How Often are Credit Scores Updated?

July 30, 2019

When taking out a loan, one of the first things other lenders will look at is your credit score.

While maintaining good credit and avoiding bad credit seem to be top-of-mind for those concerned with their own scores, do you know how often credit scores update?

Because your credit can make or break a loan application, you’ve got to know the answer to this question to stay ahead of any fluctuations in your score. Keep reading to learn just how often credit scores are updated.

 

What is a credit score?

A credit score determines your creditworthiness; in other words, it’s a tool used to assess how risky it is for financial institutions to loan you money. Examples of these institutions include banks, credit card companies, credit unions, and other lenders like Illinois Lending.

Determining your credit score will depend on what your credit report reveals. This credit calculation considers the following:

  • Your payment history
  • Your used credit
  • Your credit history’s length
  • Your credit’s type
  • Your (possibly) new credit

The higher your credit score is, the better. Since FICO credit scores, the nation’s most used credit-scoring model, range from 300 to 850, you should try and aim for a score that’s at least 660 or above.

 

How often do credit scores update?

While the answer to this question is important, there is no easy way to answer it. Why? Because credit scores update based on the information in their credit reports.

The information included in credit reports changes on the regular. Whether lenders receive new information or remove irrelevant details from your account, you can expect your reports to never be the same for too long.

Thankfully, financial institutions try to update reports about once a month. However, as they all likely follow their own reporting schedules, their updates to different accounts will occur at different times. This means that updates to your credit score can happen a little unpredictably.

Think of it this way: if credit reports change, credit scores will change, too. As a result, it’s possible for your score to update several times throughout the day.

Even though credit scores generate only when you or a financial institution requests new credit reports, remember that the information in your credit report updates continuously.

Let’s consider the following scenario. Say you request your credit report on a Monday morning to check your credit score. Later that Monday afternoon, your bank updates your credit report. On Tuesday morning, a credit-card company you’ve applied to requests your credit report, thus generating a new score. If your bank logged information that lowered your credit score, you wouldn’t know about it until the next time you checked—but your credit-card company would!

 

How often should you check your credit score?

Ever heard that checking your credit score actually lowers it by a few points?

Don’t worry. This really only happens when a financial institution conducts a hard check.

You can check your credit score by requesting a credit report as often as you please; checking often won’t negatively impact your score.

Try to take a look at your credit score frequently, meaning on a monthly or even weekly basis. Even though small fluctuations may occur with each day, you don’t need to request a report every day.

How often you check your credit score is ultimately up to you and what you feel comfortable doing. Some instances when you definitely want to check include:

  • When you open a new credit card
  • When you apply for a loan
  • When you start a mortgage or apply to an apartment complex
  • When you search for a new job
  • When you’re trying to build or rebuild your credit

 

Check this out!

Believe it or not, Illinois Lending doesn’t check your credit scores when you apply for a personal loan. Instead, we focus on offering you an easy application process, same-day approvals, and no hidden fees. We also have a handy payment calculator you can use to help estimate your loan costs. Take control of your finances and apply online today!

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