Monitoring Your Credit Score With Our Credit Manager Tool
December 21, 2022
Your credit score is an important piece of your overall financial health puzzle. This three-digit number is a representation of your creditworthiness based on your credit history. It helps determine what loans you qualify for, the interest rates you will pay, what your credit limits will be and more.
Since your credit score can affect many big financial decisions, it’s important to monitor yours regularly to ensure you are in good standing. You can now track and manage your credit for free with our new credit monitoring tool, My Credit Manager, available through BayFirst’s online banking and mobile app. Best of all, you just have to log in to get started.
With My Credit Manager, you also get access to these tools:
- Change alerts – get notifications if your score or report changes.
- Credit score simulator – see how your credit score might change when you take out a loan or get a new credit card.
- Debt analysis – monitor your debt in one spot, see open balances, monthly payments and more.
After reviewing your credit score, you may find yourself looking to improve it. There are many ways to do this, and the experts at BayFirst have compiled a list of tips to help get you started.
- Pay your bills on time. Paying your bills on time and in full will also help you avoid paying additional interest, so you can save money while improving your credit score.
- Use less than 30% of your credit limit. Credit utilization (how much you owe compared to your limit) is a major factor in your credit score, and it’s recommended that you keep the percentage of the total credit that you use below 30%.
- Request a higher credit limit. Then don’t use it! Increasing your credit limit will increase the amount you can borrow and help keep your credit utilization rate down.
- Keep older credit accounts open. You don’t have to use it, but lenders prefer to see established credit history.
- Maintain a variety of credit account types. There are several different types of credit account types – credit cards, student loans, and mortgages are a few that will help diversify your portfolio.
Have further questions regarding My Credit Manager? Fill out the form below, visit one of our banking centers or give us a call at 833.698.2265 to learn more.