7 Credit Score Myths That Are Costing You Points

There's a lot of misinformation floating around about credit scores. Some myths are harmless, but others can actively hurt your score or lead you to make poor financial decisions. Let's clear the air.

Myth #1: Checking Your Own Credit Score Hurts It

FALSE. Checking your own credit is a 'soft inquiry' and has zero impact on your score. Only 'hard inquiries' — when a lender checks your credit for a loan application — affect your score, and even those are minor and temporary.

Myth #2: You Need to Carry a Balance to Build Credit

FALSE. Paying your credit card balance in full every month is ideal. You still get credit for on-time payments, and you avoid paying interest. Carrying a balance costs you money — it does not boost your score.

Myth #3: Closing Old Credit Cards Improves Your Score

FALSE — and actually the opposite is often true. Closing an old card reduces your available credit (increasing utilization) and can shorten your average account age. Both of these negatively impact your score.

Myth #4: Income Affects Your Credit Score

FALSE. Your income is not a factor in any major credit scoring model. FICO and VantageScore only look at how you manage credit — payment history, utilization, account age, etc. A high earner with bad payment habits will have a low score.

Myth #5: Credit Repair Companies Can Guarantee Results

FALSE — and this one is important. No company can legally guarantee to improve your credit score. Any company that promises to 'remove' accurate negative information or guarantees specific score increases within a certain timeframe is making misleading claims. Building credit history requires time and consistent positive behavior — there are no shortcuts.

Myth #6: You Only Have One Credit Score

FALSE. There are dozens of credit scoring models, and each bureau calculates its own. You technically have at least 3 FICO scores (one per bureau), multiple VantageScores, and industry-specific scores for mortgages and auto loans.

Myth #7: Bad Credit Is Permanent

FALSE. Negative items typically fall off your credit report after 7 years. But more importantly, you can actively improve your score well before items age off by building new positive history — consistent on-time payments through a credit builder account is one of the most effective ways to do this.