Vantagescore

Americans are getting more educated about credit scores, and younger people are the most well-versed of all. But that doesn't mean there aren't some gaps in their knowledge. So what should you do to keep on top of your credit? Here are a few free tips.

There must be something in the cheese: Four of the top 10 American cities for credit scores are in Wisconsin, and four more are in nearby Midwest states, according to a new analysis by Experian. But all is not sunny in the South, where the cities with the worst scores are concentrated.

Have you ever been turned down for a loan? Had your credit line slashed or interest rate bumped up? Well, starting Thursday, banks and other lenders will be required tell you a bit more about why. The FTC and the Fed are implementing a new rule requiring lenders to show consumers the credit score data they used to make their decision.

We all know that making late payments or having credit card accounts in collections can hurt your credit scores. But you might be shocked to learn that a lot of other seemingly innocent actions can also negatively impact your credit rating. Here's a list of five surprising things that can lower...

For years, renters who got behind on their housing payments could do so without worrying about the impact that a late payment would have on their credit rating. Next year that's going to change. One of the big three credit bureaus, Experian, recently began collecting data about consumer rental...

Right before and after the holidays you'll probably get a lot of bank offers to transfer credit-card balances from one account to another. If you see balance transfers as an opportunity to go on a shopping spree, chances are you haven't quite learned how to manage credit and debt wisely, and that...

If you thought it was hard to qualify for loans and obtain credit in 2010, wait until 2011, when lenders start using freshly updated, more rigorous versions of two popular credit-scoring systems. Fair Isaac, creator of the widely-used FICO score, recently rolled out an enhanced version of one of...

In early January, TransUnion will launch a new personal finance tool called Zendough that, instead of focusing on every transaction you make, aims to help you become one with your money. WalletPop was able to get an early look at the service -- which you can test out with a free, seven-day...