There are other factors too that will be taken into account. These will all be added up to paint an overall picture of you and your financial habits and health. If this score is then deemed to be good, you will fall into one of the lenders low risk bands and will be offered credit on favourable terms and with lower rates of interest. If your score is low you will be offered a less favourable credit card rate or may be denied credit completely. Therefore it is important that you try to maintain a healthy credit rating if you wish to be offered the best credit card rates possible.

Every time you apply for credit your credit score will be used in this way, so it is a good idea to check your report and make sure it is accurate and that there are no mistakes on it that could make it more difficult for you to receive credit on favourable terms and at good rates. If you wish to view your report, you can contact the reporting company and they will send you a free copy of the report. You can receive one free copy of your report from each reporting company per year. This should be enough as it is unwise to request your credit report too often. This is because every time someone views your report, this is recorded and too many views may indicate to lenders that you are desperately seeking credit from a variety of sources.