FACTORS THAT LOWER YOUR FICO CREDIT SCORE
While paying your bills as agreed and not accumulating too much debt will likely result in an excellent credit score, there are certain activities that will lower one's credit score.
1. Applying for a new credit card, mortgage or car loan. Unless you don't have much of a credit history and haven't established a credit rating yet, applying for a new credit card, a mortgage or auto loan can lower your credit score by about 10 or 15 points. If you haven't used credit much or have a short credit history, applying for a new credit card, mortgage or auto loan could raise your credit score by ten or 15 points.
2. Missing a monthly payment can knock as much as 35 points off your credit score.
3. Filing for bankruptcy can knock as much as 200 points off your credit score if your credit score is high.
4. Max out your credit cards. Maxing out your credit cards can knock off anywhere from 20 up to 120 points off your credit score. A good rule of thumb is to never carry credit card balances that are more than 25% of your total credit card limit.
