How Often Does Your Credit Score Change?

Lenders rely on your credit score to determine your creditworthiness and decide if they should approve you for a loan or mortgage. Even if you currently have a great score, it may surprise you to know that your score may change based on your spending trends and debt. Read on to understand how various factors affect your credit score and how often it changes.

What Is a Credit Score?

A credit score is the numerical representation of your credit report. While there is no fixed interval for updating a credit score, it mainly depends on the frequency at which your credit report is updated.

How Does It Change?

Lenders and creditors like credit card companies and mortgage lending companies submit reports to one of three credit bureaus in the nation. As each reporting entity updates its information at different times in the month, you could see variations in your score depending on when you check.

How Often Can It Change?

Your credit score at any point in time is calculated using the information in your credit report at that moment. If your creditors update your credit report less frequently, you could see a constant credit score over many days or a sudden increase or decrease in its value.

Is the Change Reliable?

While paying off a utility or credit card bill could reduce your debt immediately, it may take a few days to reflect as a change in your credit score. This change depends on your lender’s schedule of reporting to credit bureaus. While daily fluctuations aren’t rare, monitoring your credit score over several months is a reliable indicator of its moving trend.

Other Factors that Affect Your Score

The addition of reports like a new line of credit, late payments, or large outstandings on your credit cards could negatively impact your score. If you notice a sudden drop in your score, you should review your credit report and report inconsistencies to your credit bureau.

While many companies offer free credit checks, several websites allow you to monitor your credit score for free. Understanding how your credit score changes can help you on your way to better financial health and could open up a wide range of borrowing options.