Credit Score Articles Where Do I Find My Credit Score? Tip! If you have old accounts that are already paid off, don't close them! Remember, you want to keep your available credit as high as possible for as long as possible. Having more credit available versus your debt improves your credit score. Unfortunately your free credit report does not contain your credit score. The Fact Act does entitle consumers to obtain one free copy of their credit report each year, getting the actual credit score is not free. The government allows the consumer credit reporting agencies to charge you a fee to give you your actual credit score number. The scores determined by Experian and Trans Union are not widely used by lenders. The score provided by Equifax however is used by most lenders to determine whether or not they should lend you money and how much interest to charge you. Equifax will sell you its FICO score. It is recommended that you request and pay for this score. Once requested, the consumer credit reporting agencies will provide to you the scores and information on as many as four key factors that are negatively affecting your credit score. This will help you to know and understand what you should do to improve your credit score. A credit score is a three digit number based on information contained in your credit report as it compares to millions of other people. This system brings your entire credit history to account into one objective number. This number is more or less a statistical prediction of how likely you are to either default or pay your bills on time in the future. This score will determine your interest rate and if you will get a loan at all. The higher the score, the better your chances are of getting your loan approved as well as giving you a better rate of interest. On a mortgage loan this score can mean savings of many thousands of dollars in interest over the term of the loan. Tip! Always be aware of the type of credit you hold because credit from financing companies can affect your credit score. The FICO score ranges between 300 and 850 and is based on the following factors: Payment History (35% of score) Amounts Owed (30% of score) Length of Credit History (15% of score) New Credit (10% of score) Types of Credit in Use (10% of score) This article was written by Kriss Standke who is an accomplished Webmaster and publisher of Free Credit Report Spot, Your Free Credit Reports, as well as Credit Score Resource where he provides detailed and informative articles, tips, and advice on free credit reports, how to get yours, and what to do with the information once you receive it.