Page 12 - Explore Your AAA – AAA Southern Pennsylvania – Summer 2022

EXPLORE | SAFETY & SECURITY SUMMER EDITION 2022
Are you ready to improve your credit? Start with these steps
Getting a higher credit score doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing. Once you understand how your credit score is calculated and, more importantly, how your daily decisions make it go up or down, you’ll be on your way to increasing your credit knowledge, confidence and, ultimately, your credit score.
But there’s no quick fix. Building and maintaining your credit score won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you practice patience, take time to expand your credit knowledge and stick to your plan for success. To increase your creditworthiness –
a lender’s willingness to trust whether you will pay your debts, such as a credit card, auto loan or mortgage – here are five steps you can take.
of thumb: keep your total credit utilization less than 30%. For example, say you have a retail credit card with a limit of $1,000 and two bank credit cards with limits of $500 each. That means you should aim to keep your total utilization below $600 across all three accounts.
4. Check your credit reports at least every year. Credit experts recommend reviewing your Experian, Equifax
and TransUnion credit reports every 12 months to check for errors. While negative credit information, such as repossessions and bankruptcies, stay on your credit report for seven or more years, you may spot and dispute errors or signs of identity theft or credit card fraud, both of which can negatively impact your credit score.
5. Close accounts with caution. If you pay off an account or have an old account that you no longer use, think twice about closing it. Depending on how much available credit you have, this action can increase your credit utilization, lowering your credit score.
Changing your credit score is a journey. By following these
steps, you can get to your destination of improvement. To learn more about how to achieve your financial goals with ProtectMyID, visit AAA.com/IDTheft. Think of ProtectMyID as roadside assistance for your identity. With a suite of credit features such as Credit Monitoring, VantageScore1 Tracker, Score Variance Alerts and Experian CreditLock, with
1.
2.
3.
Learn what influences your credit score. Five major factors play a role in determining your credit score: Credit Mix (the types of credit you have, such as credit cards, student loans and car loans), Amounts Owed (how much of your available credit you are repaying), Credit Length (the age of your credit accounts), Payment History (your track record of making payments on time) and New Credit (how much new credit you are applying for).
Pay your bills on time. Even if it’s just a few days past the due date, late payments will hurt your credit score. To help avoid this situation, set up automatic payments with your bank or credit union and credit card company, so your payments are always on time.
Lower your credit utilization rate. Using too much of your
available credit can lower your credit score. A good rule ProtectMyID, you’re in control of your credit.
IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION
1VantageScore 3.0, with scores ranging from 300 to 850, is a user-friendly credit score model developed by the three major nationwide credit reporting agencies, Experian®, TransUnion® and Equifax®. VantageScore 3.0 is used by some but not all lenders. Higher scores represent a greater likelihood that you’ll pay back your debts so you are viewed as being a lower credit risk to lenders. A lower score indicates to lenders that you may be a higher credit risk.
There are three different major credit reporting agencies, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax that maintain a record of your credit history known as your credit file. Credit scores are based on the information in your credit file at the time it is requested. Your credit file information can vary from agency to agency because some lenders report your credit history to only one or two of the agencies. So your credit scores can vary if the information they have on file for you is different. Since the information in your file can change over time, your credit scores also may be different from day to day. Different credit scoring models can also give a different assessment of the credit risk (risk of default) for the same consumer and same credit file.
Lost your phone?
A
v
e
e
e
M
D
There are different credit scoring models which may be used by lenders and insurers. Your lender may not use VantageScore 3.0, so don’t be surprised if
your
len
r VantageScore 3.0
IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION
u
may differ from your score under other types of VantageScores). Just remember that your associated risk level is often the same even if the number is not. For some consumers, however, the risk assessment of VantageScore 3.0 could vary, sometimes.
c
t
i
a
d
e
rg
ives
y
t
y
oua
sc
o
ore
tha
u
r
f
t’sd
iff
r
e
P
er
ent
from
you
Essential plan today for:
r
r
Van
o
t
c
t
y
I
®
ta
geS
co
re
. (And
yo
Keep your peace of mind and restore your
IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION
Lost your phone?
digital data with ProtectMyID® Essential.
Lost your phone?
Keep your peace of mind and restore your
Keep your peace of mind and restore your
digital data with ProtectMyID® Essential.
digital data with ProtectMyID® Essential.
Credit Monitoring
Activate your free ProtectMyID® Activate your free ProtectMyID®
ELsosetnWtialeptlaPnrototedcatiyofnor: Essential plan today for:
24-Hour Fraud Resolution
Credit Monitoring
And more.
Credit Monitoring
Lost Wallet Protection
Lost Wallet Protection
Activate your coverage
24-Hour Fraud Resolution
24-Hour Fraud Resolution
And more.
at AAA.com/IDTheft. And more.
Activate your coverage
Activate your coverage
Comprehensive plans available at a 40% discount.
at AAA.com/IDTheft. at AAA.com/IDTheft.
Comprehensive plans available at a 40% discount.
ProtectMyID® Essential, ProtectMyID® Deluxe and ProtectMyID® Platinum are provided by Experian®. To be eligible to enroll in either ProtectMyID Essential, ProtectMyID Deluxe or ProtectMyID Platinum, you must be 18 years of age or older and a current AAA member. A valid email address and access to the internet is required for ProtectMyID Essential. Products subject to change or termination at any time without notice. Certain terms, conditions, and restrictions apply.
ProtectMyID® Essential, ProtectMyID® Deluxe and ProtectMyID® Platinum are provided by Experian®. To be eligible to enroll in either ProtectMyID
Comprehensive plans available at a 40% discount.
Essential, ProtectMyID Deluxe or ProtectMyID Platinum, you must be 18 years of age or older and a current AAA member. A valid email address