Share buttons

 

 

Personal Finance Advice You Can Count On.

We make it easy to do everyday banking at Horizon, but everybody still needs some sensible advice from time to time to help with their goals and strategies for saving, investing wisely and making the most out of your financial journey. That’s why we provide fresh advice topics to help you along the way.

Looking for specific advice? Use our search feature to explore our various topics.

Things You Should Know About Credit History

Woman typing on laptop while holding credit card

Written By Chris O'Shea

One component of your credit score is your credit history. The longer history of consistently paying bills on time that you can show lenders, the better off you are. Let’s answer some questions you might have about credit history and how it impacts your credit score.

What Does Length of Credit History Mean?

Length of credit history refers to how long the accounts on your credit reports — from the credit bureaus Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian — have been open.

How is Credit History Calculated?

There are a few factors used to calculate your credit history:

  • How long specific accounts have been open
  • The average age of all of your accounts, how long your newest account has been open, and how long your oldest account has been open

How long it has been since you used the open accounts on your report

How Does the Length of Credit History Impact My Credit Score?

The older your credit history, the better it is for your score. Length of credit history is worth 15 percent of a FICO Score and 20 percent of a VantageScore score.

Should I Leave Old Credit Cards Open or Close Them?

In general, it’s a good idea to leave credit cards open as long as possible. Yes, even the ones you don’t use. That’s because closing an account can lower your overall credit limit, which can hurt your score. If the card you no longer use has an annual fee, you might want to go ahead and cancel it. Your score will rebound rather quickly. Otherwise, keep your account open to boost your credit history.

Horizon offers customers a great tool to stay on top of your credit report called CreditAdvisor. All customers with Online Banking can enroll for free from the menu of your online account. Your credit score will automatically update every 7 days, or you can click ‘Refresh Score’ to update your report every 24-hours. Enroll for free today!

Call us Contact us Learn more about CreditAdvisor 

The web site you have selected is an external site not operated by Horizon Bank. This link is provided for convenience and informational purposes only and Horizon does not endorse and is not responsible for the content links, privacy policy or security policy of this website or app you are about to visit.  Horizon Bank is not responsible for (and does not provide) any products, services or content for this third-party site or app, except for products and services that explicitly carry the Horizon Bank name. Click Proceed to continue or Cancel to go back.