What is a credit score? | OK Carz

Person in a suit holding a phone with credit score displayed with a cup of coffee

Understanding credit and credit scores 

Trying to find out what your credit score is can be confusing. Even if you know the number, you may not know what it stands for. Credit scores are important if you’re looking to make a big purchase, like a vehicle or a house, and you need financing help from a third party. While you may have heard that checking your credit score will lower it, that myth isn’t exactly true, and knowing your credit number can help you make decisions about your finances.  

Before you can figure out if you have a good credit score or not, it is useful to know exactly what a credit score is. Your credit score is an aggregate of all of your credit accounts, which can include credit cards and loans. The accounts are presented in the form of a credit report that shows how you manage your funds, and that is what is taken into consideration when your credit score is created. From the credit report, your credit score is made by taking a lot of different criteria into account.  

[Related: How to fix having a bad credit score]

Person paying on a laptop online with a credit card

Making your payments on time can be a big influence on your credit score.

How is your credit score determined? 

To determine your credit score, the credit reporting agency looks at a number of categories, like your credit utilization, the amount of time you’ve had credit, your payment history, and other items that can affect your score. As not every agency looks at the same criteria, your credit score will likely vary from one company to another, which can impact you getting or not getting a loan.  

If you find yourself stuck without a vehicle and with poor credit, or if you don’t have a credit score, OkCarz can help you qualify for pre-approval, and show you what your credit score is. Even if you don’t think that you can get a car loan, OkCarz has been able to help drivers re-establish their credit when they apply for financing through OkCarz.   

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