Credit Scoring 101 – Oprah.com.
Some key take-aways:
-lenders have raised the bar wanting a 720 FICO score or better vs 680 in the past
-higher FICO = better interest rate
-entitled to free credit report from each source; spread out your requests since pulling your report gets flagged on your future credit reports (annualcreditreport.com)
Perhaps you considered keeping a low limit, based on what you think you will spend. Well actually you want your spending to be ~10% of your limit. So work with your creditors to up your limit if the ratio is more than ~10% consistently.
Pay bills a few days early, a late payment is a “ding” on your credit report.
Say “no” to store credit cards – the immediate savings may offset your credit score. Each inquiry from a credit card company about your credit will impact your score.
Ingrid Friel, Realtor 