Credit Card Glossary: Terms and Definitions
		Confused by credit card terms? CreditCards.com's glossary of credit card definitions will help. From account holder to Regulation Z, we have defined the most-common and most-confusing credit card terms.

Credit score

A credit score is a three digit number that summarizes how well a person or business has handled debt. The higher the number, the better. Those with high scores can qualify for larger loans at better rates. Those with low scores will get poor terms, or be turned down. There are a variety of credit scores using different formulas; what they have in common is that they judge risk and try to predict future behavior. Factors such as employment, income, credit lines outstanding, debt to income ratio, past payment behavior factor in to a person's credit score. Fair Isaac Corp. pioneered the use of credit scores, and its product, the FICO score, remains the best known.