Checking an email alert is a small action that could make an impact on your credit health.
Student loan borrowers who checked their FICO® scores for free — after receiving a monthly email alert — saw an average credit score increase of about 8 points over a yearlong period compared with borrowers who didn’t receive any email alerts, according to a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (or NBER).
The study also found that borrowers who received these alerts were 4% less likely to miss a monthly account payment. While this difference might seem small, a missed payment can have an impact on a borrower’s FICO® scores. In fact, payment history is one of the biggest factors that can impact your FICO® scores.
Want to know more?
- How could credit score awareness help borrowers with their finances?
- What can you do to learn more about your credit health?
How could credit score awareness help borrowers with their finances?
The NBER study suggests there could be a link between awareness and an improvement in credit health. This could also be useful at a time when average credit card interest rates are rising, because higher scores and stronger credit histories could help borrowers qualify for better terms — including lower interest rates — on their accounts.
Those with higher credit scores have higher inquiry rates, possibly helping their credit health because they aren’t applying for too much credit at once, according to a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau study. The CFPB also suggests one of the reasons for this timing is people’s growing awareness of their credit scores.
But your credit profile is about more than just credit scores. Keep in mind that those numbers might not reflect everything that lenders consider on applications.
What can you do to learn more about your credit health?
If you’d like to check your credit scores or credit reports, here are some resources that could help.
- Check your FICO® scores: You can check out this guide to places where you can check your FICO® scores for free.
- Check your VantageScore® 3.0 scores: You can check your VantageScore® 3.0 scores from Equifax and TransUnion for free on Credit Karma. The VantageScore® model differs from the FICO® scores mentioned in the NBER study, but can be another way to stay on top of your overall credit health.
- Check your credit reports: It’s important to look over your credit reports regularly to understand where your accounts stand and see what’s reported to the three major consumer credit bureaus. It also gives you an opportunity to check for and dispute any inaccurate information.