The 5 credit factors

5 min read

TL;DR

FICO weighs: payment history 35%, utilization 30%, length 15%, new credit 10%, mix 10%. VantageScore is close but weights payment history more heavily (~40%) and new credit less (~5%).
The two factors that move the fastest are utilization and new credit. Payment history and length are slow-moving — they accumulate or damage over years.
CardLeverage has modules targeting each factor. The /utilization page attacks factor 2, the /churn page attacks factor 4, the /af-roi page supports factor 3 (by helping you keep the oldest card open).

1. Payment history (35%)

Have you paid on time? Every reported account on your file contributes here, weighted by severity and recency.

What moves it:

A single 30-day late drops FICO ~60-110 points. Drops VantageScore ~30-50.
Lates age out of the file in 7 years. Their impact starts fading after ~24 months.
Collections, charge-offs, bankruptcies all count here. Same 7-year horizon.
On-time payments add points slowly — you can't "overpay" your way into higher scores here.

How CardLeverage helps: automatic payment due-date reminders via the /calendar page. See the /notifications system for upcoming due dates.

The practical rule: autopay the minimum on every card, every month. Never carry a balance past the due date, even if you plan to pay in full. Autopay the statement balance from your primary checking and manage utilization via the mid-cycle payment (see Utilization deep dive).

2. Credit utilization (30%)

Balance owed divided by credit limit, at the moment the bureau receives the data.

FICO looks at two numbers: your overall utilization (sum of balances / sum of limits) and your highest per-card utilization. Both matter.

The breakpoints (from community-sourced FICO data):

Under 9% — max benefit
10-29% — mild drag (~5-15 points off max)
30-49% — significant drag (~20-40 points off max)
50-89% — heavy drag (~40-80 points off max)
90%+ — severe (~80-120 points off max)

What moves it (fast — next statement cycle):

Paying down a card. Report reflects the next statement close date.
Credit line increases (larger denominator → lower percentage).
Closing a card with a balance — bad. Lowers total limit without reducing balance.

How CardLeverage helps: the /utilization page shows per-card + per-issuer + overall utilization with color-coded thresholds. Edit balances inline; the dashboard updates immediately.

Deep dive: Utilization deep dive.

3. Length of credit history (15%)

Age of your oldest account, age of your newest account, average age of all accounts. Older = better.

What moves it (slow):

Closing an old account — the account stays on your report for 10 years after closure, then drops off. When it drops, your average age of accounts can fall significantly.
Opening a new account — drops your average age immediately. More noticeable on thin files with few accounts.
Authorized user tradelines — if your spouse adds you to a card they've had for 20 years, that account's age is often factored into your length (see Authorized user effects).

How CardLeverage helps: the /af-roi page helps you decide whether to keep an older card with an annual fee — the length-of-history benefit of holding on often outweighs the fee, especially for your oldest account.

The practical rule: never close your oldest credit card. If it has an annual fee, product-change it to a no-AF variant of the same card family — the account keeps its open date that way.

4. New credit (10%)

How many accounts you've opened recently, how many hard inquiries you've accumulated.

What moves it (fast — a few days):

Every hard inquiry drops FICO ~5 points for ~12 months, then full dampening by 24 months. VantageScore dampens faster (~6 months).
Every new account drops FICO ~5-10 points for ~6 months, then most of it recovers.
Rate-shopping (multiple auto / mortgage / student loan pulls) within a 14-45 day window counts as one inquiry. Credit card pulls don't get this window.

How CardLeverage helps: the /churn page shows velocity (5/24, 2/90, 1/5, 1/8) in real time. Before you apply, check which issuer rules you're near and which hard inquiry is about to age off.

Deep dives:

5. Credit mix (10%)

Variety of account types: revolving (credit cards), installment (auto, student, mortgage, personal loans), and retail store cards.

What moves it (slow and minor):

Having at least one installment loan alongside credit cards usually helps.
An auto loan paid off over 4-5 years gives a bump; a paid-off loan continues contributing to mix for up to 10 years after closure.
Store cards count as revolving but are weighted lighter.

How CardLeverage helps: not directly — mix is a passive factor. The /cards page shows what's in your wallet; if you only have revolving (credit cards) and you're pre-mortgage, a small installment loan can help marginally. Usually not worth engineering around.

VantageScore weighting (for reference)

VantageScore uses the same general factors with different labels and weights:

| Factor (VantageScore 3.0 language) | Weight | |---|---| | Payment history — "extremely influential" | ~40% | | Age and type of credit — "highly influential" | ~21% | | Credit utilization — "highly influential" | ~20% | | Total balances — "moderately influential" | ~11% | | Recent credit — "less influential" | ~5% | | Available credit — "least influential" | ~3% |

The practical implication: VantageScore is more sensitive to late payments and less sensitive to new inquiries than FICO. Same moves help both.

Priority order for most people

If you're starting from scratch, work in this order:

Payment history — set up autopay on every card. This is the single biggest factor.
Utilization — get total to under 9%, no single card over 49%.
Length — keep your oldest card open forever.
New credit — space applications based on velocity limits.
Mix — ignore until you have a reason to take an installment loan.

See Score simulation — how much does each move matter? for typical point impacts of each move.