Lenders check your credit score when deciding whether to give you a mortgage, an auto loan or lease, a credit card or business loan. They also use scores to help determine your interest rate. A higher score ought to get you a lower rate. The most widely used scoring systems are constructed by Fair, Isaac, in San Rafael, Calif., and applied to the data collected by each of the three leading credit bureaus-Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Each score is a little bit different, because each bureau has slightly different information.
Lenders often get all three scores and take the midpoint.
I tested it and found that my personal score is high. Credit scores capture all current balances, including those about to be paid. It's good for 30 days and includes your current Equifax credit report. On FICO reports, you're given four general reasons, in descending order, for why your score is less than perfect. FICO noticed a plane ticket, newly charged to American Express.