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Most people understand the fact that their payment history has an impact on the credit scores, but there are a few additional factors that are used by the credit bureaus to calculate your score.

Here are 5 facts about credit scores that might surprise you:

1. A persons income level has nothing to do with their credit score. You could easily see a millionaire that earns six figures a year with a very low credit score. You could just as easily see a person that earns minimum wage with a strong credit score. The scoring system is used to measure how responsible a person is with the money they have, not how much they earn.

2. Old Accounts: When the credit reporting bureaus consider your credit score, they look at the types of credit you have and how old your accounts are. An older account that is still operating shows a lender the next time you apply for credit that you haven’t consolidated or negotiated your old debts, but have actively maintained them with a level of financial responsibility. If you intend to pay off some debts, pay off the newer ones first and leave the older ones open if you can.

3. Don’t Pay Collection Agencies: When you pay of debts that are more than two years old you will not be helping your credit score. The score is calculated using the date of the last account activity. If the date is more than two years ago it starts to lose some of the negative impact.

Keep in mind that if you speak to a collection agency and set up a payment plan this may be looked at as an agreement and the date may be listed as the date of the conversation. This type of contact can reset the time period on the date that you have the conversation.

4. Debt/Limit Ratio: The credit bureaus reward the people that are able to control their spending habits and are not required to max out their credit cards or exceed their credit limit. Keep all of the balances well below your credit limit if you want to increase your credit score. You will be able to improve your credit score by keeping your balances lower than 30% of your limit.

Always remember that banks make their profits by keeping you in debt. It does not hurt to increase your credit limits as long as you act responsibly and only use an amount you can handle based on your income.

5. Frequency of Credit Applications: Did you know a full 10% of your total credit score comes from the number of times you’ve applied for credit? Every time someone pulls your credit, the enquiry is listed on your credit report. The more enquiries shown on your report, the lower your score will go.

If you know you’ve already applied for a lot of credit, then spend a few months and pay down your balances before you apply for anything new. The simple act of not applying for new credit will increase your score as older applications fall away.

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