Credit Score

WHAT IS A CREDIT SCORE¹?

In its simplest form, a credit score is like a report card on how well you can pay back a loan.

WHY IS A CREDIT SCORE IMPORTANT?

Credit scores are important because they affect your financial options when making large, and even small life choices. Not only does your credit score affect your ability to open loans and services, but it also affects what extra benefits you receive. Your credit score can impact your interest rates, determine how large your line of credit can be, give you more home buying options, and even lower your insurance premiums. Your credit score also affects your ability to:

Rent or buy a home
Get approved for a loan and get a low-interest rate
Open utility accounts
Start a phone plan with minimum down payments
Find an employer

Luckily, increasing or maintaining your credit score only requires a little bit of research about where the score comes from. Your credit score is impacted by several factors.

CREDIT HISTORY

Credit history can make up to 15% of your credit score. This includes the age of your oldest account, youngest account, and average age of all your accounts. The longer your credit history, the higher your score. Because of this, it is important to get a head-start on your credit history as soon as possible.

PAYMENT HISTORY

Payment history has the largest overall impact on your credit score. Whenever lenders are deciding whether to give you a loan, they look to see if you make your payments and if you make them on time.

Credit

Variety

The variety of your credit portfolio can make up to 10% of your credit score. It is important to have different types of credit accounts. These can be auto loans, student loans, mortgages, credit cards, and much more.

Credit

Utilization

How you use your credit accounts once you get them is another huge influence on your credit score. Whenever you have a revolving credit account such as a credit card, try to use less than 30% of your available credit at any given time.

Credit

Monitoring

It is important to monitor your credit score frequently to know where you stand and where you have room to improve. That’s why we have made it easier than ever for our Members to check their credit score for FREE!

New Credit & Hard Inquiries

The amount of new credit accounts is a factor on your credit, and it also brings the average age of your credit accounts down.

Hard inquiries occur when you apply for a loan or line of credit; and the lender requests to look at your official credit report. Hard inquiries only affect your credit for a few months, but they stay on your credit report for up to two years. This is why it is important to keep hard inquiries to a minimum when possible.

Monitor Your Credit Score

Take control of your credit score

Now you can see your credit score daily and get tips on how to maintain or improve it! Log in to online banking or the mobile app and look for Credit Score¹ to get started!

With Credit Score you will get:

Free credit score for Members
Free credit monitoring service
Personalized credit Report Card

Get unlimited access to Credit Score, anytime and anywhere, by logging in to online banking or using the KTVAECU mobile app! Need assistance with logging into online banking or downloading the app? Check out our helpful tutorials in the links below.

Online Banking Tutorial

Mobile App Tutorial

Build Your Credit

If your credit score is not quite where you want it to be, we offer a few products to help you build or rebuild it!

CREDIT BUILDER LOAN²

Our Credit Builder Loan allows you to borrow up to $3,000.00. This borrowed amount is set aside for you in a secured savings account while paying off the loan. Each time you make a monthly payment towards your loan, the payment amount minus the interest charged becomes available to you in your account. We report these payments to the credit bureaus, which helps to build your score!

LEARN MORE ABOUT CREDIT BUILDER LOANS

SECURED PERSONAL LOAN³

With our Secured Loans, you pledge a matching amount of funds in your account. We put these funds on hold and give them back to you in the form of a loan. As you pay off your loan, the funds (minus interest) become available in your account. These payments are also reported to the credit bureaus.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SECURED LOANS

CREDIT CARDS⁴

We also offer a variety of competitive Credit Cards. Our credit cards come with NO annual fees, NO cash advance fees, and NO balance transfer fees. If you are a first-time cardholder, our Share Secured Visa Platinum Credit Card is a great way to build credit! Secured cards are secured by money already in your Credit Union account, and just like a Secured Loan, your payments will be reported to the credit bureaus.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CREDIT CARDS

¹Credit Score available for primary account holder only. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. Message and data rates may apply from your wireless carrier.
²APR = Annual Percentage Rate. APR based on dividend rate of account being pledged, rounded to the nearest 0.25%. Terms up to 36 months. Minimum payment $25.00 per month. Rates subject to change. Rate can change after consummation. Membership must be 90 days or older to qualify. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. Payment example for Regular Share Account: 36 monthly payments of $86.26 per $3,000.00 borrowed.
³APR = Annual Percentage Rate. APR based on dividend rate of account being pledged, rounded to the nearest 0.25%. Minimum payment $25.00 per month. Rates subject to change. Rate can change after consummation. Rates based on creditworthiness. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details.
⁴APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Rate subject to change without notice and based on creditworthiness. Available to qualifying Members. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. See credit card disclosure. NEW CREDIT CARD APPLICANT: APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Promotional Period for Introductory APR: The Introductory APR for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances will apply to transactions posted to your account from 05/01/2021 until 12/31/2021. Any existing balances on Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union loan or credit card accounts are not eligible for the Introductory APR for balance transfers. uChoose® Rewards points are earned for new purchases only and not eligible for balance transfers or cash advances. The repayment period for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances made during the promotional rate period will expire 12/31/2022. Any remaining balance as of 01/01/2023 will revert to the current applicable credit card rate. The minimum uChoose Rewards points to redeem for business & consumer credit cards is 1,000 points; minimum for consumer debit card is 2,500 points. Business debit card do not qualify for uChoose Rewards points. Rate subject to change without notice and based on creditworthiness. If interest is charged, the charge will be no less than $1.50 uChoose Rewards is a registered trademark of Fiserv, Inc. Available to qualifying Members. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. See credit card disclosure. CREDIT CARD HOLDER: APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Promotional Period for Promotional APR: The Promotional APR for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances will apply to transactions posted to your account from 05/01/2021 until 12/31/2021. Any existing balances on Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union loan or credit card accounts are not eligible for the Promotional APR for balance transfers. uChoose® Rewards points are earned for new purchases only and not eligible for balance transfers or cash advances. The repayment period for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances made during the promotional rate period will expire 12/31/2022. Any remaining balance as of 01/01/2023 will revert to the current applicable credit card rate. Rate subject to change without notice and based on creditworthiness. If interest is charged, the charge will be no less than $1.50 uChoose Rewards is a registered trademark of Fiserv, Inc. Available to qualifying Members. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. See credit card disclosure.