DON'T:

·         Don't close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your BEACON®, FICO® and EMPIRICA® score.

·         Don't open a number of new credit cards that you don't need, just to increase your available credit. This approach could backfire and actually lower your BEACON®, FICO® and EMPIRICA® score.

·         If you have been managing credit for a short time, don't open a lot of new accounts too rapidly. New accounts will lower your average account age, which will have a greater effect on your BEACON®, FICO® and EMPIRICA® score if you don't have a lot of other credit information. Also, rapid account build-up can look risky if you are a new credit user. Do your rate shopping for a given loan within a focused period of time. BEACON®, FICO® and EMPIRICA® scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur.

BE AWARE THAT:

·         Paying off collection accounts, or other derogatory items will not remove them from your credit report. The fact that this event occurred is predictive, in addition to any dollar amount associated with the past due.

·         Closing an account will not remove it from your credit report and may not improve your score.