Build your credit plan
A few easy questions, then your plan: what to pay, and when. About 2 minutes.
Free. No account. Nothing you type leaves your browser. Rules checked .
Step 1 of 4
This is an example plan for a made-up person.
Your plan
This uses your guess. Your bank or card app often shows your real score for free.
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Answered day or night, weekends included. No credit pull to talk.
More details
Month by month
Key dates
Your last card bills before you apply
The last bill each card makes at least 5 days before your date. These balances are the ones a lender is most likely to see.
Notes for your plan
Add an old collection or late payment
See if it drops off before your date. Your credit report shows the dates.
Change my goal score
For a home loan, lenders use your middle score from all three bureaus. The middle score finder works it out.
How the plan is builtThe rules, the math and the sources
How the plan is built
The planner turns three choices (the loan, the date and a target score) and the card numbers you enter into dates and dollar amounts. It runs the same plan engine as the ScoreTuner dashboard, entirely in your browser. It doesn't predict a score. FICO and VantageScore don't publish point tables, and anyone quoting an exact gain is guessing.
The rules it follows
- Final statement
- The last closing date on or before 5 days before your date, so the balance has time to report.
- Balance to aim for
- 9% of that card's limit, on its final statement.
- Pay down on each card
- Its balance now minus 9% of its limit, never below $0.
- Monthly step
- Each card's pay-down spread evenly over the statements left before its final one, on top of new charges and interest. The cards that close in a month add up to that month's step.
- No new credit from
- 6 months before your date.
- Report checks
- 120 days out to pull your reports and dispute errors, then 60 and 30 days out to check again.
Most card issuers report the balance from your statement closing date, which comes weeks before the due date. That's why the plan works from closing dates. The 9% target is a planning number, not a published cutoff. FICO says amounts owed are a major part of your score and that using a high share of your limits can lower it.
Worked example
Say you want to apply 12 months from now. Card A has a $1,500 limit and a $1,100 balance. Card B has a $500 limit and a $430 balance.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Both cards now | $1,100 + $430 on $1,500 + $500 | $1,530 owed on $2,000 (76.5%) |
| Card A on its final statement | 9% of $1,500 | $135 or less |
| Card B on its final statement | 9% of $500 | $45 or less |
| Pay down on each card | $1,100 minus $135; $430 minus $45 | $965 and $385, so $1,350 in all |
| Monthly step | $1,350 over about 12 statements | About $113 a month, on top of new charges and interest |
Card A at $135 plus Card B at $45 is $180, which is 9% of the $2,000 in limits.
The checkpoints
At 120 days out, pull all three reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com and dispute anything inaccurate. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a bureau generally has 30 days to finish a dispute, or 45 days when you dispute after a free AnnualCreditReport.com report, plus a few days to send the results. Starting at 120 days leaves time for an answer. At 60 days out, pull the reports again and make sure any fixes went through. At 30 days out, confirm your final statement dates against your latest statements and keep every card open, since closing one lowers your total limit.
For a home loan, lenders usually pull all three bureaus and use the middle score. If you apply with someone else, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use the lower of your two middle scores, and VA and USDA lenders set their own method. Lenders can add their own minimums, so ask yours what they need.
Old items on your reports
Most negative items, including late payments, can be reported for 7 years. For a collection or charge-off, the clock starts from the first missed payment that led to it: bureaus usually remove it about 7 years after that date, and the legal limit is 7 years from 180 days after it. Paying the debt doesn't restart the clock. A hard inquiry counts in FICO Scores for 12 months and can stay on your reports for 2 years.
Sources
- Amounts owed (myFICO)
- When Do Credit Card Companies Report to Credit Bureaus? (Equifax)
- 15 U.S.C. 1681i, procedure in case of disputed accuracy (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. 1681j, charges for certain disclosures (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. 1681c, requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports (Cornell LII)
- B3-5.1-02, Determining the credit score for a mortgage loan (Fannie Mae Selling Guide)
- Mortgagee Letter 2026-11 (HUD)
Questions about this tool
How far ahead should I start getting my credit ready?
As early as you can. A year gives you about 12 statements to bring card balances down, and it lets hard inquiries age past the 12 months FICO counts them. Pull your reports at least 120 days before you apply so a dispute has time to finish, and stop opening new credit about 6 months out.
Does this planner predict my score on my date?
No. FICO and VantageScore don't publish point tables, so no honest tool can tell you where your score will land. The planner lays out the dates and balances that scoring models read, so you know what to do and when.
Why does the plan aim for 9% of each card's limit?
It's a planning target, not a FICO rule. FICO says amounts owed are a major part of your score and that using a high share of your limits can lower it. 9% keeps you well under that and leaves a little room for a charge that posts late.
Why stop opening new credit 6 months before I apply?
A new hard inquiry or a new account can lower scores, and mortgage underwriters often ask you to explain recent inquiries. Six months is a planning buffer, not a lender rule, and it keeps new activity off your file while you get ready.
Where do I find my card's statement closing date?
It's printed on each statement, usually near the top as the closing date or statement date, and it's in your card's app under Statements. Most cards close about 21 to 25 days before the payment due date, and the day stays about the same each month.
Which score do mortgage lenders use?
Most pull all three bureaus and use the middle score. If two people apply together, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use the lower of the two middle scores. VA and USDA lenders set their own method. Lenders can also set their own minimums above the program's.
What changes for FHA loans on January 1, 2027?
Under HUD Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, for FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027, lenders may submit more than one credit score model (Classic FICO, FICO 10T or VantageScore 4.0) and use the lowest result. The 500 and 580 thresholds stay the same.
Is anything I type saved or sent anywhere?
It stays in your browser. The planner remembers your entries on this device so you can come back, and nothing you type is sent to us. To keep the plan across devices, save it to a free account.
Guides behind the math
- Getting your credit mortgage-ready in 12 months, month by monthA month-by-month credit plan for the year before a mortgage: what to check, what to fix, what to leave alone, and the timing rules underwriters use.
- Paying down balances before a loan application: timing and rescoresPaying cards down before you apply only helps once the new balance reports. How to time it, which cards to pay first, and how a lender's rapid rescore works.
- Middle credit score rule: two borrowers, FHA and Fannie MaeLenders pull three scores and use the middle one, or the lower of two. How FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and USDA handle it, including two borrowers.
- Credit score for an FHA loan: the 580 and 500 rules, explainedFHA allows scores down to 500 with 10% down and 580 for 3.5% down, but lenders add overlays. How FHA picks your score and what changes in 2027.
Other free tools
- Score decoderType a score. See its band under each model, the next cutoff, and what it means for loans.
- Utilization plannerEnter your cards and see overall and per-card utilization, plus the exact payment to hit a target.
- Statement date plannerTurn each card's closing date into a pay-by date, and add the reminders to your calendar.
- Middle score finderEnter three bureau scores for one or two borrowers and see the score a mortgage lender will use.