Credit glossary
Payment history
The record of whether you've paid your accounts on time, the largest FICO category at about 35% of a score for the general population.
FICO looks at how late payments were, how much was owed on delinquent accounts, how recently they happened and how many there are. Collections and public records such as bankruptcies count here too. Each account's month-by-month record appears on your report as a grid, and furnishers send up to 24 months of it with each Metro 2 update.
Because it's the heaviest factor, one new late usually outweighs anything you gain elsewhere. FICO says older problems count less than recent ones, so a late's weight shrinks as clean months pile up. The two habits that protect this category are dull and effective: autopay for at least the minimum on every account, and catching any missed payment before it's 30 days past due.
Guides that go deeper
- How a late payment affects your credit score, using FICO's own numbersFICO's own simulation shows a 30-day late can cost a 793 score far more than a 607 score. Why that happens, and what FICO weighs about each late payment.
- How to read the payment history grid on your credit reportEach account on your report has a month-by-month strip of OK, 30, 60, 90 and other codes. What each one means, which marks are errors, and what to check.
- How a credit score is calculated, without the pie-chart mythsFICO's 35/30/15/10/10 split describes the general population, not point values. What each factor reads on your report, with the math worked out.
Sources
- Payment History and Your FICO Score, myFICO
- What's in my FICO Scores?, myFICO
- Key Dimensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Reporting System (December 2012), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
This is education, not legal or financial advice. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.