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What Is a Credit History?

6 min read
Last Updated: June 3, 2025

Key Takeaways

  1. Your credit history is a summary of your experience managing credit accounts and debts.
  2. Credit history is important because it’s used by credit card companies, mortgage lenders, landlords, and employers to determine your creditworthiness and risk.
  3. Your credit score is a number based on your credit history, but the two aren’t the same thing.

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