Check Your Credit Report
Credit card companies and lenders rely on credit scores, which determine someone’s chances to borrow money — and how favorable the terms will be.
Check your own score yearly by ordering reports from the three major credit scoring companies: Equifax (www.equifax.com), Experian (www.experian.com), and TransUnion (www.tuc.com). It's FREE once a year !!!
Notify the credit bureau of inaccuracies. Close accounts not in use. Request that late payments older than seven years be removed. Verify and update accounts and account numbers. Verify address and Social Security number.
How to Improve Your Score: Pay your bills on time. Reduce outstanding debt. Build up your savings. Don’t fall for illegal schemes that help you create a new credit identity. And be aware of schemes to "help you pay your debts faster".
If you feel tempted to pay-off your credit cards, you can do it, BUT, do not close your account. The older the account, the better. If you have extra money do not spend it all in reducing your debt. Your lender is going to ask you to have savings. Once your score is above 680 you can get the best rates. The higher your score the better loan program you can obtain.