Over 60 Percent of Americans Mistakenly Believe Canceling a Credit Card Does Not Affect Credit Score
Foster City, CA (PRWEB) July 22, 2014 -- A new survey from WisePiggy.com shows over 30 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that pulling a soft inquiry of their credit report affects their credit score, while over 58 percent believe that opening a new card doesn’t affect one’s credit score, when in fact, it does.
WisePiggy.com asked 2,000 Americans age 25 and older what factors they believe affect their credit score. Below are the percentage of respondents that said yes to each factor:
• Missing a payment – 68.55 percent
- Correct Answer: Yes
• Where one lives – 14.85 percent
- Correct Answer: No
• Checking one’s credit report – 31.1 percent
- Correct Answer: No
• Outstanding balance versus line of credit – 50.1 percent
- Correct Answer: Yes
• Canceling a credit card – 38.8 percent
- Correct Answer: Yes
• Opening a new card – 42.8 percent
- Correct Answer: Yes
• Income – 32.15 percent
- Correct Answer: No
• Amount in savings – 10.75 percent
- Correct Answer: No
• Number of accounts open – 46.45 percent
- Correct Answer: No
• How often you use a debit card – 9.9 percent
- Correct Answer: No
While some aspects like debit card usage and amount in savings are clear cut for consumers, other actions such as canceling a credit card and outstanding balance versus line of credit show that there are plenty of gray areas when it comes to the credit score formula.
“It’s great that nearly 70 percent of survey participants knew missing a payment would affect their credit scores, until you consider that more than 30 percent don’t think this will hurt their credit,” says Loryll Nicolaisen, WisePiggy.com managing editor. “Clearly we can all learn more about the factors that can strengthen or diminish our credit score.”
Among all age groups, those 35-54 seem to have the best understanding of what has an effect on their credit score, while those in the younger demographic seem to be unsure how opening and closing cards impacts their score, and older respondents aren’t as confident on how where one lives affects their score.
“It’s extremely valuable for consumers to know and monitor their credit score and reports,” Nicolaisen says. “Credit arguably affects all factors of your life, and checking your free credit score from WisePiggy.com is one step anyone can take to proactively manage his or her finances.”
You can view the full survey results here: https://www.wisepiggy.com/credit_tutorial/credit_score/pop-quiz-do-you-know-what-affects-your-credit-score.html.
About WisePiggy.com
WisePiggy.com offers easy, fast and free solutions to consumers looking to track their credit score and make the most of their money. WisePiggy.com offers consumers free access to their TransUnion credit score. The site also features money management tips and tools, including the unique WisePiggy Report Card, a one-of-a-kind tool to guide consumers to a better credit score. This new site joins an award-winning portfolio of personal finance sites under the QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: QNST) brand - one of the largest Internet marketing and media companies in the world. QuinStreet is committed to providing consumers and businesses with information they need to research, find and select the products, services and brands that best meet their needs.
Alex Bryant, WisePiggy.com, http://www.wisepiggy.com, +1 (212) 863-4753, [email protected]
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