What is Savvy Money?

SavvyMoney a comprehensive Credit Score education program offered by Shell FCU, that helps you stay on top of your credit. You get your latest credit score and report, an understanding of key factors that impact the score, and you can see the most up to date offers that may help reduce your interest costs.

What is a Credit Report?

Credit reports, also known as credit files, are composed of the credit-related data a credit reporting company has gathered about consumers from different sources. Credit reports include records of mortgage payments, credit card balances, credit card payments, auto loan payments, and credit inquiries. It may also include accounts that have gone into collections, public records, and other information from government sources.

Credit reports include the following about your debt accounts:

• A list of creditors that have extended credit or loans.
• Total loan amounts and credit card limits.
• Payment amount and history on all loans and credit lines.

Credit reports may also include:

• Inquiries, each time your credit report was pulled by a lender in the past 2 years.
• Your current and/or former address(es)
• Your current and/or former employers
• Other details of public record

Under Federal law, you are entitled to receive one free copy of your credit report from each credit reporting agency every 12 months. You can obtain a free copy of your credit reports at https: //www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. For more information visit https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-credit-report-en-309/.

How Can I See What's in My Credit Report?

Not sure about what's in your credit report? Click over to “Credit Report” to review all your accounts, payments, and more. You can also receive a free Credit Report from each of the credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion once a year.

Will Shell FCU Use SavvyMoney Credit Score to Make Loan Decisions?

No, Shell FCU uses their lending criteria when making final loan decisions and has no access to SavvyMoney Credit Score. However, through SavvyMoney Analytics we can see what offers users are viewing and engaging with.

How Do I Correct My Credit Report if I Think There's an Error?

Given this incredible volume of data provided by lenders to the agencies, there are times when the information reported about your credit activities may be inaccurate.

If you find information that you believe is not correct on your credit report, contact the company that issued the account or the credit reporting company that issued the report. You can dispute any inaccuracies found on your TransUnion credit report by navigating to the bottom of the SavvyMoney Credit Report and clicking “dispute”.

For more information visit: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-are-common-credit-report-errors-that-i-should-look-for-on-my-credit-report-en-313/

What is a Credit Freeze?

A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is a free way to restrict access to your credit report. Adding a freeze means no one, not even you, can open a new credit account while the freeze is in place. You can, however, temporarily remove this freeze at any time if you want to apply for new credit.

It is important to note that a credit freeze does not affect your credit score. While the freeze is in place, you will still be able to apply for a job, rent an apartment, purchase insurance, and receive pre-screened offers.

How to Place a Credit Freeze?

To place a credit freeze on your credit profile, you must contact each of the three major credit bureaus:

• TransUnion - Phone: (888) 909-8872 / Web: Credit Freeze | Freeze My Credit
• Equifax - Phone: (888) 298-0045 / Web: Security Freeze | Freeze or Unfreeze Your Credit Equifax®
• Experian - Phone: (888) 397-3742 / Web: Security Freeze | Experian

Do Only Banks and Lenders Use Credit Scores?

Any institution that lends money - credit unions, banks, credit card companies, financing companies, mortgage lenders, and others - can use a credit score to help them assess whether you meet their lending criteria. These institutions use your credit score along with other relevant information provided by you, such as income, work status, and down payment amount. In general, higher scores allow access to more credit at competitive rates.

Insurance carriers can also use credit scores to help assess risk and to accurately price homeowners and automobile insurance policies.

Is Credit Score the Only Thing Used by Lenders for Loan Approval?

No, a credit score is just one part of several factors lenders use in their lending criteria. Other lending criteria considered may include:

• Loan-to-Value Ratio
• Income
• Current employment and work history

How Do I Improve My Credit Score?

There are several ways to improve your credit score. However, it's much more important to focus on improving what's in your credit report rather than over your credit score. Here are some quick tips to help:

• Pay Your Bills on Time, Every Month. Payment history is the largest factor in your credit score.
• Apply for Credit Only When You Need It. Try not to open too many accounts too frequently. These frequent inquiries can ding your credit.
• Keep Your Outstanding Balances Low. Keep balances below 30 percent of the credit limit on each of your revolving accounts.
• Reduce Your Total Debt. It is not necessarily bad to have debt as long as it's manageable. Too much debt at high interest rates can get out of hand if a financial emergency comes up. Consider paying down some of your outstanding loans.
• Build Up Credit History. Maintaining a timely payment history for a mix of accounts (e.g. credit cards, auto, mortgage) over a long period can improve your score.

Should I Carry a Balance on My Credit Cards Each Month or Pay the Cards in Full Each Month?

Since the single most important factor in credit score is payment history, using credit and paying off your balances on time will have the greatest impact on your score. Carrying a balance every month may incur interest charges, so if you can, pay off the cards in full and on time.

The best way to build a solid credit score is to manage all your accounts properly. Best practices include paying all your credit obligations on time every month, applying for credit only when needed, and keeping balances on credit cards as low as you possibly can if you cannot pay them in full each month.

If I Close My Credit Card Accounts, Will That Improve My Score?

When you close a credit card account, you lose the value of that card's credit limit in the credit usage calculation. The credit limit is an important component when determining a consumer's balance to credit limit or the “credit usage” ratio. This ratio rewards consumers who have low credit card balances relative to their credit limits.

If you close credit cards, especially those with large credit limits, you will likely cause your credit usage ratio to go up (if you carry balances). This can cause your score to go down considerably.

Additionally, if you close credit card accounts the credit bureaus will eventually remove them from your credit reports. Even though it can take years for an account to be removed from your credit reports, once it is gone you will get no credit for your responsible management of that account.

If I Pay Off My Credit Card Debt, Will My Credit Score Get Better?

Paying off debts does not automatically boost your score. While your credit card and other loan balances may be low because of a recent payment, due to the lenders’ reporting cycles, it may take some time for the payments to be reflected in your credit score. Moreover, available credit and balances are only one of several other factors that are considered by credit score models. Improving your credit score can be achieved over time by regularly practicing these sound financial management techniques:

• Pay your bills on time.
• Apply for credit only when it's needed; do not open new accounts frequently or open multiple accounts within a short period.
• Keep your outstanding balances low - a good rule of thumb is not to exceed 30% of your available credit limit with each account.
• Pay any delinquent accounts as soon as possible and then keep them current.