Credit Advice

Credit score formulas use over 200 variables to determine your credit score. CK's simulator currently allows consumers to model changes to the credit score based on only 14 of the most common attributes. Needless to say, building a simulator with all 200 attributes would make the tool overly complicated and almost unusable.

If are looking to increase your score with the credit score simulator, paying down debt and simulating a longer on-time payment history are the best scenarios. If neither of these scenarios increases your score, it generally means that you have little or no debt, a long credit history, and your credit score is likely to already be have a high credit score (750+).

With a high credit score, it becomes increasingly more difficult to increase your credit score. Here a few additional tips not in our simulator that we can share:

Use a range of credit products.Show that you can be responsible across multiple credit types: auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, student loans are all different classifications that can help demonstrate your ability to responsibly manage different types of credit products.

Have available credit.Having 3-6 credit cards with good credit limits and zero or low balances is a great way to show lenders that you are responsible.
Use your credit.Using credit cards once every couple of months on gas or groceries is a good way to show active credit use while not splurging. This shows lenders that accounts are active.
Just remember that with a credit score of 750+ you should qualify for most loans at the best rate so there is little direct benefit after a certain point. These tips are for the people who need to nudge their credit score higher.

I have an in-store credit card with a furniture company. I opened it because I needed a couch and to improve my credit. All of my payments have been on-time. My mom co-signed on this line of credit because my score was too low. Will a co-signed line of credit still positively effect my credit or could it have negative effects?