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What Credit Score Do You Start With?

Last Updated: November 6, 2024

7 min read

Table of contents

Key points:

Most credit scores range from 300 to 850.
It takes at least 6 months after opening your first credit account, such as a credit card or loan account, to establish a credit score.
Your credit score is determined by several factors, including your payment history, credit utilization ratio, and the length of your credit history.

If you’ve begun building your credit history, you may wonder: Where do I start? What is my starting credit score? The answer to those questions is unique to you. Believe it or not, everybody starts out with a different credit score. The score you begin with depends on the credit habits you’ve started practicing.

Learning more about how your credit score works is important if you want to improve your financial well-being and set achievable goals, especially if you’re just starting your credit journey.

Starting credit score

When you start building your credit history with a credit card or loan, you begin working toward your first credit score. There are several credit scoring models, but 90% of top lenders use FICO^® Scores, including Discover.¹

Most FICO^® Credit Scores range from 300 to 850. But you don't necessarily start at 300, and your credit score doesn't necessarily increase with time.

Credit scores are based on your credit history. Before you begin generating credit activity for credit bureaus to add to your file, your credit score simply doesn't exist yet. A person who doesn't yet have a credit history or score is considered “credit invisible.” Some credit cards are designed for people who don’t yet have a credit history.

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When you're ready, applying for your first credit card is a good first step to establishing a credit score. If you have no credit history, qualifying for an unsecured credit card may be challenging. But you may get approved for a secured credit card or a student card if you’re in college. Using these cards responsibly is a great way to build credit history and eventually qualify for an unsecured card.

There’s no single “starting” credit score that serves as the foundation for everyone’s credit. Instead, your first credit score depends on your credit activity for at least the first 6 months that you manage a loan or card, according to Experian^®. If you practice responsible credit habits, you may start with a higher score.

What is a credit score?

A credit score is a 3-digit number that helps lenders evaluate your experience with credit. Your score isn’t fixed—it changes with your credit habits over time. Credit scoring agencies use the information from your credit reports to determine your credit scores.

Your scores influence the credit that’s available to you, including loan and credit card offers, interest rates, credit limits, and more.

How do credit scores work?

Once you get approved for credit products such as credit cards and loans, you begin building credit history. Lenders like credit card companies and banks report your activity to the credit bureaus, who create your credit reports. The information from your credit reports is the basis for your credit scores.

You may have more than one credit score because scoring models prioritize different aspects of your report. Credit bureaus also may not receive all the same information from your lenders, leading to differences in credit reports and scores.

To receive a FICO^® Credit Score, you have to meet the following minimum scoring requirements, according to myFICO:

Have at least 1 account that’s been opened for 6 months or more
Have at least 1 account that has been reported to the credit bureau within the past 6 months
No indication of deceased on the credit report.

You could meet the minimum scoring criteria with a single credit account or multiple accounts on your file.

What goes into a credit score?

Different credit score models may prioritize different factors to determine your credit scores. Here’s a breakdown of the categories FICO uses to calculate your credit score:

Payment history: 35%. Payment history is your record of whether you pay your credit accounts on time.¹
Amounts owed: 30%. Also known as your credit utilization, this is the total amount of money you owe lenders compared to your total available credit.
Length of credit history: 15%. The longer your record of repaying loans is, the more creditworthy you may seem to a credit card issuer.
New credit: 10%. Applying for a great deal of credit at once may be seen as a sign of financial instability.
Credit mix: 10%. Having more than one type of credit, such as a mortgage, personal loan, and credit card, helps demonstrate your ability to manage credit.

What can you do to start with a good credit score?

Your early credit habits determine the credit score you start with, so it’s important to start strong. The following considerations could help you build a strong credit history:

Avoid applying for too many loans or credit cards at one time. Multiple hard credit checks could hurt your score. Plus, you may have trouble staying on top of payments with multiple open credit accounts.
Pay your bills on time. Whether you have a credit card or a personal loan, missed or late payments can damage your credit. If you have trouble remembering your due dates, you may be able to enroll in autopay.
Keep your balances small. Try not to spend a significant portion of your credit limit. Repaying your balance in full whenever possible keeps your credit utilization ratio low. Even if you can’t afford to repay the entire balance at once, paying more than the monthly minimum could help you pay it down more quickly. That also means you should avoid overspending with your card, so you don’t end up with a balance that’s difficult to manage.

How to stay on top of your credit score

Once you’ve established a good credit score, you can maintain it by continuing to use credit wisely. Stay on top of your payments and keep your balances to a minimum. Over time, you may want to apply for more credit to improve your credit mix, increase your credit limit, or access rewards. Compare your options carefully and try to apply for only the credit you need.

You should also keep an eye on your credit score and your credit report to ensure you stay on the right track. If you identify any errors in your credit report, you can report them to the credit bureau right away so they don’t hurt your score. According to the Federal Trade Commission(FTC), you can access your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus for free once a week at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Did you know?

As a Discover^® Cardmember, you get a free Credit Scorecard with your FICO^® Score and important information behind it, like credit utilization, number of missed payments, number of recent inquiries, length of credit history, and total number of accounts.¹

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If your credit becomes difficult to manage, don’t hesitate to get help. You might make changes in your budget to tackle debts, explore debt consolidation options, or reach out to a credit counselor for guidance.

The good news is that, no matter what your initial credit score is, there are positive ways to keep building credit history and improving. Now that you know more about your starting credit score, you can practice good habits to maintain a good credit history and work toward an excellent credit score.

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