While there are many different versions of the calculation for a credit score, the most widely used model was founded by the Fair Isaac and Company, an independent software company that works with major banking systems. The “FICO” calculation, as it is sometimes known, is used by all three major credit bureaus (Experion, Equifax and TransUnion). The system ranks your credit history in a range from 300 to 900, with 900 being the best score.
You credit score is based on certain percentages of the following factors:
* past payment history
* the amount of outstanding debt you have
* the time elapsed since you opened a credit line
* the number of inquiries into your credit report
* the type of credit card you have and the rates involved
But sometimes having a good credit score won’t guarantee immunity from the card companies. Some companies occasionally slam even their good paying customers with massive APR’s because the card they have is a student card. If you have made at least the minimum payment for six months without being late or missing a payment, you can then call up your credit card company and ask that your rate be lowered.
The average customer service representative won’t want to do this for you, so make sure you politely ask to speak to their supervisor. If the supervisor doesn’t budge, then you might be able to convince them otherwise: try telling them that you are receiving credit card offers from a competitor with APR’s lower than what you’re asking for. This is not necessarily a lie, because the volume of card offers you will receive would probably produce a competitive figure.
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