Account Information

Your account information section will list every account that you’ve had within the past seven years – whether or not it is currently open. 

An account can include many different types of accounts from credit cards to bank accounts to car loans.
 

There are many different pieces of information that lenders are looking for in the account section.  One of the things that they consider (and that your credit score factors in) is the average account age and the age of the oldest account.

In general, it is better to have a longer account history with an older account and a larger average account age.  While it is possible to get a high credit score with a lower average account age, it is recommended to have at least two years as an average account age if at all possible.

If you don’t currently have this, keep whatever accounts you have open (even with zero balances) and don’t start too many new accounts, since they bring down the average account age.

According to the My Fico website, people with an almost perfect credit score opened their oldest account an average of 19 years ago and their average account age is between 6 and 12 years. 

While you may not be in this category, it is still possible to have a good credit score with an average account age of less than 6 years.

When looking at your credit report, you will see something similar to one of the two images below that display your oldest account and average account age.