FICO Pulls Back Curtain on High Credit Scores

In the United States, a quarter of the American population has a credit score of 785 or higher. Over 50 million people have either figured out the secret to good credit or are really, really lucky. What do these 50 million people have in common? What do they know that the millions of Americans who have poor credit have not yet figured out? A recent study by FICO might hold the answer.

Looking closer at those prime credit consumers, their credit score has nothing to do with the amount of debt they are carrying. About a third of them have over $8,500 in nonmortgage debt. One in 9,000 has gone through a bankruptcy or tax lien. Around 1 percent of them have a collection account on their credit report. These customers are not necessarily perfect, but they still have stellar credit scores.

What gave these consumers an advantage? The biggest similarity between them was making their payments on time. Even the ones who had higher balances still had a tendency to pay on time. 96 percent of the group had zero missed payments listed on their credit report. If these consumers had any missed payments in their credit history, they happened so long ago that it is no longer listed on their report and affecting their scores. Overall, consumers with prime credit scores also tended to use a small percentage of their available credit, and as frequent readers will know, credit utilization has a huge effect on a credit score.

At My Credit Specialist, we want our readers to have the best credit score possible. Getting that prime credit score is tough, but we help you along the way with credit tips, consumer alerts, and our credit restoration services. To get the most out of My Credit Specialist’s services, be sure to like My Credit Specialist on Facebook, following My Credit Specialist on Twitter, and subscribing to My Credit Specialist on YouTube! If you want to learn more about our credit restoration services, go to http://www.mycreditspecialist.com and find out if it is the right choice for you!

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