I get asked this question a lot: “If I do X, how many points will my credit score go up?”

The truth is, no one knows EXACTLY, except for the creator of the FICO score, Fair Isaac and the creators of the other scoring system, VantageScore. VantageScore was created by the credit bureaus in an effort to have to keep purchasing the rights from Fair Isaac to use Fair Isaac’s scoring system when giving out credit reports to consumers and financial institutions. Whenever you pull a credit report from a credit bureau, you are NOT getting a FICO score, only a VantageScore.

Though the exact formulas for each scoring system are shrouded in secrecy, what seems to be the most important factors in calculating a consumer’s score has been posted on their websites. Listed, in order of importance are:

1. Payment History
2. Amounts Owed (percentage of credit limit used)
3. Length of Credit History
4. New Credit
5. Types of Credit Used

Fair Isaac and VantageScore take into account all of these factors when calculating a consumer’s credit score. In addition, any item on your credit report, such as a late pay, is weighted against your overall credit report. Both positive and negative factors are considered; a score is not calculated by taking the maximum possible score and subtracting negative items from it.

So which credit score should you care about? We always recommend that you order your credit score from myFico.com, which is the scoring system most lenders use.

If you want to raise your score quickly, we’ve written this article to help you out.

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