The 5 Factors That Actually Move Your Credit Score

FICO scores are built from five weighted categories. Knowing the weight tells you where to spend your effort.

1. Payment history (35%) — on-time payments matter more than anything else.
2. Credit utilization (30%) — the percentage of available credit you're using, ideally under 30%.
3. Length of credit history (15%) — older accounts help; avoid closing your oldest card.
4. Credit mix (10%) — a blend of revolving and installment credit.
5. New credit (10%) — too many recent hard inquiries can temporarily lower your score.

Utilization is the fastest lever most people can move in under a billing cycle — paying down a card before the statement closes date, not just before the due date, is what actually changes the number reported to the bureaus.