Payment History

Your Current Debt.
About 30 percent of your score is determined by how much you correctly owe. If you owe a lot of money in relation to your available credit limits, you may appear over extended. The key is to keep your balance low on unsecured debt such a credit cards. Even closing unused account my not improve your score.

How long you've had Credit
The longer you've had credit handled it responsibly the better your FICO score will be. The length of your credit history accounts for 15 percent of your score.

Application for new credit
Applying for several credit accounts in a short period of time could indicate that you may soon be overextended and may lover your score. This is about 10 percent of your score.

Mix your credit
The final 10 percent of your score is determined by the kind of credits accounts you have - credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company loans and mortgage loans- and how many of each.
There are other elements, mostly subcategories of the items listed above, that go into your score, including your occupation, time at present job, time at your current address, home ownership, and much more. For more information or to obtain a copy of your Fico score, visit www.fairisaac.com