have you ever checked your credit score right after making a payment, only to find it hasn’t changed at all? It can feel confusing or even frustrating, leaving you to wonder: “When do credit scores ...

When you apply for a loan, the lender checks your credit. Often, lenders sort applicants into categories based on their credit scores, including subprime, prime and superprime. If your credit score is ...

Most credit scores that lenders use in the United States range from 300 to 850. And when people talk about achieving the “highest” credit score possible, they’re usually talking about the ever-elusive ...

For more than a decade, Americans watched their credit scores climb steadily upward, a reassuring sign of improving financial health following the Great Recession. However, it appears the streak has ...

The average credit score in February 2025 was 715, according to FICO, the data analytics firm whose scoring models are used in 90% of lending decisions. That's compared to 716 in January 2025 and 717 ...

Kiah Treece is a former attorney, small business owner and personal finance coach with extensive experience in real estate and financing. Her focus is on demystifying debt to help consumers and ...

Your credit score is the key to your financial future: It can determine whether you get approved for a credit card, car loan or mortgage, and what interest rate you'll pay. In some cases, your score ...